BallparkDJ Music and Bluetooth Issues
System Settings

This page provides various solutions for playback and volume-related issues created by the use of Apple Music and Bluetooth speakers with BallparkDJ.

Current default/recommended settings for Actions > System Settings (iOS Only)…

  • Bluetooth Assurance: ON

  • Apple Music Assurance: OFF

  • Enhanced Volume Restore: OFF

If you have your System Settings set as above and are still experiencing an issue, read on….

Most of these volume-related issues below are related to the combination of Apple Music with Bluetooth speakers. One reliable solution to all these issues is to simply wire an aux cable from your phone to your Bluetooth speaker. Learn More
However, that is not always convenient and the strategies below should provide solutions without the cable.

Solution: Bluetooth Assurance Plus (BA+)
Issue: Volume Control - Volume Jumps Down Between Players
Speaker: JBL PartyBox 310
Bluetooth Assurance Plus (BA+) was added in version 19.4 to address a frustrating volume control issue that is experienced on some Bluetooth speakers (namely the JBL PartyBox 310) when used with Apple Music. Typically the issue presents itself by dropping the volume downward between players. For more on this issue and this solution, visit JBL PartyBox 310. BA+ can be turned on at the top of the Actions > System Settings window.

Solution: Bluetooth Assurance
Issue: Voice Intros Sometimes Do Not Play (iOS Only with Apple Music subscription)
Speaker: Sonos Move
Bluetooth Assurance was added in version 16.6 to the System Settings screen in the Actions menu. If you are experiencing an issue where your voice intros (and/or music), then Bluetooth Assurance should be the answer. And Bluetooth Assurance defaults to ON so you should not need to turn it on. This issue appears to happen after playing a player which uses Apple Music (music downloaded thru an Apple Music subscription), and then playing the next player within the next 10 second. If you are experiencing this issue and Bluetooth Assurance does not solve, please contact support@ballparkdj.com. Other ways to avoid this issue are….. 1) You can setup all players with purchased iTunes music. 2) You can setup all players with Apple Music, but make sure the music starts before the voice 3) You can make sure you’ve waited at least 10 seconds since stopping the previous player before starting another one.

Solution: 2-Tap+ and 2-Tap++ Modes
Issue: Clipping Issue Over Bluetooth (iOS Only)
Speaker: ION Pathfinder
Are you experiencing an issue where the first part of your voice intros (typically “Now Batting”) is clipping off when playing over a Bluetooth speaker? If so, there are a few solutions. We have introduced a 2-Tap+ and 2-Tap++ modes that resolves this for some speakers. If that does not resolve, also try turning ON EVR+ in Actions > System Settings. If that does not resolve, you can either start the music 3 or more seconds before the voice, or you can wire an aux cord from your phone to your speaker. Both will also resolve the problem.
3 Solutions for Voice Clipping: https://www.ballparkdj.com/clipping-voice
More on 2-Tap+/2-Tap++ Modes: https://www.ballparkdj.com/2tap

Solution: Apple Music Assurance
Issue: Apple Music Randomly Fails to Play (iOS Only - AMA)
NOTICE: We believe this issue may also be addressed with Bluetooth Assurance.
If you are experiencing an issue when playing your intros where sometimes the music simply fails to play, we have implemented a fix called Apple Music Assurance (AMA)in BallparkDJ 16.4, which is now available on the App Store. When AMA is turned ON, BallparkDJ takes an extra step when playing Apple Music to assure it plays. AMA is intended to fix an issue where Apple Music randomly/periodically simply does not play. AMA defaults to ON when upgrading to 16.4 and beyond, but can be toggled on/off in the Actions > System Settings window.

Apple Music Stopped Playing (iOS Only)- If you setup your players with Apple Music and they worked fine for a while and then suddenly the music stopped playing, you probably just need to ensure the Sync Library and Add Playlist Songs options are turned on in Music settings. Click Here to learn more. You also might try simply sharing the team to yourself and re-importing to refresh your music. To do this, open team and choose Actions > Share Team and share via email to yourself. Open the email on your device and click on the link in the email to re-import your team (and refresh music).

Some users reported that updating to 16.6 resulted in voice not playing periodically (or playing silently) when playing directly from phone. If you are experiencing this issue after updating to 16.6, please watch this video.

Solution: Bluetooth Assurance Plus OR Enhanced Volume Restore (EVR)
Issue: Playing at Low / No Volume (iOS Only)
Speaker: JBL PartyBox (100/110)
NOTICE: We believe this issue may now be addressed with Bluetooth Assurance as well.
An “Enhanced Volume Restore” (EVR) option was added to version 15.7 which addresses an issue with volume levels when using Apple Music with Fade-Out on iOS….and when using certain Bluetooth speakers (specifically the JBL PartyBox 100). In version 19.4, a more aggressive BA+ option was added to help resolve a similar volume-control option with the JBL PartyBox 310 mode. If you are experiencing issues with the volume going down very low on some players, please open your team and choose Actions > System Settings, and turn Bluetooth Assurance to BA+ ON.

Solution: Enhanced Volume Restore Plus (EVR+ ON)
Issue: Volume Retention/Fluctuation Between Players(iOS Only)
Speaker: JBL PartyBox Stage 320
An “Enhanced Volume Restore Plus” (EVR+ / EVR+ ON) option was added to version 15.7 in the Actions > System Settings window, which addresses an issue with retention and fluctuation between players. The 320 still demonstrates an issue in which it will not respond to volume adjustments ONLY during the playback of voice, and ONLY when the voice is setup to play before Apple Music. EVR+ does not address this minor issue. If this issue is impacting you on the 320, you can either setup the music to start before voice, OR you can wire an aux cord to your 320, or purchase the songs thru iTunes instead of using Apple Music.

Solution: Use a Wired Aux Cord or Purchase iTunes Songs
Issue: Not Fading Out and Not Restoring Volume Properly (Apple Music & Bluetooth)
Speaker: Sony SRS-XP500
With this Sony speaker, the fade-out process we use with Apple Music (combined with Bluetooth) is not recognized by the speaker. Also, after we restore the volume after fade-out, the speaker then sends a message back to the device that adjusts volume back down to 30% about 5 seconds after playback ends. The only known solutions currently to this issue is to either wire an Aux Cord from the device to the speaker (Lightning to 3.5mm Cord for iOS Devices), or to purchase the songs you are using through iTunes.

Distortion / Static During Voice Playback (iPhone 11, iPhone XR)
You may hear some slight static BEFORE playback due to 2-Tap+ or 2-Tap++ Mode: Learn More.
Some users have reported hearing some static or distortion of the voice intros during playback over a Bluetooth speaker. We are actively investigating this issue. It seems that this only happens with certain iPhone models (iPhone 11 and iPhone XR), and with certain speakers (Sonos Move and ION Pathfinder), and ONLY if you have either Soften Music ON, or if you have Relative Volume set to Loudest Voice. If you have that combination, we recommend you turn off Soften Music, and/or you lower your relative volume to closer to EVEN. In version 16.6, we added 3 “softness” options to the Actions > System Settings screen. You may try the Soft and Softer options with Soften Music turned on to see if the distortion goes away. This issue does not seem to exhibit itself with iPhone models newer than the 11 and XR.

Soften Music NOT Available - Great News, the Soften Music During Voice option is now available for ALL Music sources, on both iOS and Android: https://www.ballparkdj.com/soften-music

Delay When Tapping (iOS Only) - If you are experiencing a 5-8 second delay/lag when tapping a player until the audio begins.on iOS, Click Here to learn how to fix.

Apple Music Quit Playing - If you Apple Music suddenly stopped playing, it could be that your Apple Music subscription expired. This page discusses that and a few other possible causes.

Glitch When Music Starts - If you are experiencing an issue over Bluetooth where the voice audio goes silent for 1 second just as the music begins, this is an issue that was reporting and confirmed on the DeWalt Portable speaker over Bluetooth. We are working on a solution but if you run a wired connection from phone to speaker with an Aux cord, you will NOT experience this issue.

If none of these solutions address your problem, please email support@ballparkdj.com with details. If possible, use another device to capture a video demonstrating your issue. We will get that video to our developers.