Revamped SoundSource 3.0.0 brings quick audio source & output switching back to Mac after ...

Posted:
in Mac Software edited February 2017
A pair of old OS X audio routing applications have regenerated, and have merged to form the new SoundSource 3.0.0 by Rogue Amoeba -- and AppleInsider takes a look at the offering.




It's not often that a brand-new app is released yet called version 3.0.0. SoundSource 3.0.0 from Rogue Amoeba hasn't been under secret test for two versions, though, this is a new app that replaces two old ones -- one of the same name launched in 2003 and put out to pasture in 2012, and the long-ago deprecated LineIn that croaked in 2005. SoundSource puts an icon in your menubar so you can swiftly change audio settings, without resorting to Apple's settings menu or a buried utility to fiddle around.

Switch from using your Mac's internal microphone to the better USB one you've just plugged in, on-the-fly. Change the volume on your internal or external speakers. Watch the sound levels on any input device so you can avoid distortions.




This is all SoundSource does, and arguably you don't need any of it because you can accomplish every part through macOS Sierra's sound System Preferences.

What's good about SoundSource, what's worth paying for, is its speed. If you're speaking and you can see your podcast app is not recording your voice, one click shows you that you're on the wrong mic. One more click and you've changed that.

Audio routing problems in software can be frustrating, and fast solutions are a boon. Audio problems tend to also happen at the worst of times, like when you've got an interviewee for five minutes and you've just lost three of them because of a mic recording failure. So, just for the speed and convenience, SoundSource is a handy tool.




We'd previously mentioned LineIn. LineIn's job was to take the audio from any input such as a microphone or an instrument and route it out to your Mac's own speakers or any external ones.

What Rogue Amoeba has done with that lineage is revive the old SoundSource, add the old LineIn, and improve them both with the technology developed alongside the company's flagship Audio Hijack 3. SoundSource 3.0.0 is not an app that will radically change your life, but it will slip straight into your audio recording workflow -- and it will make a difference.

SoundSource 3.0.0 costs $10 direct from the maker's website where there's a free trial version too. What's more, if you're an existing user of any apps by Rogue Amoeba then you can get SoundSource for free.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    indyfxindyfx Posts: 321member
    While there are some nice features in this utility (particularly loopback), selecting sound input and output from the menu bar is a basic MacOS functionality: Turn on "Show volume in the menu bar" (most people have it on already) in system preferences and then use option click to click the sound icon in the menu. You will have a menu of all of the system recognized inputs and outputs and can select them "on the fly"
  • Reply 2 of 9
    lmaclmac Posts: 206member
    Thanks for the tip! I used to love SoundSource until it broke a few OS versions back. I just upgraded my Airfoil license and got Soundsource for free. If you have a lot of inputs and outputs, SoundSource is much nicer than Apple's built-in sound control, even with the Option-click on the Sound icon in the menubar that not many people know about.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    shapednoiseshapednoise Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    FWIW:
    LineIn is still working perfectly here on 10.11.6
  • Reply 4 of 9
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I'll take a look at this but SoundFlower has kept working for me all these years. 
  • Reply 5 of 9
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    MacPro said:
    I'll take a look at this but SoundFlower has kept working for me all these years. 
    I like SoundFlower very much myself, but it is extraordinary overkill for most users.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    MacPro said:
    I'll take a look at this but SoundFlower has kept working for me all these years. 
    I like SoundFlower very much myself, but it is extraordinary overkill for most users.
    Sorry, did you mean SoundFlower is or Sound Source is overkill?  SoundFlower is pretty simplistic and in the background for me to be honest.  It is required for certain things I mess with although these days Logic Pro X seems to have become very adept at routing various things (e.g. I use Midi Guitar with Logic) these days which is thanks to the vast improvements in macOS core audio.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    MacPro said:
    MacPro said:
    I'll take a look at this but SoundFlower has kept working for me all these years. 
    I like SoundFlower very much myself, but it is extraordinary overkill for most users.
    Sorry, did you mean SoundFlower is or Sound Source is overkill?  SoundFlower is pretty simplistic and in the background for me to be honest.  It is required for certain things I mess with although these days Logic Pro X seems to have become very adept at routing various things (e.g. I use Midi Guitar with Logic) these days which is thanks to the vast improvements in macOS core audio.
    As I stated, SoundFlower.

    Just because it is simple does not mean that it is not overkill for most users.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    ylonylon Posts: 49member
    Is SoundSource, in any way, better than AudioMate?
  • Reply 9 of 9
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    ylon said:
    Is SoundSource, in any way, better than AudioMate?
    Is AudioMate supported any more?
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