Output Jockey
Your Mac. Your sound.
Restore your Mac’s volume keys for Multi-Output Devices, aggregate devices and HDMI or DisplayPort speakers. Balance your sound. Record any selected output to M4A or WAV. All from the menu bar.
macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later · Apple silicon & Intel
Your audio controls, always close at hand.
Install the app. Use the speakers you already have.
Local processing and recording. Your audio is never uploaded.
That crossed-out volume symbol?
A Multi-Output Device lets your Mac play through several speakers at once, but macOS gives it no master volume control. Many HDMI and DisplayPort monitors, and some aggregate devices, also expose no volume control that macOS can adjust. Your keyboard’s volume keys do nothing, even though the audio is playing.
Output Jockey adds software volume control for those setups, with one master level, mute and an optional volume indicator that actually moves. Outputs that already support macOS volume control keep their normal keyboard behaviour.
Set up a Multi-Output Device
Keep what you’re listening to
Capture audio playing through your chosen output, including a Multi-Output Device, without recording your microphone. You get one clean stereo mix, even when several speakers are playing.
Save a compact M4A or a lossless WAV in a folder you choose. Recording happens before speaker volume, equaliser and crossover settings, so turning down your speakers does not turn down the recording.
Small app. Complete control.
Choose your output and microphone, change levels, set each speaker’s sound, or start a recording. Output Jockey runs quietly in the menu bar, with no Dock icon.
Give unfamiliar hardware names a useful label, save your preferences and choose whether to launch at login.
More than a working volume key
From a monitor with speakers to a desktop sound system, give each output the attention it needs.
Volume up, volume down and mute for outputs macOS cannot control. Use the menu-bar slider, and save a separate level for each physical output in a Multi-Output Device.
Volume & speaker levelsSend low frequencies to a subwoofer and the rest to your speakers. Add a per-output equaliser preset for music, speech or smaller speakers.
Crossover & equaliserSet your preferred output for an app. When it starts playing, Output Jockey switches the Mac’s system output to match. Disconnected devices are skipped.
Automatic app outputsPress Record to capture the selected output’s clean stereo mix as M4A or lossless WAV, before speaker volume, EQ and crossover processing.
Record system audioDirect from the developer
A direct website download, with in-app updates powered by Sparkle. Install once; updates arrive automatically.
Download for MacmacOS 26 (Tahoe) or later · Apple silicon & Intel
Developer ID signed and notarized · No audio driver required
Run the installed copy from Applications so updates and Launch at Login can work. Eject the disk image afterwards. See Output Jockey Support for installation help.
What permissions does it need?The user guide
Start with your output. Add the controls you need. Everything else is optional.
01 / GETTING STARTED
02 / PERMISSIONS
If Output Jockey is missing from the Accessibility list, add the app from Applications using the instructions in the setup window. The setup window opens automatically at every launch until permissions are granted. After granting a permission in System Settings, return to the setup window and press I've Done It. You can use the menu slider without enabling the replacement indicator.
03 / MULTI-OUTPUT SETUP
A Multi-Output Device combines your existing outputs. Create it in Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup, then let Output Jockey handle its master volume.
Each physical output gets its own level. Roles and crossover controls appear when the chosen output contains more than one physical output.
04 / VOLUME & BALANCE
For a Multi-Output Device, an aggregate device or an HDMI/DisplayPort output with no native volume control, your keyboard’s volume and mute keys now control Output Jockey’s master level. The menu slider gives you the same control.
Use each physical output’s level slider to balance speakers within a Multi-Output Device. The master level scales them together, so their relative balance stays intact.
Built-in speakers and most USB devices already work with the Mac’s volume keys. They keep that native behaviour; Output Jockey’s slider adjusts the processed audio level separately.
Choose Options → Device Labels… to give speakers or microphones recognisable names. Labels save automatically, stay inside Output Jockey and survive reconnection. Use Custom Device Labels switches back to original names without deleting your labels.
05 / EQ & CROSSOVER
Choose a Sound preset for each output: Flat, Acoustic, Bass Booster, Dance, Electronic, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Spoken Word or Small Speakers. It applies to audio following the selected system output. Flat bypasses the equaliser.
For a Multi-Output Device with speakers and a subwoofer, choose a Role for each physical output:
Choose 60, 80, 100 or 120 Hz under Crossover. Start at 80 Hz and adjust for your speakers. If your subwoofer has a crossover knob, set it to its highest setting to avoid stacking filters.
Role and Sound settings are saved for the output setup: a speaker can use one preset on its own and another inside a Multi-Output Device. Levels are shared by physical device. Routing latency depends on the connected hardware.
06 / APP OUTPUTS
About two seconds of sustained playback selects the app’s output. The most recently started app takes priority; when it stops playing, another active app can take over. When everything stops, the current output stays selected. Short pauses do not constantly switch devices.
Disconnected outputs are skipped and their rules remain saved. Automatic switching pauses while you record. Manually choosing an output holds it until a configured app starts or resumes playback.
07 / RECORDING
Choose Options → Recording → Format for M4A (the default) or WAV (lossless), and Choose Recording Folder… to change the destination. Finish the current recording before changing either.
The file contains one clean stereo mix before master volume, speaker levels, EQ and crossover. Mono is saved as stereo; for multichannel sources, the first two channels are used. The live meter shows processed output level, so it is not a meter of the recording file.
A red menu-bar dot and elapsed time show when recording is active. Changing outputs, switching processing off, restarting the audio engine or quitting finishes the file. Recording never resumes automatically. Files stay in your chosen folder until you delete them in Finder; resetting settings keeps them.
08 / UPDATES & PREFERENCES
Output Jockey uses Sparkle to check the Siblify website for updates about once a day. Choose Options → Check for Updates… to check now, or turn off Check for Updates Automatically to check only when you choose.
Update checks are ordinary requests to our website. They do not upload your audio, recordings, device labels or app-output rules. See the privacy policy for details.
Enable Options → Launch at Login if you want Output Jockey available after signing in. macOS may ask you to approve it in System Settings → General → Login Items.
To clear saved audio settings, labels, app-output rules and local diagnostics, choose Options → Reset Saved Settings… and confirm Reset and Quit. Recording files, macOS permissions and Login Items are managed separately.
A little help
Setup advice and fixes for the things that can get in the way of your sound.
Select the output playing the audio in Output Jockey and press Record. Choose a destination folder on first use, then press Stop to finish. You can save M4A or lossless WAV. It records that output’s clean stereo mix, rather than microphone input, and a Multi-Output Device produces one file.
Follow the Mac audio recording guideA Multi-Output Device combines physical outputs but exposes no master volume control for macOS to adjust. Output Jockey supplies that control in software, giving you one keyboard-controlled level plus a separate level for each speaker.
Follow the multi-output setup guideYes, when the monitor’s audio output exposes no native volume control, Output Jockey can control the processed audio using your Mac’s volume keys and its slider. Select that output and switch processing on. Your monitor’s own hardware volume remains separate.
Choose an available output from the Mac’s audio-device list, including built-in speakers, headphones, USB interfaces and monitor audio. Multi-Output Devices combine several physical outputs. Hardware and connection latency vary; speaker roles and crossover require more than one physical output in the selected setup.
Check that the intended output is selected, processing is on and Output Jockey has Input Monitoring permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Use Options → Set Up Permissions… and press I've Done It in the setup window after granting permissions. Devices that already support native volume control keep macOS’s volume keys.
Enable Options → Replace macOS Volume Indicator and grant Accessibility from Set Up Permissions. Return to the setup window and press I've Done It after granting the permission. Without indicator replacement, the slider still works and Input Monitoring can still provide volume-key listening.
Switch Output Jockey off to return to normal playback. Check the selected output, speaker levels and System Audio Recording permission. Try switching it on again or Options → Restart Audio Engine. For a multi-output setup, check that the right speakers have the right roles and are still connected.
Changing the system output elsewhere or disconnecting the selected device hands playback back to macOS and disables processing. Reconnect the device if needed, select it under Output and switch Output Jockey back on.
App Outputs switches the Mac’s system output when a configured app plays. It does not route several apps independently at the same time. Other apps following the system output move with it. Automatic switching pauses during recording.
No. Processing happens live on your Mac. Audio files are saved only when you press Record, and are kept locally in the folder you choose. Audio is not uploaded. The app needs no account and includes no advertising or analytics. Sparkle update checks contact our website; the privacy policy explains those requests.
Download Output Jockey directly from this website. The release is Developer ID signed and notarized. Sparkle offers updates from within the app; choose Options → Check for Updates… to check manually. Install in Applications so the app can replace itself when you accept an update.
If you want to clear its saved preferences first, choose Options → Reset Saved Settings… and confirm Reset and Quit. Move the app from Applications to the Bin. Remove it from Privacy & Security permission lists and Login Items in System Settings. Your recordings remain in their chosen folder; delete them separately in Finder.
Made by an independent developer
Output Jockey is developed by Michael Sibley at Siblify. For help, tell me your macOS and app versions, the audio devices you use, and what you expected to happen.
