How to Connect Sony Headphones to a Mac
Seven second hold, then System Settings, Bluetooth, then set the output. Plus the call quality problem on Macs and how to stop it happening.
Hold the Sony power button for around seven seconds until you hear “Bluetooth pairing”, then open System Settings, Bluetooth on the Mac and click Connect. Seven seconds rather than two is what most people get wrong. Then set the output separately, since macOS pairs the device without always switching audio to it.
This applies to every Mac, including the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Studio, since they all use the same Bluetooth stack.
The steps
- Switch the headphones off.
- Hold the power button for around seven seconds, past the point where they power on, until you hear the pairing announcement and the light flashes blue twice in a repeating pattern.
- On the Mac, open System Settings, then Bluetooth.
- Wait for the Sony entry under Nearby Devices and click Connect.
- Click the sound icon in the menu bar and select the headphones as the output.
On Sony earbuds, put both buds in the case and hold the touch sensors on both for around seven seconds.
If the sound icon is not in your menu bar, enable it under System Settings, Control Center, Sound. Holding Option while clicking it shows every input and output in one menu, which is the fastest way to switch afterward.
The problem you will hit
Sony headphones reconnect aggressively to anything they have paired with before, so a phone in your pocket will claim them the instant they power on.
The symptom is headphones that appear to be working, never show up on the Mac, and are actually connected to something else in the building.
Turn Bluetooth off on every other device before pairing. Once the Sony app is installed, disconnecting from within it is faster.
The call quality problem, which is specific to computers
This is the complaint people have about Sony headphones on a Mac and it is not a fault with the headphones.
Bluetooth uses a high quality one way profile for playback and a two way profile for calls. The two way profile splits far less bandwidth between both directions, so audio quality drops sharply the moment any application requests the microphone.
Joining a meeting triggers it. So does a browser tab holding microphone permission, even when you are not speaking.
macOS does not expose a per device profile toggle, so the fix is to stop applications requesting the microphone. Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone, and remove permission from anything that does not need it. Then set the sound input to the built in microphone rather than the headphones.
Using the Mac’s own microphone with the Sony headphones as output only is usually the better arrangement anyway, since the built in array is good and it keeps the high quality profile. Our guide on stopping Bluetooth headphones lowering computer volume covers the same problem on Windows.
Codecs on a Mac
Macs support AAC and SBC, and do not support Sony’s LDAC. So the high resolution codec Sony advertises is inactive here, exactly as on an iPhone or iPad.
Apple’s AAC implementation is well regarded, so this is not a sound quality problem, and it does mean codec support should not influence which Sony model you choose for a Mac.
Sony’s DSEE upscaling still works, since it runs inside the headphones rather than depending on the codec.
For lossless playback or zero latency, use the 3.5 mm cable most Sony over-ear models include. Macs with a headphone jack take it directly, and recent MacBook Pro models even increase output voltage for high impedance headphones.
Using a Mac and a phone together
Enable multipoint in the Sony Sound Connect app, since it is switched off by default on several models.
Then pair the Mac first, put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the phone. Both stay connected, and audio follows whichever is playing with calls taking priority.
Note that on some Sony models multipoint and LDAC cannot both be active. On a Mac that costs you nothing, because LDAC is unavailable there anyway, which makes a Mac one of the few places where enabling multipoint is free.
Manage the active devices in the app rather than through Bluetooth settings, which is considerably faster.
When it drops out
Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi share a band, so interference is the usual cause. Move away from the router, or switch your network to 5 GHz where possible.
USB 3 devices and hubs are a well known source of 2.4 GHz interference and are frequently sitting right beside the Mac. Moving a hub or using a shielded cable helps.
Reduce the distance and clear the line of sight, since a body between the Mac and the headphones attenuates surprisingly well.
If it persists, remove the headphones in Bluetooth settings using the information icon and Forget This Device, then pair from scratch. Our guide on making Sony headphones discoverable covers the reset procedures.
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Sony headphones to a Mac?
With the headphones off, hold the power button for around seven seconds until you hear the pairing announcement and the light flashes blue twice repeatedly. Then open System Settings, Bluetooth on the Mac and click Connect beside the Sony entry. Afterward, select them as the output from the sound icon in the menu bar, since macOS does not always switch automatically.
Why do my Sony headphones sound bad on Mac calls?
Because Bluetooth switches from the stereo playback profile to a two way call profile with far less bandwidth, which happens whenever an application requests the microphone. Remove microphone permission from applications that do not need it under Privacy and Security, and set the sound input to the built in microphone rather than the headphones.
Does LDAC work on a Mac?
No. Macs support AAC and SBC only, so Sony’s LDAC codec is inactive, exactly as it is on an iPhone or iPad. Apple’s AAC implementation is good, so this is not a quality problem. For lossless playback or zero latency, use the 3.5 mm cable that most Sony over-ear models include.
Can Sony headphones connect to a Mac and a phone at once?
Yes, with multipoint enabled in the Sony Sound Connect app, since it is off by default on several models. Pair one device, put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the other. On some models multipoint disables LDAC, which costs you nothing on a Mac since that codec is unavailable there anyway.