Hidden features for controlling audio on an Apple Mac
You might think that adjusting the audio volume on an Apple Mac is straightforward, but there are features you may not be aware of that can make life easier. See the ways to set the audio.
The Mac's audio settings are in System Preferences, so go to the Apple menu in the top left corner, select System Preferences and then click the Sound icon. The Sound properties window is displayed.
Adjust sound effects volume
On the Sound Effects tab is a list of all the alert sounds. These are system sounds and they are heard when certain events occur, like notifications, warnings, message boxes and so on. If you want to hear what each sound is like, just select it in the list after turning up the volume of course.
Notice that there are two volume sliders and the top one is for system alert sounds, and the bottom one is the audio volume for everything else. Some people want to be alerted to events even if they are listening to music or watching a video, so they set a high alert volume so alerts can still be heard over the top of any other audio that may be playing.
Some people don't like system sounds and they drag the Alert volume slider to the left to quieten them. To completely silence alert sounds so they won't ruin your enjoyment of music for example, drag the slider all the way to the left and clear Play user interface sound effects.
Sound controls in the menu bar
There is a tick box at the bottom of the preferences window to display or hide the volume control (speaker icon) in the menu bar. You have probably discovered that clicking the speaker icon in the menu bar shows a volume control, but which one? The alert volume or output volume?
In fact, it is the output volume that is changed and it does not change the alert volume. With old versions of macOS, back when it was called OS X, you used to be able to Shift+click the speaker icon and change the alert volume. This no longer appears to work, at least on my Mac. Try it and see.
Sound output options
As you can see from the previous screenshot, the output device can be selected from the menu bar. It can also be selected in System Preferences > Sound > Output.
Some people will only have Internal Speakers as an output option, but many people will have external devices like Apple TV, HomePods, AirPods or maybe even third party devices. Select the output device on this tab.
Audio input options
In Sound in System Preferences are Output and Input tabs. The Output tab is for selecting from devices like the internal speakers, earphones, Apple TV and whatever output devices you have. The Input tab is for selecting the microphone and input volume. This is a live display, so you can speak to your Mac and see the input level. Adjust the input volume slider so that the input level is mid way while you speak normally.
Using these controls is fairly obvious and the Use ambient noise reduction option is useful for minimising background noise. What you may not know is that you can access the input and output devices list from the menu bar. It is a hidden feature. Hold down the Option/Alt key and click the speaker icon in the menu bar and a slightly different panel is displayed to normal. It is a hidden feature.
Option+click adds an Input section to the menu. Most people only have the built in microphone, but some may have other alternative inputs and third party microphones and this is a quick way to select them.
Sound in the Control Center
An iOS-like Control Center was introduced into macOS Big Sur and clicking the two switches icon at the right side of the toolbar shows it. It contains audio controls for adjusting the volume.
Click and drag the slider to adjust the audio output volume. Let the mouse over over the Sound section in the Control Center and an arrow appears on the right. Click it for more options.
It doesn't offer anything that is not available on the speaker icon. However, if the menu bar is crowded and you want to save space, hide the speaker icon and just use the Control Center.
The Sound section of the Control Center can be shown or hidden in System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar. Select the Sound section on the left and tick the checkbox on the right: Show in Menu Bar. Just under this is a menu with always and when active. Choosing when active is useful and you only see it when audio is actually playing, like music or a video.
Stop the startup sound
Not all Macs have a startup sound, but if yours has, are you annoyed by it? Turn off the sound before you shut down and you will not hear it. The easiest way is with the keyboard hotkey. This is not the same key on all Macs, so look for the speaker symbols on the function keys on the top row. Mine is on the F10.
You can also silence the startup sound in System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects. Clear the Play sound on startup checkbox.
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