Spatial Audio Playback
The 〰 Waves button on the Now Playing screen enables spatial audio playback for tracks that were recorded and exported as spatial mixes from Homecrate’s studio recorder. This is different from the Spectral 3D effect — it plays back a genuine 3D mix rather than processing a standard stereo file.
Spatial Audio playback is a Pro feature.
When the Button Appears
The Waves button is only visible for tracks tagged as spatial — specifically, tracks that were exported from Homecrate’s Recorder in Spatial Mode as APAC or spatial-tagged stereo files. It does not appear for standard stereo imports.
[SCREENSHOT: Waves button visible on Now Playing screen for a spatial track]
If you don’t see the Waves button, the current track is not a spatial recording.
Enabling Spatial Playback
Tap the 〰 Waves icon. When active, it glows blue. The spatial audio engine takes over playback from TrackPlayer, rendering the mix with 3D positioning through your headphones.
Tap again to return to standard playback.
How It Works
Spatial tracks were recorded in Homecrate’s studio with each audio track assigned a 3D position (Front Left, Rear Right, etc.). On iOS 26 and later, they’re exported as APAC (Ambisonics) files; on earlier iOS, as stereo files with embedded spatial position metadata.
During spatial playback, Homecrate reads the position metadata and renders each source at its assigned location in 3D space using head-related transfer functions. With AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, dynamic head tracking keeps the mix anchored in space as you move.
Compatibility
| Headphones | Experience |
|---|---|
| AirPods Pro (2nd gen or later) | Full dynamic head tracking + 3D rendering |
| AirPods Max | Full dynamic head tracking + 3D rendering |
| AirPods (3rd gen) | 3D rendering, limited head tracking |
| Standard wired/Bluetooth headphones | 3D rendering, no head tracking |
| Speakers | Downmixed to stereo |
Mutual Exclusivity
Spatial Audio and Spectral 3D Sound cannot run simultaneously. Enabling one turns off the other. Both are independent of the Equalizer.
Track Changes
When Spatial Audio is active and the track changes, the engine checks if the new track is also a spatial recording. If it is, spatial playback continues with the new file. If the new track is not spatial, the engine disables automatically and standard playback resumes.