Review: SoundSource 4
I’m no audiophile, but I know for my needs – the default Sound preference in macOS is… lacking. I want more control. And that’s where Rogue Amoeba’s $29 SoundSource 4 comes in. In a nutshell, SoundSource lets you independently control and adjust all your Mac’s audio levels, right from the convenience of your Mac’s menu bar. With SoundSource, you can see ALL of your Mac’s audio input / output devices and set independent volumes for each of them. SoundSource lets you add custom volume / equalization settings for each of your apps. It also lets you route audio to specific outputs.
For example, I currently have my Mac mini’s system sounds routed through my Mac mini’s internal speaker, and set to a lower volume. Conversely, I prefer to listen to my iTunes music either via bookshelf speakers or my AirPods, each with its own custom volume and equalizer settings. Volume, balance, levels, and even sample rate can be dialed in with SoundSource. This type of granular control over audio is just not possible within macOS.
Below is the main SoundSource interface. In the same screenshot are my custom equalizer settings, dubbed “Riccardo”, for the person who shared his equalizer settings on a macOS forum thread I came upon.
SoundSource includes several equalizer presets. While there are many to choose from, I prefer to use my own. (Side note: I would love to have an easy text entry method to quickly populate all the audio levels without having to use the slider for each.)
Also included is support for Apple’s custom audio effects, should you need them. (I haven’t fiddled with these as yet.)
SoundSource is keyboard shortcut friendly. Below you can see that I have a custom keyboard shortcut applied to invoke the app.
As you might surmise from reading this post, I really like SoundSource 4. I tested it for about a week before buying it. You can try it, too. Be aware that in SoundSource’s trial mode, the audio will degrade after 20 minutes. That’s more than enough time to see if the program is right for you. Rogue Amoeba bills their program as “sound control so good, it ought to be built in”. Based on my experience with SoundSource 4, they’re absolutely right.
-Krishna
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