SoundSource 5.7.1 has be released with the following in the release notes: "Audio playback to Bluetooth audio devices should be greatly improved, fixing regressions introduced in SoundSource 5.7.0". The update also came with an update to ARK.
Will be testing this week to see if things have improved.
Interesting find,
@henryae9. I may check on all that myself if things do not improve.
I would like to disclose that I am guilty of always restoring from "my previous device" or a Time Machine backup every time I upgrade or change my computers, which has happened multiple times since I started using Apple products around 2008. I know it’s highly recommended to start fresh when buying a new device to avoid issues like this—where you’re unsure if the problem is due to a bug in the new OS or old files and processes causing conflicts.
Using the Etrecheck-generated report, I deleted everything the report flagged as an issue on my system, as well as everything in the library associated with old, previously installed apps that had remained. After doing so, my computer feels like new—everything is noticeably faster and more responsive.
I haven’t experienced the Bluetooth audio/AirPods issue again, but I did reduce the load on Bluetooth by using a USB dongle, which doesn’t hurt but likely wasn’t the problem, as I wasn’t having this issue on Sonoma.
From my research in forums and Reddit, it seems Bluetooth issues have been well-documented since the introduction of Apple Silicon. These problems appear to be caused by multiple factors—such as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi interference with Bluetooth, potential USB 3 cable interference, or high CPU usage—rather than one exact cause. In my case, I’m sure the audio being processed via Rosetta 2 and phantom processes consuming CPU were significant contributing factors.
