How to Play Audio Through Multiple Speakers on a Mac

Trying to play Mac audio through wired and Bluetooth speakers at the same time? macOS normally sends sound to one output, even when several devices are connected.

Audio MIDI Setup solves the problem by combining your speakers or headphones into a Multi-Output Device. It’s built into macOS, costs nothing, and works with 3.5mm, USB, USB-C, and Bluetooth audio devices.

These steps apply to macOS Catalina 10.15 and later, including the current macOS 26 (Tahoe). Some labels can vary slightly between releases.

Before You Create a Multi-Output Device

Connect every speaker or pair of headphones you want to use. A wired device may connect through the headphone jack, a USB-C audio adapter, or a Thunderbolt audio interface.

For Bluetooth audio, open System Settings > Bluetooth, find the device, and confirm that its status says Connected.

Next, open System Settings > Sound and look under Output & Input. Both devices should appear as separate outputs before you continue.

If the Bluetooth device is paired but absent from the output list, disconnect and reconnect it. Pairing alone doesn’t make it available to Audio MIDI Setup.

Create a Multi-Output Device on Your Mac

Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup guide covers the same built-in feature. The setup takes a few minutes.

1. Press Cmd + Space, type Audio MIDI Setup, and press Return. You can also open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup.

2. If you don’t see a list of audio devices, choose Window > Show Audio Devices.

3. Click the + button in the lower-left corner and select Create Multi-Output Device.

4. Select the new Multi-Output Device in the sidebar. Double-click its name if you want something more useful, such as “Desk Speakers.”

5. In the right pane, select the Use checkbox beside every output you want to include.

6. Choose a Primary Device or Master Device, depending on the label shown by your macOS version. Start with your wired output as the primary device.

7. Enable Drift Correction for each non-primary output. This keeps the devices’ audio clocks aligned during longer playback.

Drift Correction handles gradual timing differences. It can’t remove the fixed delay introduced by Bluetooth codecs, so wired and Bluetooth speakers may still sound slightly out of sync.

Select the Multi-Output Device

You can activate the setup from Audio MIDI Setup or System Settings.

Control-click the Multi-Output Device in the sidebar, then choose Use This Device for Sound Output. You can also route alerts through it if you want system sounds on every speaker.

Alternatively, open System Settings > Sound and select your Multi-Output Device under Output.

Play a song or video to test the setup. Audio should come from every device included in the Multi-Output Device.

Understand the Volume and Sync Limitations

macOS may disable its main volume slider and keyboard volume keys while a Multi-Output Device is active. That’s poor design, especially when one speaker is much louder than another.

Adjust the level using each speaker’s physical controls or the volume setting inside the playback app. Some devices also expose individual controls in Audio MIDI Setup, but that depends on their hardware and drivers.

Bluetooth delay is another limitation. Drift Correction prevents the outputs from drifting farther apart, but it doesn’t cancel Bluetooth latency.

If the delay is distracting, try these options:

• Set the Bluetooth output as the primary device and enable Drift Correction for the wired output.
• Use two wired outputs when watching video or monitoring live audio.
• Use speakers with their own synchronized multi-room system.
• Keep physically separated speakers far enough apart that a small delay is less noticeable.

For background music across different rooms, the delay may not matter. Two speakers sitting beside the same monitor will expose it immediately.

Fix a Silent or Missing Output

Confirm Every Output Is Selected

Open Audio MIDI Setup, choose the Multi-Output Device, and check the Use column. Reconnecting a USB or Bluetooth device can sometimes leave it unavailable until you select it again.

Also confirm that System Settings > Sound still has the Multi-Output Device selected.

Reconnect the Bluetooth Device

Open System Settings > Bluetooth and verify that the device says Connected. If it doesn’t:

1. Disconnect and reconnect the device.
2. Turn Bluetooth off and back on.
3. Remove the device and pair it again if reconnecting fails.

Return to Audio MIDI Setup after the connection is active.

Recreate the Multi-Output Device

A saved configuration can stop working after hardware is disconnected or renamed. Select the Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup, click the – button, and create it again.

I’d skip this step unless the connection and checkbox fixes fail. Rebuilding takes care of stale device entries, but you’ll lose that configuration.

Reopen Sound Settings

If the Multi-Output Device exists in Audio MIDI Setup but doesn’t appear under System Settings > Sound, quit and reopen System Settings. Restart the Mac if the output remains missing.

Route Different Apps to Different Speakers

A Multi-Output Device sends the same system mix to every selected output. It can’t send Music to a Bluetooth speaker while Safari plays through your MacBook speakers.

For per-app routing, you’ll need a virtual audio routing app such as Loopback or Audio Hijack. These tools can assign apps to different hardware outputs and provide separate volume controls, but they’re paid solutions aimed at more involved setups.

Dedicated Mac multi-output utilities are another option if you switch speaker combinations regularly. They handle presets and device selection more cleanly than Audio MIDI Setup, though the built-in method is enough for occasional use.

Switch Back to Your Mac Speakers

Open System Settings > Sound, then select MacBook Speakers, Mac Speakers, or Internal Speakers under Output. The exact name depends on your Mac.

You can also choose a single output from Control Center’s sound controls. That’s the quickest way to stop multi-device playback without deleting your configuration.

To remove the setup completely, open Audio MIDI Setup, select the Multi-Output Device, and click the – button. Your physical audio devices remain untouched.

The built-in workaround solves dual-speaker playback without extra hardware. It has awkward volume controls and Bluetooth can lag, but for music across two outputs, you’re no longer dealing with macOS forcing you to choose only one.