Bluetooth Pedal Review: PageFlip Firefly vs Airturn Duo 500

twocats · 2025-02-17T08:10:31+00:00

A little review, now that I've used both of the top Bluetooth pedal brands. I've been using a PageFlip Firefly V4 for a couple of years, with a 2015 12.9" i...

MRC

I have also changed to AirTurn after several years of using PageFlip.

Another plus for the AirTurn is that you can change the setting for the power off time. For this you need the AirTurn Manager app (download it from the App Store). The default is 2 hours, but you can set it to any one of these values: 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours or Never.

twocats Cons of the Airturn:
[...]
it doesn't always manually reconnect to the iPad after you turn it back on

Have you tried turning on AirTurn Support in the forScore settings?

twocats

MRC Have you tried turning on AirTurn Support in the forScore settings?

I think I did, but I'll have to look again. Also I was reading the manual and will have to make sure I'm on a "closed" vs "open" connection so that other people don't try to connect to my pedal!

twocats

MRC For this you need the AirTurn Manager app (download it from the App Store)

Thanks for the tip! I downloaded this and was easily able to set the time-out and change the pairing to "closed" and also set it to prioritize performance over battery life.

MRC Have you tried turning on AirTurn Support in the forScore settings?

This was turned on, but I think maybe the device hadn't initially been added in AirDirect mode. I removed it from both my Bluetooth device list and forScore and then re-added it directly from forScore. Seems to be connecting right away when I power on now... fingers crossed!

pianocat

I recently bought an AirTurn Ped 500, which is a smaller and more refined piece of hardware than the Duo 500 (which looks like it has some 3D-printed parts). Also has USB-C charging which is nice.

I'm not in love with the Ped 500 though because of the clicking mechanism. It works fine if I'm wearing slippers, but sock-footed it's hard to get the pressure at the right point to initiate a page turn. Debating on whether to return it.

twocats

pianocat I recently bought an AirTurn Ped 500

I just looked it up and the pedal mechanism looks very different! I think you might like the DUO more.

rogerch

I have the AirTurn Duo and it works well for me. I use it for page turns during my daily sight-reading practice. I haven’t performed or recorded with it.

It took a long time (months!) for me to get comfortable with the AirTurn. At this point on a good day I automatically press the pedal when the last few notes of the page I’m on is in my brain. Sometimes I’m still conscious of my foot and the pedal which distracts from the music.

For me it’s way better than turning physical pages ever was, but I was never great at physical page turns.

twocats

rogerch At this point on a good day I automatically press the pedal when the last few notes of the page I’m on is in my brain.

Sometimes I'm so automatic that I'm tapping the ground or touching the page on a paper score 😂

rogerch

twocats Yes! I have done this!

ShiroKuro

twocats Sometimes I'm so automatic that I'm tapping the ground or touching the page on a paper score

I do that all the time whenever I am playing from a paper score!! I've been using a bluetooth page turner for at least 7 years, so it's become very much second nature.

I had an earlier version of the AirTurn Ped, and foud it to be very unresponsive, like you had to stomp on it to get the page to turn. I switched the PageFlip and used the Butterfly for about 6 years, until I replaced it last year with the Pageflip Firefly.

I'm pretty happy with it. I read about the AirTurn Duo and I don't remember why at this point, but decided that the PageFlip would be the better choice for me, so I never compared them. But @pianocat it sounds like the problems with the AirTurn Ped have not been resolved in this more recent version. I recommend you return it and get either a PageFlip or the AirTurn Duo.

Sgisela

I have a PageFlip firefly and like it a lot. In my piano group, one of the other members was having issues with her AirTurn device (I think it was too sensitive and would jump a couple pages). Not sure if it was the model, her specific device, or the settings, but I said I really liked mine. She tried mine out and liked it much better than hers. She went ahead and bought a PageFlip firefly and seems to be happy with it.

Anyways, just another perspective…. Mine is close to 5 years old now. It had been having a few issues recently (seemed to be less sensitive), and then it died! I put in new batteries and it’s working like new.

I’m honestly very happy with it, and when it does die a permanent death, I think I will just replace it with the same model.

twocats

Sgisela I've read of cases where people have had issues with both brands, which is not surprising. I think that both are good options. I would have happily kept using my PageFlip if I hadn't thought the Bluetooth was dying, but it turns out that I like the Airturn a little more for the reasons specific to my use preferences 🙂

twocats

ShiroKuro I switched the PageFlip and used the Butterfly for about 6 years, until I replaced it last year with the Pageflip Firefly.

Curious, why did you get a Firefly and not another Butterfly?

ShiroKuro

twocats Curious, why did you get a Firefly and not another Butterfly?

I am embarrassed to say, at this point, I have no recollection!! 😅

I'm pretty sure I read about the differences, maybe read some reviews.... and for whatever reason, decided on the Firefly (although my previous model was a butterfly)

pseudonym58

https://www.pageflip.com/pages/comparison

navindra

I have an earlier version of this Donner pedal.

I have the DMB-1 and I'm sure I didn't pay very much for it.

It's functional but it has these problems:

Doesn't feel very tactile to me with a socked foot on carpet. Not sure if that can be solved though.
It's also pretty small, so harder to find with my foot.
It goes to sleep, which can be annoying.
a. Best case, it wakes up in some seconds after some presses.
b. Worst case, I need to turn it off and on again. Or even worse, fiddle with the tablet.
It's often detected as a keyboard by the OS, so it suppresses the on-screen keyboard by default.
The blinking LED can be very annoying/blinding.

Other than that it works pretty well and universally.

I've been wondering about something better though. I want the pedal to just work and require minimal intervention.

It sounds like the AirTurn would fix problems 3b and 4.

The PageFlip sure looks like a more ergonomic design though and would probably address 1 and 2.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was an AirTurn that looked like a PageFlip?

navindra

While looking around, I came across this review which I quite liked:

It definitely helps understand how these pedals work in practice a little better... especially in terms of the activation point. Coincidentally, this also helps me understand some of my dissatisfaction of the Donner page turner... I have to pretty much press it all the way down before it activates.

This one covers a few other options:

All-in-all, I'm more tempted by the AirTurn Duo 500 for these reasons:

It's very responsive.
It has a configurable sleep time and other settings, which will help.
AirDirect means I can keep it paired directly with the app instead of the OS.

twocats

navindra I like my AirTurn. It has a nice feel under my foot and it's not loud (clicky?) like the PageFlip was. The settings were easy to configure to extend the sleep time.

And also don't discount how annoying it is to deal with batteries (and it's a risk that batteries will die at the wrong time). The USB-C charging feature of the AirTurn is a huge plus for me. I think you should go for it 🙂

MRC

twocats The USB-C charging feature of the AirTurn is a huge plus for me.

For me as well. And the iPad can tell me how much charge is left in the battery.

navindra

twocats I think you should go for it

I'm in! I got the 20% off for BF and I went with the Duo 500.

I'm planning to use AirDirect, although I suspect that will rob me of the nice feature of being able to wake up the sheet reader just by pressing the pedal.

candela Does anybody have experience with any of those page turners that cost a fraction of the price (~ 20-35€), like the Joyo JSP-01 or the Thomann Pageturn Pedal?

I didn't know there was a Thomann pedal, that looks nice! Look at that video above, it has a Wegrower which looks identical to the Joyo you mentioned.

I have a Donner and they have several models which seem to be roughly aligned with the popular models at a fraction of the cost. I think it's functional and does what it says. I do agree that there are diminishing returns vs the jump in price to the expensive models.

I don't think you can go wrong really... these are pretty simple devices with a huge markup on account of supply/demand constraints.

candela

Does anybody have experience with any of those page turners that cost a fraction of the price (~ 20-35€), like the Joyo JSP-01 or the Thomann Pageturn Pedal? Reading reviews at the Thomann site it seems some customers received faulty units of their inhouse model and a few Joyo buyers experience Bluetooth connection errors. While there is a three year warranty, I feel hesitant to buy something that may soon be electronic waste. But the more expensive models don't seem built to last for years and years either ...

twocats

MRC And the iPad can tell me how much charge is left in the battery.

I did not know this!