Mac Volume Too Quiet Even at Max? Boost Past 100%

Your Mac volume is at 100%. The app you're trying to hear (a quiet Zoom caller, a soft podcast, a browser video) is still too faint. Meanwhile everything else on your Mac is now uncomfortably loud.

Often the problem isn't your speakers or your hearing. The app is simply putting out quiet audio, and macOS has no built-in way to make one app louder than its own maximum.

Why max volume still isn't loud enough

The system volume slider scales every app together. If an app's audio is quiet to begin with, 100% system volume only plays that quiet audio as loud as the Mac normally goes. Common causes:

• Video calls where the other person has a quiet microphone
• Podcasts and audiobooks mastered at conservative levels
• Older or amateur web videos recorded too low
• Screen recordings and tutorials where the speaker talks softly

The master slider is a ceiling, not a booster.

Check these first

Before boosting anything, rule out the usual suspects:

1. The app's own volume. Many apps have their own slider: the video player in your browser, Spotify's player bar, the speaker volume in Zoom's or Teams' audio settings. Make sure it's at maximum.
2. The output device. In System Settings > Sound > Output, check that the right device is selected and its volume is at the top.
3. Headphone safety. If your Mac shows a Headphone Safety option with Reduce Loud Audio turned on, it can cap headphone volume.
4. The left/right slider. In the same Output settings, make sure the slider between left and right is centered.
5. Bluetooth headset mode. During calls, many Bluetooth headphones switch to a hands-free mode that sounds lower. Choosing a different microphone in the call app keeps them in normal mode.
6. Restart the audio service. In Terminal, run sudo killall coreaudiod if the volume seems stuck low after sleep or switching devices.

If all of that is fine and one app is still too quiet, it needs amplification.

Boost one app past 100% with SoundDial

SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac gives each running app its own slider in the menu bar, and those sliders go up to 200%. Boosting raises only that one app; the system volume and every other app stay where they are. More on this on the volume booster for Mac page.

How to use it

• Click SoundDial in the menu bar to see a slider for each app you have open.
• Drag the quiet app's slider past the 100% mark until it's comfortable.
• Lower your system volume again if you had pushed it to the top, so other apps aren't too loud.

It works per app, not per browser tab: all tabs of one browser share one slider.

A note on boosting

Boost is amplification, not magic. If the original audio is very quiet, noisy or already distorted, pushing it hard can make hiss or harshness more noticeable. SoundDial has no limiter, so a big boost on a loud source can clip or distort. Raise it gradually and stop when it's comfortable.

The main advantage over cranking system volume: only the quiet app gets louder. Your music, alerts and other apps stay put. For more ways to deal with quiet apps, see how to boost a quiet app on Mac.

SoundDial needs macOS 14.2 or later and costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.