Product · Setup and signal path
How MixOutpost gets your mix to your phone
A plugin on the master bus of your DAW or video editor copies the audio, encrypts it and sends it across your local network to paired iPhones. Here's the setup, then what each stage does and what it doesn't touch.
Set it up
- 01
Install on the Mac
Run the free installer and choose the Audio Unit, VST3 and/or the Mac app. It's universal, signed and notarized, and needs macOS 12 or later; sharing Mac audio (all apps) from the app needs macOS 14.2 or later.
- 02
Insert the plugin last on your master bus
Put MixOutpost in the last insert slot of your main output, after your limiter and metering: the Stereo Out in a DAW, the main bus in DaVinci Resolve, the Mix track in Premiere Pro. Press Start Sharing. Using a host with no master bus, like Final Cut Pro, or one the plugin doesn't load in? Open the Mac app and share all Mac audio instead.
- 03
Pair your iPhone
Install the free iPhone app from the App Store (iOS 17 or later). Click Pair phone… on the Mac and scan the QR code, or type the 6-digit code on the phone and approve it on the Mac. You only do this once per Mac.
- 04
Tap Listen
Pick your Mac in the app and tap Listen. Play it on the phone speaker, AirPods, or any AirPlay, Bluetooth or wired device the phone can reach, from a HomePod or the living-room TV to a car stereo. Playback continues with the screen locked.
Next session, open the app, pick the remembered source and tap Listen. Sharing on the Mac only starts when you press Start Sharing; opening a project never starts it on its own.
What happens under the hood
1. The plugin copies, it doesn't process
MixOutpost is a transparent insert. The audio leaving the plugin is bit-identical to the audio entering it, so your monitors, meters and bounces are unaffected. The plugin takes a copy of each block and hands it off to be sent. When the host renders offline, faster than real time, the plugin skips sending, so a bounce or export doesn't flood the phone.
Each source gets a name from the host and track, such as Logic · Stereo Out or Resolve · Main, and you can type your own. Put a second instance on a bus and it appears as a second source on the phone.
2. Everything streams at 48 kHz
The stream is uncompressed PCM at 48 kHz. If your session runs at 48 kHz, the samples arrive bit-exact: the same numbers that left the plugin. Sessions at 44.1, 88.2 or 96 kHz are converted to 48 kHz with high-quality sample-rate conversion before sending. The phone's Connection info tells you which case you're in.
3. Encrypted with TLS 1.3, to paired phones only
There's no open mode. When you pair, the phone and Mac exchange what each needs to recognize the other, and from then on every connection is TLS 1.3. A phone that hasn't been paired can't connect, even on the same Wi-Fi. One pairing covers every plugin instance and the Mac app on that Mac. See security for the detail.
4. Finding the Mac: Bonjour, or an address
On most networks the Mac shows up on the phone automatically via Bonjour. Some networks, such as office Wi-Fi, block it, and Logic can host plugins in a separate process where Bonjour isn't available. For those cases you can connect by address, and paired sources are remembered by address. Each source keeps the same network port every session, so the phone finds it again.
5. A buffer that fits your Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi has short gaps: walls, microwaves, busy channels. The phone holds a small buffer to cover them. Auto adapts to the network you're on; Standard and Stable are there if you'd rather pick a setting yourself, for example Stable on a crowded network. If the Wi-Fi drops or your phone roams between mesh points, the app reconnects on its own. It also resumes after you stop and restart sharing on the Mac.
For the steadiest playback, connect the iPhone by Ethernet with a USB-C adapter. Auto then settles lower and dropouts should disappear.
6. Playback and checks on the phone
The phone plays the stream and runs the checks locally: meters, Listen as Mono or Side, loudness against delivery targets, a diagnostic EQ, recording and A/B. None of it goes back to the Mac. The host's output stays exactly as it was.
First-run tips
- Allow Local Network. iOS asks the first time the app looks for your Mac. MixOutpost explains why first. If you denied it, the app offers Open Settings.
- Same network, not a guest network. Guest and some office networks keep devices apart. Use the network your Mac is on.
- Last slot on the main output. That way the phone hears exactly what your monitors hear, mastering or delivery chain included.
- Check Connection info. Tap ⓘ on the phone to see format, bit-exact status, buffer, round trip, dropouts, network type and security.
- Mac not appearing? Connect by address, and see troubleshooting the connection.
Local network only
MixOutpost doesn't use a server or relay. Audio goes from your Mac to your phone across your own network, and nowhere else. Listening over the internet is planned but on hold.
Questions
Do the Mac and iPhone need to be on the same network?
Yes. MixOutpost works on your local network. The Mac can be on Ethernet and the phone on Wi-Fi, as long as both reach the same network. Guest networks that isolate devices won't work.
Why does the iPhone ask for Local Network access?
iOS requires it before an app can find devices on your network. MixOutpost explains this before iOS asks. If you tapped Don't Allow, the app offers Open Settings so you can turn it back on.
What if my Mac doesn't show up on the phone?
Some networks block Bonjour discovery. Connect by address instead. Once paired, the phone remembers the source by address and reconnects to it. See troubleshooting the connection.
Is there a delay?
Yes, a short one from the buffer that covers Wi-Fi gaps. Auto sizes it to your network. MixOutpost is made for checking mixes, not for live monitoring while you record. A wired Ethernet connection lets the buffer settle lower.
Does the plugin add latency to my DAW or editor?
No. The plugin passes audio straight through, unchanged. It copies the audio to send; it doesn't hold up the host's output.
Hear your mix on your phone
Free Mac plugin (AU, VST3) and iPhone app. Lossless, bit-exact and encrypted.