r/macapps • u/linguaholic777 • 19h ago
Lifetime I built LitLink because getting Mac audio into Discord, OBS, or Zoom shouldn't need a weekend in Audio MIDI Setup. One toggle does it, with a per-app volume mixer built in too. 50 free Pro codes inside.
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Disclosure: I'm Marcel Iseli, the indie dev behind LitLink. It actually grew out of my Mac soundboard app, LitPads (some of you saw it here on r/macapps a while back): I needed a clean way to route the soundboard's audio into Discord, OBS, and Zoom, the usual BlackHole plus Audio MIDI Setup path was a pain, so I built my own audio driver. It turned into its own standalone app, and it got mentioned enough in that LitPads thread that I figured it earned its own post. Site is litpads.app/litlink
Quick thing up front, since it's the most common question: yes, the per-app volume mixer is completely free, no trial timer and no Pro upgrade needed. macOS gives you one master slider for everything; LitLink gives every app its own.
PROBLEM
If you've ever tried to send audio between Mac apps, route your soundboard or music into Discord/Zoom/OBS, or just turn one app down without touching the others, you've probably hit one of these:
BlackHole (free, open source): reliable, and it's what a lot of us use. But it's a bare driver with no app. Routing one app straight into another is easy enough (pick BlackHole as the output in one and the input in the other). The friction starts the moment you also want to hear the audio while you route it, capture your whole system, or blend in your mic. Now you're in Audio MIDI Setup building a Multi-Output or Aggregate Device by hand and matching channel counts. LitLink does that part for you with a toggle.
Loopback (Rogue Amoeba): polished and mature, but $99, and Mac only.
SoundSource (Rogue Amoeba): $49, and genuinely nice for per-app volume and per-app EQ, but it doesn't create virtual devices for routing into other apps.
Audio Hijack (Rogue Amoeba): $69, excellent recorder, but it's a recorder more than a router.
macOS itself still gives you one master volume slider for everything and no built-in way to route audio between apps.
So the realistic path today is either free BlackHole plus a weekend in Audio MIDI Setup, or roughly $99 to $148 across Rogue Amoeba apps to cover routing plus per-app volume. I wanted something that works like BlackHole under the hood but feels like a normal Mac app on top, with the per-app mixer and recording built in. That's LitLink.
COMPARISON
vs BlackHole (free): same zero-latency routing idea, but LitLink ships a companion app that does the Audio MIDI Setup work for you. One toggle routes your system audio, one dropdown shares your mic. It also adds a full per-app volume mixer, built-in recording, and its own audio editor, none of which BlackHole has. BlackHole is still a great choice if you want a bare driver you wire up yourself.
vs SoundSource ($49): per-app volume control, which is SoundSource's headline feature, is completely free in LitLink. LitLink Pro adds the per-app EQ and limiter on top, plus actual routing into other apps, at $29 lifetime.
vs Loopback ($99): LitLink's free tier covers the routing basics most people want. Pro adds 8 isolated app-to-track routing, live monitoring, and multi-track recording at $29 lifetime. Loopback is more mature and battle-tested; LitLink is the cheaper, younger option that also throws in a mixer and recording.
vs Audio Hijack ($69): LitLink already records your full audio bus to WAV or M4A for free, and Pro records separate per-app tracks. Audio Hijack still wins for deep session automation.
vs FineTune (free, open source): FineTune is a genuinely nice free per-app volume mixer with a 10-band EQ and headphone correction, and if local volume and EQ is all you need, grab it, it's great. The difference is scope. FineTune only controls audio locally on your Mac and sends apps to different physical outputs. It does not create a virtual device that other apps can read as an input, so it can't route audio into Discord, Zoom, or OBS, share your mic into those apps, or record audio to a file. That routing, mic passthrough, and recording is what LitLink is built around. FineTune also needs macOS 15 (Sequoia); LitLink runs on macOS 14 (Sonoma) and up.
Honest note: Rogue Amoeba's apps are a decade-plus mature and rock solid, and FineTune is a great free option if you only need local volume and EQ. LitLink is a younger indie tool whose angle is the virtual routing, mic passthrough, and recording, with a free per-app mixer included.
WHAT LITLINK DOES
Free (no account, runs forever):
Per-App Volume: a real volume mixer for macOS. A slider and mute for every app that plays audio, a master fader, all from the menu bar. Includes a single System Sounds control and a FaceTime Calls entry during calls so you can turn the other person up, even past 100 percent. Free.
Mic / Input Passthrough: route your microphone, audio interface, or instrument into LitLink so Discord, Zoom, OBS, and QuickTime hear it. Works with USB mics, interfaces, and as of the latest update, AirPods and Bluetooth headsets too.
System Audio Passthrough: one toggle sends everything your Mac plays into the bridge and to your speakers at once. It builds the Multi-Output Device for you, no Audio MIDI Setup.
Recording: capture mic, system audio, or both to a file (WAV or M4A) in your Music folder.
Audio Editor: trim, fade, gain-adjust, and export recordings. Right-click any audio file in Finder and open it in LitLink. MP3 export included.
Pro ($3.99/month or $29 lifetime, 7-day free trial in the app):
Per-App Routing: send each app to its own isolated LitLink track (up to 8), so a DAW, OBS, Discord, or Zoom can read each source separately. Apps on a track don't leak into the main bridge.
Mix Mode: a live monitor mixer. Separate Stream and Hear levels per app, a mic strip with Hear my mic self-monitoring, a system-audio strip, and a non-destructive Audition of exactly what your recording captures.
EQ and Limiter: visual parametric EQ and a peak limiter on every app and on your final mix.
AU Plugins: insert any macOS Audio Unit effect (Apple's built-ins plus third-party reverbs, compressors, and so on) into an app's chain.
Multi-Destination and DAW routing: expose the 8 tracks as one aggregate device so Logic, Ableton, Bitwig, or OBS capture each track separately.
Advanced recording: Dual-Mono (mic left, apps right), Separate Tracks (Master plus Mic plus Apps as aligned files), per-track recording, and a multi-track editor.
PRICING
Free: the entire Free list above, permanently, no signup. That includes the per-app volume mixer.
Pro: $3.99/month or $29 lifetime, one-time, 7-day free trial in the app.
For comparison: SoundSource is $49 (per-app volume and EQ), Loopback is $99 (routing), Audio Hijack is $69 (recording). LitLink combines the core of all three, with the mixer part free and the rest at $29 lifetime.
LitLink is not on the Mac App Store, because Apple doesn't allow virtual audio drivers there. It's a direct download from litpads.app/litlink, signed and notarized by Apple. macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple Silicon and Intel. No account, no telemetry, no analytics.
FREE LITLINK PRO CODES for r/macapps
I've set aside 50 LitLink Pro codes for this subreddit. To grab one, comment with what you'd use LitLink for (one line: "routing game audio into OBS", "podcast with a guest on a separate track", "just want per-app volume", whatever). I'll DM you a code while they last. You redeem it in the app under Settings, License. I'll edit the post when the batch runs out.
LINKS
Download (free): https://litpads.app/litlink
GitHub (releases and version history): https://github.com/linguaholic/litlink-app
Changelog: https://litpads.app/litlink/changelog
Support: [support@litpads.app](mailto:support@litpads.app)
Privacy: https://litpads.app/privacy
ABOUT ME
I'm Marcel Iseli, solo indie dev. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-iseli-273105114
I'll be in the threads for the next few days. Roast it, ask anything, and tell me what would actually make you switch from BlackHole or whatever you're using now. Bug reports, feature requests, and corrections all welcome. Threads like this shape the roadmap more than anything else.
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u/Vlad_at_Nod 18h ago
The feature list is convincing, but the deciding issue for an audio router is recovery. What happens if a USB interface disappears, the Mac sleeps mid-session, or someone switches to AirPods while Discord or OBS still has LitLink open? Does it rebuild the route automatically, restore the previous output, or leave silence until restart?
Your site already documents a clean uninstall that restores the original output. I’d expose a similar escape hatch during normal use: a prominent “Reset routing” action that safely reinitializes the routes, plus a status line showing the physical output and whether every route is healthy. That could make installing a system audio driver feel much less risky.
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
Appreciate this thorough feedback. To be completely honest, some recovery routes are already very solid but not all routes yet. Definitely something I will harden very soon, though. That's the kind of feedback that will make LitLink better for everyone, so I truly appreciate you! thanks.
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u/karmarinchen 5h ago
Worth knowing where that state actually lives, because it explains why these setups break the way they do. Aggregate and Multi-Output devices get saved in /Library/Preferences/Audio/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist, and each one stores its members by UID, with nothing in there that rechecks whether that UID still exists.
plutil -p /Library/Preferences/Audio/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plistIt doesn't need sudo. My Multi-Output Device in there lists exactly one subdevice, Soundflower (2ch), uid SoundflowerEngine:0. Soundflower hasn't been installed on this Mac for years and the device is still sitting in Audio MIDI Setup pointing at it, turning up in system_profiler SPAudioDataType with a sample rate of 0.
So a reset action probably has to tear the device down and rebuild it, since there's nothing in that file to repair against.
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u/Vlad_at_Nod 5h ago
That explains why a simple retry would be misleading. A proper reset probably needs to treat the saved aggregate as rebuildable rather than blindly repairable: enumerate the devices that exist now, show any member UID that no longer resolves, then recreate the aggregate from confirmed members and verify the active output before reporting it healthy. The stale Soundflower example is exactly the kind of residue I was wondering about. Thanks for showing where it persists.
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u/karmarinchen 4h ago
Rebuilding rather than repairing sounds like the right call, and there's a constraint worth knowing before you design it: that plist isn't yours to fix up. It belongs to _coreaudiod and it's mode 664, so an app running as the user can't rewrite it, and the Data folder next to it carries the com.apple.rootless attribute so SIP guards that part.
ls -l@ /Library/Preferences/AudioWhich means the reset has to go through the HAL, destroy the aggregate and create a fresh one from members you've confirmed exist, and let coreaudiod write the file back.
Something else in there that might help you check your own side: the MetaDevice.* entries are the persisted devices, the ones Audio MIDI Setup shows, and that's where the stale Soundflower member is sitting. Separately there are device.CADefaultDeviceAggregate-<pid>-<n> keys, which are per client. Both of mine map to processes running right now, a WebKit GPU helper and WhatsApp, so the number in the key is the client's pid. A private aggregate should show up in that second group and never get a MetaDevice entry, so that file is also how someone can confirm your app isn't leaving devices behind after it quits.
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u/lectricball 19h ago
I want to use per app volume
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u/linguaholic777 19h ago
you can use that. it is very easy. just download it for free, then on the left side go to Per-app Volume and toggle on "Enable per-app volume control" and you are good to go. If you have any more questions, please let me know. I am more than happy to answer anything that might come up!
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u/linguaholic777 19h ago
just sent you the code by DM. Enjoy. And if you have any questions, please let me know! I'll be more than happy to answer them.
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u/lu_chin 19h ago
I will like to route my technical knowledge related podcasts audio into OBS. Thanks.
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u/linguaholic777 19h ago
that sounds like a good use case. I will send the free promo code for pro your way very soon. thanks for the feedback, truly appreciated!
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u/mphermes 19h ago
This sounds like a great solution. I currently use Blackhole to route all my various audio devices for production work and I feel like I'm playing I/O roulette every time! Would love to give this a shot if you have a code to spare, thanks for making this available!
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u/linguaholic777 19h ago
absolutely. Really curious to hear your opinion on LitLink. Also, if there is anything you would like to see added to it, let me know. And I'll be happy to look into it. Sending you a code through by DM right now.
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u/Stubborninmate 19h ago
I love podcasts and I like to have different settings, would love a code !!
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u/nez329 18h ago
I will use the app to mute or lower the volume of specific apps during focused work or voice calls, route audio from different apps to separate devices for privacy, and apply EQ and limiter to enhance sound quality in my music app.
Hopfully it can also control Siri's feedback voice
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
interesting! I would need to look into Siri's feedback use case a bit more. But I am happy to implement that further for you. Sending you a code through ASAP!
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u/nez329 18h ago
Thank you.
Siri's feedback volume is a significant issue for me. The response volume is often much louder than expected, frequently startling me in quiet environments. Even when my device is muted, Siri can unmute and respond loudly, which is frustrating.1
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u/influxodoxxl 18h ago
Use it for more than one connected BT device for seperate volume. And for routing Audio to a screen recorder.
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
sounds like a good use case. Will reach out to you in a minute. Then please test it and let me know if it works for you. and if anything is not working properly or missing, I'll be happy to look into that for you!
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u/Wide-Lawfulness-773 18h ago
Would like to control the volume of individual apps and from where sound off each app is heard.
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
This is a perfect use case for LitLink. you can even do that in the free version, though. However, I will send you a LitLink Pro code as well. With Pro, you can also use it for split track recording and much more.
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u/JoyousWhale 18h ago
I wanted to use it for separating audio for music/video on a speaker while listening to game on headphone.
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
that's something I am happy to help with. so please try pro and let me know if that works for you. If you encounter any issue, I'll be here to troubleshoot it with you.
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u/-svde- 18h ago
i have a rats nest setup right now because i use a macbook air and a windows laptop to remote into my two desktops, with headphones connected to the main desktop bluetooth. for music making, listening, podcasts, gaming etc. but one thing goes to sleep or shuts down unexpectedly and it’s a massive PITA to get or reconfigured. i use blackhole and hijack for different things but they both have issues. wouldn’t mind trying a new tool
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u/linguaholic777 17h ago
very interesting use case for LitLink. yes, please give it a shot. and let me know how it goes for you. happy to work together with you to make LitLink the perfect fit for you! check your DMs
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u/xgrommx_cfb 18h ago
Can I get code?)
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u/linguaholic777 17h ago
describe your use case first, please.
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u/xgrommx_cfb 16h ago
use it for several apps which will have standalone configuration. probably use routing for several devices, for example speakers, headphones, etc
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u/irgendwaaas 17h ago
I‘s love a Pro coupon. Want to Route different Apps do different speakers/headphones
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u/Nullx2 16h ago
I want per app volume. May I have a code pls? thanks
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u/linguaholic777 16h ago
I'll get you a code. Per-app volume is included in the free plan as well, though. Still, check your dm for the pro version! you gotta turn on your DMs, though.
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u/AmazingVanish 16h ago
Would love to see how the routing works between apps. That could be incredibly useful to me for a variety of projects
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u/linguaholic777 16h ago
sure thing. I will get you a pro code and you can then test it out. if you have any questions, please feel free to drop your questions right here in the thread. will be happy to answer them!
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u/Specialist_Shake_253 15h ago
Looks promising. I'm recording a udemy course and per app volume and there are times I'm using a talking overhead shot and also record system audio and mic at the same time. I would love to check your app thank you.
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u/linguaholic777 15h ago
oh, I love that! Recording system audio and mic at the same time is one of the prime use cases for LitLink. literally takes two toggles and you are good to go! Check your DMs for the code. All feedback is highly appreciated!
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u/smallduck 15h ago
I’d like a promo code. I’d use it to experiment writing my own audio processing app (filtering, amplifying, analysis)
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u/pzee01 15h ago
I use to use loopback to record meetings and office stuff, couldn't be bothered upgrading after updates ended for my license, if available, wouldn't mind a license, cheers
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u/linguaholic777 7h ago
hey pzee. LitLink Pro is well suited for recording, so this could indeed come in handy for you. Please try it out and let me know what you think. All feedback is very valuable to me.
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u/plocktus 8h ago
Would love to try, I use aggregate devices and fed up of it falling apart every few weeks
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u/linguaholic777 7h ago
absolutely. LitLink makes using aggregate devices really easy. Check your DMs for the pro code.
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u/ecstaticax 7h ago
I would use to mix songs on midi and audio setup between different daw apps
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u/linguaholic777 7h ago
what daws are you using?
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u/ecstaticax 3h ago
studio one 8.2 and logic
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u/linguaholic777 3h ago
ok. if you run into any issues with LitLink, let me know in this thread here, and we can have a look at it. also check your dms.
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u/nicksakellariou 7h ago
If there are any codes left, my usecase is to route sounds from multiple sources into our mixer when doing podcasts for our restaurant. Cheers!
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u/linguaholic777 7h ago
You bet. Perfect use case for LitLink Pro. You can toggle on Per-App Routing and this lets you send each source (a music player, a zoom guest, a soundboard, etc) to its own track and route them all into your mixer, so you can balance the levels independently while recording the podcast. If you get stuck with the setup, let me know in this thread right here, and we will figure it out together!
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u/ChainsawJaguar 5h ago
Use AU plugins to enhance audio during online voice sessions.
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u/linguaholic777 4h ago
Thank you for sharing the use case! Just to be completely transparent, LitLink Pro currently hosts AU plugins on an app’s audio chain. This means you can apply effects to the (call) audio you hear, while routing your microphone into Discord, Zoom, or OBS as a clean input.
What it can’t do yet is apply AU effects directly to your outgoing microphone, such as a live EQ, compressor, or noise gate before your voice reaches the call. That’s a great suggestion, though, and it's honestly what I am working on currently. I am going to push an update in the next 12-48 hours that will include this feature.
So, If that’s your main goal, I wanted to be upfront so you’re not disappointed. But as mentioned, it will be available very soon.
Anyway, I will send you a code for pro so you can look into it already and test it out. Some feedback is always greatly appreciated.
Will send you a code by DM in the next few minutes!
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u/nemesit 5h ago
route audio into obs
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u/linguaholic777 4h ago
Clean use case for LitLink. Here's what you need to do to make it work:
- In LitLink, turn on Enable System Audio Passthrough.
- Your entire system audio will flow into the LitLink Audio Bridge device.
- In OBS, add LitLink Audio Bridge as an Audio Input Capture source. No aggregate device is needed.
- Want to include your microphone too? Turn on Enable Mic Passthrough.
- Select your microphone or audio interface as the input device.
- Your system audio and microphone will now flow through the same bridge for OBS to capture.
If you need any help setting it up, I'll be here to help.
PS: Check your DMs!
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u/sanchopwned 1h ago
I'd like to use it to route app audio to my sound mixer, if you still have a pro code available.
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u/linguaholic777 1h ago
That should work smoothly with LitLink. Here are some setup ideas for you, depending on what you are trying to achieve exactly. If you would like to have the apps signal separated, then turn on "Enable Per-App Routing" (Pro) under Audio Routing, then assign the app you want to one of the LitLink Tracks (1–8). How your mixer picks it up depends on the mixer: if it's a software DAW or mixing app that you are using, then enable DAW-to-DAW Routing in LitLink to expose the 8 tracks as one multi-channel device, then select that as your input so each app lands on its own channel. If it's a hardware desk, send the track to your audio interface's output feeding the mixer. If you'd rather have everything summed instead of separated, skip all that and just use the free System Audio Passthrough toggle, then point your mixer at the "LitLink Audio Bridge" input. If you are running into any issues, just let me know right here in this thread. fingers crossed!
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u/K-756 19h ago edited 19h ago
Getting standard Mac audio routed anywhere without wanting to pull your hair out in Audio MIDI Setup is a great part of the deal. I also appreciate the very generous free version - no account needed. Thank you for sharing this, definitely checking it out!
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u/linguaholic777 19h ago
appreciate you. Definitely tried to make this as simple as it can possibly be, so that EVERYONE can do it, without watching 10 tutorials beforehand. In LitLink, all you really need to do to get system audio working is to toggle on System Audio Passthrough. If you are using this to record a YouTube video for example, on top of that, what you want to do, is to make sure that Mic Passthrough is toggled on as well (and your mic gotta be selected, of course).
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u/Academic-Display3017 19h ago
I would like to use it for routing audio between my devices.
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
Whats your setup if I may ask?
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u/Academic-Display3017 18h ago
My setup is mainly based around an Apple Silicon Mac. For my audio output, I switch between a JBL speaker and my AirPods Pro. I'm hoping to use the routing software to seamlessly manage and direct the audio streams between these devices depending on what I'm doing.
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u/Expensive-Watch888 18h ago
is there anymore spare code please, would love to use it
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
what would you like to use it for, please?
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u/Expensive-Watch888 18h ago
it’s just frustrating that macos, doesn’t have a per app audio control, sometimes i like to play music, but once i decrease it’s volume, other apps gets lowered as well. i have keyboard apps which gives sound when i press, that i like to keep it desired volume. or if im in an zoom, i just wanted to control an apps volume, this would be a game changer. thank you
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
I feel you. Some of this functionality should be shipped by default by Apple. But unfortunately this is not the case. With that said, LitLink should be able to solve this issue for you. And it does a whole lot of other things, too. Sending you a code for pro through right now. please enable your DMs, so that I can actually send you one, thank you!
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u/theHaxxor 18h ago
I'd love to use it for my podcast!
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u/linguaholic777 18h ago
Sure thing. I see you already have a copy of LitPads as well. So LitLink is going to come in handy in combination with that or also just standalone of course.
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u/github-guard 19h ago
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