SoundDial 2.0: What's New

Short answer: SoundDial 2.0 adds a per-app equalizer and balance, a different output device per app, lowering other apps during calls, volume profiles, level meters, DAC controls, volume memory and Shortcuts automation. Existing buyers get it as a free update.

SoundDial started with one idea: give each Mac app its own volume slider. Version 2.0 keeps that at the center and builds around it. Each app can now have its own equalizer, balance and output device, calls can lower everything else, and you can save and switch whole mixes. Here's what's in it, one feature at a time.

New in SoundDial 2.0

Per-app equalizer

Each app has its own 10-band EQ at 31, 63, 125, 250 and 500 Hz and 1k, 2k, 4k, 8k and 16k Hz, each adjustable by ±12 dB in 0.5 dB steps. There are 11 presets: Flat, Bass Boost, Bass Cut, Treble Boost, Vocal, Podcast, Loudness, Late Night, Rock, Electronic and Acoustic. Open it with ⋯ → Equalizer & Balance… on an app's row. You could run Bass Boost on Spotify, Vocal on a podcast in Safari and Flat on Zoom, all at once. While an app's EQ is on, SoundDial runs it through a soft limiter that rounds off peaks instead of clipping them hard. More in per-app equalizer on Mac.

Per-app balance

The same panel has a left/right balance slider for each app. It works by lowering one side and never boosts the other. Put Spotify slightly to the right and keep a call in the middle, for example.

Per-app output device (Play Through)

Choose ⋯ → Play Through to send one app to a specific output device, or keep Same as the app (default). Several apps can play on different devices at the same time, so music can go to a USB DAC or speakers while calls stay on your headphones. If a chosen device is missing, the app falls back to its own device, then to the system default.

Lower other apps during calls

The setting Lower other apps during calls is on by default. When a call app or a listed browser starts using audio input, other playing apps play at 30% of their volume (adjustable from 5% to 80% in 5% steps) and come back when the call ends. Call apps include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, Discord, Slack, Webex, Skype, WhatsApp and Telegram; browsers include Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Arc, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi, which covers calls you join on the web. The calling app and other communication apps are never lowered, and the popover shows Call – others lowered. SoundDial only checks whether audio input is in use; it does not read or record microphone audio. One limit: a listed browser using the microphone for something else, such as dictation, also counts.

Volume profiles

Save your current mix with Save current mix as a profile, give it a name and one of 10 icons, and switch with one click. A profile stores each app's volume, mute, EQ and balance. It doesn't store output routing or the call setting. There are no built-in profiles; you make your own.

Volume memory

In Settings > General > When an app opens, choose Remember last and SoundDial brings back each app's volume, mute, balance, EQ, output device and pinned state when the app opens. Choose Always 100% to start fresh.

Level meters

App rows show a level meter for apps you've adjusted and apps being lowered during a call, so you can see what they're doing. An optional setting, Show live meters for every playing app, is off by default; turn it on and SoundDial listens to every playing app while the popover is open, which also makes macOS show its recording indicator.

DAC sample rate and software volume

The output card in the popover shows the current device's format, for example "48 kHz · 32-bit", and a sample-rate menu when the device offers more than one rate (44.1 to 384 kHz). Devices with no volume control of their own get a software volume slider; SoundDial applies that level to every app it controls and remembers it per device. Settings > Audio & Devices > Output Devices lists your devices.

Shortcuts actions and sounddial:// links

The Shortcuts app gets six actions: Set App Volume, Mute App, Mute All Apps, Apply Volume Profile, Set Output Device and Set App Output Device. They work without opening a SoundDial window. For any launcher or script that can open a URL, or open in Terminal, there are commands such as sounddial://volume?app=Spotify&value=40, sounddial://profile?name=Work and sounddial://eq?app=Spotify&preset=bassBoost. See automating per-app volume.

Global hotkeys

Control-Option-S shows or hides SoundDial and Control-Option-M mutes or unmutes all apps shown in the main list. They don't need the Accessibility permission, and you can record different keys, reset them or turn them off.

Guided setup that checks access

A guided setup walks you through the macOS audio permission and then verifies that access works with a real test. If access stops working later, the popover says Audio access isn't working and offers Fix It, and Settings > Setup & Help has Check Again, Open Guided Setup, Email Support and Copy Diagnostics.

Liquid Glass on macOS 26

On macOS 26, SoundDial uses the Liquid Glass look. On macOS 14 and 15 it uses the standard system materials instead.

34 languages

SoundDial 2.0 is available in 34 languages.

Details worth knowing in 2.0

• Helper processes of Chrome, Electron apps and WebKit are grouped under their app, so one slider controls the whole app.
• Rows show chips for what's applied: Ducked, the output device, EQ, L or R, and Applies when it plays for settings waiting on an app that isn't playing yet.
• Keep in List pins an app's row; apps that haven't played for 10 minutes and aren't pinned collapse into Not playing (N).
• Above 100% the slider turns amber, and there's a snap point near 100%.

What stays the same

Each app gets a volume slider from 0% to 200%, with a soft limiter above 100%. SoundDial is sandboxed, has no network entitlement and needs no account. It costs €14.99 one-time purchase with no subscription and no in-app purchases, and it needs macOS 14.2 or later.

A few honest limits remain. Control is per app, not per browser tab. Audio is stereo only, with no surround and no system-wide EQ. Profiles don't store output routing. System UI processes don't get a slider.

For existing users

There's no upgrade fee: if you bought SoundDial, 2.0 is a free update through the Mac App Store. After updating, if the popover shows Finish setup to control app volumes, run the guided setup so SoundDial can confirm audio access. If ⌃⌥S or ⌃⌥M clashes with a shortcut you already use, change it in Settings.

Common questions

Does 2.0 still need the System Audio Recording permission?

Yes. Changing other apps' volume means working with the audio they play, and macOS puts that behind this permission. See the permission explainer.

Do I have to pay again for 2.0?

No. Existing buyers get 2.0 as a free update.

Can I control individual browser tabs now?

No. Control is per app, not per tab, so all Chrome tabs share Chrome's slider.

Is there a subscription in 2.0?

No. SoundDial costs €14.99 one-time purchase, with no subscription and no in-app purchases.

Do profiles include Play Through routing?

No. A profile saves volume, mute, EQ and balance for each app. Routing stays as you set it.

Which macOS version do I need?

macOS 14.2 or later.

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac needs macOS 14.2 or later and costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.