Support → Loopback

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Audio channel handling in Loopback

Generally speaking, Rogue Amoeba’s applications use stereo audio pipelines, rather than multi-channel audio formats such as 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Atmos.

Loopback's virtual audio devices support up to 64 channels each. Channels can be dedicated to any combination of audio from application sources, physical input devices, and other Loopback virtual devices.

If your use of Loopback requires more than the default stereo channels included in a virtual audio device, click the Add (+) button at the top of the Output Channels column to add the desired number of output channels.

When input devices are added as sources in Loopback, the available input channels will display in the Sources column. To create connections between source channels and output channels in the virtual device, click and drag to draw them between the two blocks.

Audio output from applications added directly to the Sources column of a Loopback device is captured in stereo, but multi-channel pass-thru of audio is also possible. Including the Pass-Thru source in the Sources column of a Loopback device makes that virtual device available as an audio output device in other applications running on your Mac. In applications that output multi-channel audio, such as digital audio workstations (DAWs) and video editors, you can use in-app audio output device selectors to select a Loopback Pass-Thru device.

Users of multi-channel audio sources intended for applications like surround sound can create a 6-channel device with a Pass-Thru source to approximate a surround sound output for the app.