Tuesday, January 29, 2013

How to quickly change audio output in OS X


Apple's Mac systems come with a basic audio controller for playing through the system's internal speakers or through the audio ports to headphones or a stereo system. However, if you would like to use a different controller such as a multi-channel USB interface for recording with GarageBand, Logic, or other use, then you can add it to the system and set it up to be used instead of Apple's controllers.


While useful to have, if you configure your system with multiple interfaces then you might run into an issue where the system could revert to its internal controller after a restart, if your external device loses power or there is some other configuration change to the system.



Holding the Option key when clicking the Audio menu will reveal the available audio devices for both Input and Output.


(Credit: Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)

This is usually not a problem and can be dealt with by going to the Sound system preferences and choosing the device to use for alert sounds, default system output, and default input under the respective tabs for those settings. However, in addition to this approach, the system offers a quicker way to set a specific device for recording or playback.


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