How to Play Spotify on Different Speakers While Using Other Apps on Mac

Why You Need Separate Audio Routing for Spotify

You're jamming to Spotify through your speakers when a Slack notification pings through the same output, interrupting your flow. Or maybe you want your music on external speakers but need Discord calls routed to your headphones. This is where macOS falls short — unlike Windows, Mac has no built-in way to send different apps to different audio outputs.

The macOS Audio Output Problem

macOS treats audio as an all-or-nothing system. When you change your audio output in System Settings, every app switches to that output. There's no native way to say "Spotify goes to speakers, everything else to headphones."

This becomes especially frustrating when:

• Working from coffee shops (music to headphones, but you want notification sounds off)
• Gaming setups (game audio to speakers, Discord to headset)
• Home office setups (music to room speakers, video calls to desk speakers)
• Streaming or content creation (different audio sources to different outputs)

Method 1: Using Audio MIDI Setup (Limited Solution)

macOS includes Audio MIDI Setup, but it's designed for complex audio production, not simple per-app routing.

1. Open Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
2. Click the + button and select Create Multi-Output Device
3. Check the outputs you want to combine
4. Set this as your system output in System Settings > Sound

Reality check: This sends audio to multiple outputs simultaneously — it doesn't give you per-app control. Spotify still plays through all selected outputs, not just your chosen speaker.

Method 2: Spotify Connect (Works Sometimes)

Spotify Connect lets you control playback on different devices, but it's limited:

1. Open Spotify and start playing music
2. Click the Connect to a device icon (bottom right)
3. Select a different Spotify Connect device

Limitations:

• Only works with Spotify Connect-enabled devices
• Doesn't help with other apps
• Requires separate devices, not just different outputs on the same Mac
• Doesn't solve the core per-app audio routing problem

Method 3: Per-App Audio Control (The Real Solution)

The most reliable way to route Spotify to different speakers while keeping other apps separate is using dedicated per-app audio software.

What you need:

• Per-app volume control
• Per-app output routing
• Support for multiple audio outputs
• Easy switching between configurations

How it works:

1. Install per-app audio control software
2. Set Spotify's output to your preferred speakers
3. Keep other apps routed to your default output (or route them elsewhere too)
4. Save this configuration for future use

Apps like Soundish handle this elegantly — you can route Spotify to external speakers while Discord goes to headphones, and Chrome stays on your laptop's internal speakers. Each app maintains its own audio routing independently.

Common Audio Routing Scenarios

Home Office Setup:

• Spotify → High-quality bookshelf speakers
• Zoom/Teams → Desk speakers with clear mids for voice
• Slack notifications → Headphones (or muted)

Gaming Setup:

• Spotify → Room speakers for ambient music
• Game audio → Gaming headset
• Discord → Same headset, but controllable separately

Content Creation:

• Background music → Monitors for room sound
• Recording software → Studio headphones
• Browser/reference audio → Different output to avoid recording conflicts

Why Most Solutions Don't Work

System-wide audio switching changes everything at once — not helpful when you want granular control.

Multiple audio devices require owning separate hardware for each use case — expensive and impractical.

Spotify's built-in options are limited to Spotify Connect devices and don't address other apps.

Audio production software like Logic Pro X has per-track routing, but it's overkill for simple "Spotify to speakers, calls to headphones" scenarios.

Setting Up Your Perfect Audio Configuration

Once you have per-app audio control:

1. Identify your use cases — when do you want different routing?
2. Test your outputs — ensure all speakers/headphones work properly
3. Create audio profiles — save configurations for different scenarios (work, gaming, relaxing)
4. Set up shortcuts — quick switching between configurations
5. Fine-tune volumes — each app can have its own volume level too

The Bottom Line

macOS's all-or-nothing audio approach doesn't match how we actually use our computers. We want music on good speakers while keeping work calls on desk speakers, or gaming audio loud while Discord stays at conversation level.

Per-app audio routing gives you the control to set up your Mac's audio exactly how you want it — Spotify to your best speakers, everything else routed appropriately, with volumes set independently. It's the missing piece that makes multi-output audio setups actually useful.