Play audio through Bluetooth headphones and sound bar at the same time

[Edd70]

Our TV plays primary sound through a Sonos Playbase (sound bar) with an optical connection. Also have Sennheiser headphones connected to the TV by optical. An optical splitter is used to connect both. All content we watch is through an Apple TV 4K (2nd gen).

This setup works great for sound. But the headphones are old, and having dropout issues. So I’ve purchased Apple AirPods Max to replace them. The difference here would be the headphones will now use Bluetooth to receive sound from the Apple TV. NBD, I figured.

But, still waiting for the Airpods Max to arrive, I’m doing some testing with a pair of Beats Powerbeats Pro which connect easily to the Apple TV and would work very similar to the Airpods Max.

When the Apple TV connects to the ear buds with Bluetooth, it stops playing sound through the speaker. That’s fine at night or anytime I want to watch silently but there are times when I want both to work simultaneously, like when one of us is in the kitchen wearing headphones and the other is in the living room watching using the sound bar.

I know the Apple TV is capable of connecting to two Bluetooth headphones at the same time, but I’m unable to select both the speaker and headphones together.

Am I missing something? Looking forward to a likely sound upgrade with the AirPods Max but this would be a step backward on functionality.

 

[tragicwinding]

I can see how having the sound play through both the sound bar and the AirPods Max at the same time would be useful, especially in the situation you described. Unfortunately, it seems that as of now, Apple TV can only support playing audio through either the speakers or headphones at a time, not both simultaneously. This was confirmed in an Apple Community thread I found at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252798529.
Hopefully, a future update might add this feature. In the meantime, I'd suggest reaching out to Apple Support to share your use case - feedback like yours can help drive future updates. I hope you'll still enjoy the sound quality upgrade with your AirPods Max!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm guessing this want is best resolved at the "optical splitter" link in the chain. It appears now you need a new splitter that can still send an optical out to the soundbar but also bluetooth to the wireless headphones. That probably exists and could keep it all in one "dongle" box. For example, this looks like it could do the job within a single (replacement) box. One of the connection images shows exactly that: bluetooth headphones and soundbar under the word "simultaneously..."

Else, add a device to the existing splitter taking an optical out of that box into an optical IN on a box that will then "toss" the sound via Bluetooth to the headphones. This looks like it might do that. And there are many others. Seach for Toslink bluetooth transmitter.

 

[Edd70]

I'm guessing this want is best resolved at the "optical splitter" link in the chain. It appears now you need a new splitter that can still send an optical out to the soundbar but also bluetooth to the wireless headphones. That probably exists and could keep it all in one "dongle" box. For example, this looks like it could do the job within a single (replacement) box. One of the connection images shows exactly that: bluetooth headphones and soundbar under the word "simultaneously..."

View attachment 2209155​

Else, add a device to the existing splitter taking an optical out of that box into an optical IN on a box that will then "toss" the sound via Bluetooth to the headphones. This looks like it might do that. And there are many others. Seach for Toslink bluetooth transmitter.

Interesting options, thank you. I’m guessing if the Apple TV isn’t connected by direct Bluetooth to the AirPods Max that you lose spacial audio. Not necessarily a deal breaker, and this would address the issue. I may have some thinking to do.