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Using AirPlay and Bluetooth devices with SoundSource

When using AirPlay and Bluetooth hardware for audio playback on your Mac, you may notice that these devices do not always behave the way standard, plugged-in audio outputs do. Read on for details on what to expect with this hardware.

AirPlay devices

When you set an AirPlay device your system’s output, MacOS will send all of the Mac’s audio to that device. With AirPlay support found in SoundSource, you can instead redirect a single app’s audio to an AirPlay device.

SoundSource’s AirPlay support builds on technology provided by MacOS itself, and so includes the capability to connect to AirPlay 2–based devices. This includes third-party set top boxes and smart TVs.

Playing to multiple AirPlay devices

With the Output Groups feature in SoundSource, you can can create a group containing multiple audio output devices, including multiple AirPlay speakers. When an output group is set as your system output, audio will play through all devices in that group simultaneously. This is a great way to fill your home with sound from multiple AirPlay speakers.

Bluetooth devices

It is also possible to use Bluetooth devices for per-application output. To start, the Bluetooth device must be connected to your Mac, via the Bluetooth section of System Settings. Once the device is connected, it will appear in SoundSource’s output selectors.

AirPods special-case

Before AirPods and other W1/H1-powered Apple & Beats headphones are connected to the Mac, they will appear only in the Output and Input selectors in SoundSource’s System section. After the device is connected, it will also appear in the per-application output selectors.

More information in our manual

For additional information about managing audio devices, please see the Audio Devices page in the SoundSource manual.