Audio Routing Software for Mac Podcasters (2026)

Audio routing software for Mac sends audio from one app or device to another. For podcasters, the choice depends on the job: send system audio to a recording input with Soundshine Route, configure a virtual audio driver with BlackHole, combine microphone and app sources with Loopback, or trigger clips with Farrago.

Start by checking what your podcast app already supports. Sharing a clip with a guest, recording a finished mix to a file, and combining several sources into a virtual microphone need different setups.

What audio routing does for a podcast

Virtual audio devices appear in an app’s input or output selector alongside your real microphone and speakers. A routing tool sends audio to the virtual device, and your recording or call app reads that feed as an input.

Before choosing a tool, decide what needs to arrive at that input:

• System audio: the audio playing through your Mac’s output.
• A combined feed: your microphone plus selected apps, with control over their levels or channels.
• Sound effects: clips played from a soundboard, then captured by your recorder or a routing tool.

If you only need a saved file, Soundshine Record captures system audio or selected apps plus microphones into one file. It is a separate app from Route and does not send a virtual microphone feed to your guests.

Mac audio routing software: quick comparison

Each tool serves a different part of the audio path. A soundboard plays clips; a virtual device transports audio; a source mixer combines feeds. Choose the function your recording workflow needs.

Soundshine Route: send system audio to a recording input

Soundshine Route is a menu bar app for macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Turn on Audio Routing, then select Soundshine Microphone as the input in your recording app. Audio playing through the system output reaches that input, and Route passes it through to your listening device too.

For example, you can play a local intro clip on your Mac and capture it in a recorder that accepts a microphone input. See the existing guides to remote podcast audio routing and adding sound effects to a recording for related workflows.

Microphone limit: Route does not automatically mix your physical mic into Soundshine Microphone. Selecting the virtual mic in a call replaces that call’s physical microphone input. To speak and play clips together, you need a separate supported mic input or track, or a mixer that combines those sources.

Route’s free trial includes a periodic spoken audio watermark. A $11.99 one-time license removes it.

Test Route with your recording app

1. Download the Route trial and follow its guided driver installation. Allow microphone access when prompted.
2. Connect your listening device, then turn on Audio Routing in the menu bar.
3. In the destination app’s audio settings, select Soundshine Microphone as the input.
4. Play a short clip, check the destination’s input meter, and make a test recording before your session.

Route sends the system output feed, so other playback can enter the recording too. Pause unrelated audio. For a remote interview, avoid sending the call’s own playback back into the same call’s microphone input, which can return your guest’s voice to them. Check both the clip and your voice during the test.

BlackHole: configure a free virtual audio driver

BlackHole’s official documentation describes a free, open-source driver for passing audio between Mac apps. It appears as an audio device rather than a standalone recording app.

For system-audio recording with monitoring, its Multi-Output Device guide uses Audio MIDI Setup. You send system output to that device, select BlackHole as your recorder’s input, and record the appropriate channels. The Multi-Output Device lets your listening device receive playback too.

Choose this approach if you want to configure the devices yourself. Follow the project’s current setup instructions for sample rates and drift correction. Our BlackHole guide explains the routing and recording choices in more detail.

Loopback: combine microphones and app sources

Loopback lets you add app audio and physical microphones to virtual audio devices. Its visual connections, channel mapping, and monitoring controls help when you need to decide which sources reach each destination.

For a podcast, that can mean combining your microphone, a clip player, and a soundboard into an input your recording app can select. Configure the sources and channels for the recording you need; creating a virtual device does not itself save a recording or guarantee separate tracks in the destination app.

Rogue Amoeba offers a trial. Check its current product page for price, trial limitations, and supported macOS versions before buying.

Farrago: trigger clips during a show

Farrago is a soundboard. You arrange clips in grids or lists, then play sound effects, music, or prerecorded segments using the keyboard, mouse, or supported control hardware.

It handles playback. If your recording app needs those sounds through a microphone input, pair it with a routing tool: capture system playback with Route or BlackHole, or add Farrago as an app source in Loopback. Check Farrago’s official page for its trial and current requirements.

Choose the audio path before the tool

• Send system playback to an input: try Soundshine Route, or configure BlackHole yourself.
• Combine your voice with selected apps: evaluate Loopback’s source and channel controls.
• Trigger effects during a live show: use Farrago with the capture or routing method your recorder needs.
• Save system or app audio plus your mic to one file: look at Soundshine Record.

Check each developer’s requirements against your macOS version. Route currently requires macOS 15 or later. Test the destination app too: its input selection, channel support, and speech processing affect the result. If you use OBS, the existing Mac audio capture guide covers its built-in capture and virtual-input options.

If your job is sending system audio to a microphone input, try Route with your actual recorder before purchasing. The trial lets you check the audio path; buy a license when you want to remove the watermark.