How to get the most out of your Mac’s sound

Florian Bodoky

16.4.2026

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

MacOS offers limited audio control options for connected devices. But without fine-tuning, even the best speakers, headphones and microphones can quickly sound too quiet, too muffled or too shrill. Here’s how to change that.

My Macs are my hub for everything: work, video calls, podcasts, listening to music, but also watching videos or gaming. My hardware setup’s well-equipped – including a DAC. However, macOS comes with a fairly basic audio system by default. I can select the audio input and output sources and adjust the volume. That’s it.

But I want more: customisable volume, a systemwide equaliser, flexible routing and ideally audio presets I can switch between at the touch of a button. That’s exactly where this tutorial comes in. Of course, you can download individual apps for each device in theory, say for your microphone, headphones, etc. But I prefer a more centralised setup.

The idea is to break down the entire audio environment into individual layers at the software level and control each layer separately. I want a system that adapts to my daily routine: focused work, clear calls, personalised sound and video quality – all in a few simple steps. For this, we’ll need a few little helpers that aren’t all that well known.

Homebrew: the core of my software setup

Homebrew is a package manager and the foundation of my entire setup. Instead of looking for, downloading, installing and updating individual programs online or in the App Store, I manage them centrally via the Terminal using Homebrew. This way, I can update all components at any time with a single command. This doesn’t have to be how you do it, though – you can also download and install these tools the old-fashioned way.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fssL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" 

This command downloads the official Homebrew installation script from GitHub and runs it directly.

• Then I enter this code and run it:

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)" 

This saves my Homebrew settings and loads the tool every time I open the Terminal.

Note: since Homebrew accesses my system, I’m prompted for a system password. So, I type it into the Terminal. Confusingly, nothing is displayed in the Terminal. Neither letters nor those circles that usually appear when I enter my password. I simply type the password and press Enter.

Background Music: control each app separately

Background Music is the first component in my audio setup. It solves what I consider to be a fundamental problem with macOS: all apps share the same volume. Here’s what bothers me during everyday use: calls are too quiet, music is too loud and notifications are annoying. With Background Music, I can customise settings for each app and set priorities. This makes managing my audio much more enjoyable.

To install it, I enter the following line in the terminal:

brew install --cask background-music

eqMac – my equaliser

eqMac is a key component for sound quality, since macOS itself doesn’t offer a systemwide equaliser. With eqMac, I can fine-tune my entire audio signal – no matter which app is running. The key point here is that I use the equaliser for fine-tuning, not as a fix-it tool. Small, targeted adjustments usually lead to significantly better results than extreme settings. The app can be installed via the Terminal:

brew install --cask eqmac

After launching the program, I need a special audio driver – the prompt appears automatically after installing eqMac, and all I have to do is click Install. Next, I select an output device and enable the 10-band equaliser. I create several presets for different use cases. Certain features are only available if you purchase the premium version (30 francs for one year, 40 francs for a lifetime licence). But the basic equaliser feature’s available for free.

I click on the small plus icon, name my preset Music and click Save. Here’s how I adjust the equaliser for music on my headphones: next to the equaliser, there’s a small pencil icon. I can also enter values manually there if I ever struggle to use the small sliders. On the other side, there’s a headphone icon. Behind that, there’s already plenty preset equaliser presets tailored to specific manufacturers and models…

Raycast – great features, practical for everyday use

Raycast is the control centre for my entire system. While other tools enhance audio, Raycast ensures I can use those features quickly and efficiently. With shortcuts and scripts, I can activate entire audio profiles with a single keystroke. Very useful. Raycast can do much more, but that’s not what we’re focusing on today.

I also installed Raycast via Homebrew:

brew install --cask raycast

After installation, I create a folder where Raycast saves the scripts I make. I do this using the Terminal:

mkdir -p ~/raycast-settings (or any similar name)

Raycast then walks me through the setup process, during which I grant the necessary permissions. This gives Raycast access to other apps and processes, allowing it to do its job. After that, I create my audio scripts. I’ve already made several presets in the equaliser – for listening to music, work, for watching movies and so on. This way, I don’t have to go through the trouble of launching them manually in the equaliser. I’m telling the script to activate the appropriate preset using a keyboard shortcut.

Here’s an example: I want to listen to music right now. When I press Option+O, the preset loads immediately. And here’s how to do it: I create a preset in eqMac and save it under a unique name, making sure to note the exact spelling. Next, I create a file in the Terminal for my music preset:

nano ~/raycast-scripts/eqMac-Musik.sh (name the part before .sh exactly the same as your preset).

After that, things get a little more complicated. The file eqmac-Musik.sh was created in the directory I specified above. I open the file in a text editor and paste the following script into it:

# !/bin/bash
open -a "eqMac"
osascript <<’APPLESCRIPT’
tell application "System Events"
delay 0.8
tell process "eqMac"
set frontmost to true
try
click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
on error
try
click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 1
on error
display notification "eqMac menu icon was not found." with title "Raycast / eqMac"
return
end try
end try
delay 0.4
try
click menu item "EQ Music" of menu 1 of menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
on error
try
click menu item "Music" of menu 1 of menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
on error
display notification "Preset not found. Proof exact name in eqMac." with title "Raycast / eqMac"
end try
end try
end tell
end tell
APPLESCRIPT

I’m saving my script to the file. Next, I need to import the folder containing the script into Raycast. To do this, I look for Settings, Extensions and Script Commands in Raycast. There, I click the plus icon, select Add Script Directory, and choose ~/raycast-scripts (or whatever name you gave it). Then I go back to the Extensions menu and enter the shortcut.

For the «eqMac Music Preset» entry, I enter Option+O under Hotkey (but you can use something else there as well). Now, when I press this keyboard shortcut, eqMac opens automatically and my equaliser preset loads. Play that funky music!

Florian Bodoky

Editor

Florian.Bodoky@digitecgalaxus.ch

I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue. more

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