Sound Siphon

Sound Siphon is a software package that makes your Mac's audio output available as an audio input device. It allows you to send audio from one application to another where it can be processed, streamed, or recorded.

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• System audio capture. This function records all audio output generated by the macOS operating system. This includes application sounds, media playback, and system alerts. The audio is redirected to a virtual input device.
• Virtual input devices. Creates virtual microphones that appear as standard input devices in macOS. These virtual audio sources are detected by any application that accesses the system's audio devices.
• Physical microphone capture. Includes audio from physically connected microphones and other external audio input sources. Signals from these devices are combined with other captured audio sources.
• Specific application capture. Individually select the applications whose audio should be captured. This selection excludes sounds from other applications and the system that are not necessary for streaming or recording.
• Integrated recording. Incorporates an audio recording function directly within the application. Recordings are saved in standard audio formats to the computer's local storage.
• Mixing and channel mapping. Provides real-time control over the mixing of different audio sources. It allows you to assign specific audio channels to different outputs or recordings.
• Muting during recording. Applies a mute function to specific applications while their audio is being captured or recorded. Muted audio is not transmitted through the virtual devices.
• Scheduled recording. Sets timers to start and stop recordings automatically. The scheduling operates independently of user interaction with the system.
• Level preview. Displays audio levels from applications before starting capture or recording. This visualization helps adjust audio parameters for optimal levels.
• macOS compatibility. All features are fully supported on macOS versions from 11.4 through 15, including macOS Sequoia. The implementation utilizes Apple's native audio APIs.
• Conversation recording. Captures audio from communication applications like Skype and FaceTime. Conversations are recorded directly from the system's audio output.
• Separate audio channels. Maintains individual audio sources in discrete channels during processing. This separation allows for independently adjusting levels and applying effects to each source.
• Game streaming. Sends game audio, music, and microphone audio to streaming applications like OBS and Twitch. The different audio sources are combined into a single output for the stream.
• Chat application bridge. Connects audio between different voice chat services. This feature allows participants using different communication platforms to interact with each other.

Sound Siphon was developed by StaticZ Technologies. Development began in 2012. The application is programmed in Objective-C and uses macOS's low-level audio APIs. The first version focused on capturing audio from individual applications. Later versions added mixing features, virtual devices, and support for new versions of macOS.

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