SoundSource overview

SounceSource lets you adjust your input, output, and sound-effects devices and volume settings in mere moments, right from the menu bar. Enable soft play-thru of input devices to your desired output, so you can hear sound coming in through any microphone or other source. With SoundSource, you get fast access to your Mac's most important audio settings.

Instant Audio-Device Switching - With just two clicks, you can switch the audio devices your Mac is using for input, output, and even sound effects.
Fast Volume Control - SoundSource provides easy access to the volume controls for your audio devices as well.
Audio Play-Thru, Too - SoundSource's Play-Thru window makes it easy to monitor the audio coming from any input device.
Comprehensive - SoundSource gives you one place to go for all Mac's most important audio controls.
At Your Fingertips - With SoundSource running in your menu bar, your audio controls are always available.
Lightweight - When you don't need SoundSource, it stays out of your way.

What's new in version 6.1.5

New “Control Center” Special Source
On MacOS 27 (Golden Gate) and higher, the new “Control Center” special source captures audio the Mac receives via AirPlay, as well as volume adjustment blips. This replaces the former “AirPlay Receiver” special source due to changes in Golden Gate. More details on special sources can be found in this support article.
The ARK plugin which powers SoundSource’s audio handling has been updated to version 13.5.5, bringing substantial reductions in latency, among other improvements.
AirPlay reliability has been improved on MacOS 27 (Golden Gate), fixing failed and delayed connections.
SoundSource no longer displays phantom AirPlay devices, which could previously appear with certain device groupings. Of particular note, this fixes an issue introduced by tvOS 27, allowing SoundSource to once again correctly identify the names of Apple TVs paired with HomePods or HomePods Mini, rather than identifying them as “Home Theater”.
Bluetooth battery levels now correctly display for devices connected after launch.
SoundSource now better handles corrupt data files, which could previously result in some devices not appearing as expected in device pickers.
Support for IK Multimedia Audio Units has been improved, fixing an issue where these effects would stop responding to mouse events in menus.
Generic Audio Unit views now refresh correctly when their parameters list changes.
Duplicate capture of an application’s helper processes has been corrected. In rare cases, such as with Microsoft Teams, this could previously result in an inability to mute or otherwise control the parent application.
Reverb tails no longer carry over between application audio stopping and restarting.
Audio Units on MacOS 27 (Golden Gate) will no longer crash when presenting menus. A crash which could occur when scanning for Audio Units at launch has also been fixed.
Mouse drags above the menu bar status item no longer result in SoundSource flickering open and closed.
The “Max Volume” slider in the “Devices” window once again correctly updates while dragging. As well, restarting SoundSource is no longer required for volume changes to take effect.
Navigating the symbol picker with the keyboard now nicely scrolls, as you should expect.
A system popup which could appear when first focusing on a text field appears no longer.
Clicks on menu items when SoundSource is not the key window are no longer missed.

4.6

(71 Reviews of SoundSource)

Comments
User Ratings

Aeschylus

Jan 28, 2026

6.0.2

3.0

Version: 6.0.2

Soundsource v.5.8.13 has a memory leak on my M1 Mini and takes up to 1.2 GB of RAM while running. I downgraded to 5.8.12 and it uses what it always did - around 700 MB of RAM. They want me us to upgrade to v6, but the concern about the memory on my 8 GB Mini makes me wary of doing that. So instead, I installed FineTune, which does almost all of wht SoundSource did, using under 50 MB of RAM after running for a few days. Less filling, tastes great, as the saying goes.

anonymous-parrot-3083088

Jun 9, 2020

4.1.4

0.0

Version: 4.1.4

SoundSource has been updated to 4.2.3

faustinlwambwa4

May 4, 2020

nice plugin

fleur2metaline-1

Sep 8, 2019

A major fonction is missing : the ability to appliing an effet on a specific output would be very useful !

Fariborz

May 22, 2019

4.0.2

Version: 4.0.2

I’ve just upgraded to this software from its previous version and can’t therefore write a concrete review for it. It’s simply impossible to evaluate a program after a few hours of usage. However, computer applications are like shoes. They either fit instantly, and you feel comfortable wearing them from the very beginning or you might just break them in for months and end up with a pair of awkward shoes! Having said that, I’m very pleased with the performance of this new version of SoundSource. Compared to the previous version it now has everything I ever dreamt of to organize my audio sources. The interface is intuitive and very well structured. All commands are where they are supposed to be, and this means a lot to me when switching audio sources continuously. The sound is great and contrary to its competitors it’s rock-solid and doesn’t quit unexpectedly every now and then. As I mentioned before, it’s hard to evaluate all its functions in such a short time therefore, trying is believing! Fariborz AMIRSHAHI - Verona (Italy)