title: How audio is mixed description: Why the metronome ducks when the coach speaks, and how sounds are prioritized during a workout.
How audio is mixed
RhythmFit can play a metronome, a countdown, a coach voice, and background music during the same workout. None of them shout over the others — every sound is prioritized so the most important thing is always the one you hear.
What wins when sounds overlap
- Countdowns come first. "3 · 2 · 1" and transition stings play against silence — the metronome stops entirely so the transition is unmistakable.
- The coach voice is always clear. When a cue or announcement fires, the metronome drops to a whisper for the duration of the read, then ramps back. You don't hear "click click click WORD click" — you hear "click click WORD click click".
- Metronome and music share the floor. Background music and the click track never fight each other — the workout picks one based on the active phase (metronome for tempo-strength and most cardio, music for breathing, mobility, and music-led modes).
How it shows up to you
You almost never need to think about this — it just works. But two behaviors are worth understanding:
1. Volume always recovers. After any voice line, the first click you hear is back at full volume. No lingering half-quiet metronome.
2. Countdowns hard-mute, they don't duck. "3 · 2 · 1" plays against silence, then the transition sting plays, then the next phase's metronome starts cleanly. No two transitions ever overlap.
Why this matters for hardware
Two real-world cases this design handles:
- AirPods double-tap pause/resume. Every sound re-fades correctly on resume — no pops or crackles when the system audio ramp finishes.
- Phone call mid-workout. iOS interrupts the audio. RhythmFit stops everything cleanly, and when the call ends, the session resumes silently — no double-triggered sounds.