You're DJing from your Mac — Traktor, Serato, rekordbox, or even Ableton in a live set. You need to cue the next track in your headphones while the audience hears the current mix through the speakers. But your browser is open with a setlist, Spotify might be running for reference tracks, and Messages keeps dinging through your monitors. macOS has no concept of "this app goes here, that app goes there" at the volume level.
The DJ audio problem on macOS
Professional DJ software handles cueing internally — it splits its own output between a main mix and a headphone monitor. That part works. The problem is everything else running on your Mac. System notifications, browser tabs, communication apps, and reference players all feed into the same master output. A Slack ping through your PA system during a set is not a good look.
You can enable Do Not Disturb, but that doesn't silence apps that are already running — it just suppresses banners. An auto-playing browser tab or a FaceTime ringtone will still blast through your speakers at whatever the system volume is set to.
Controlling the non-DJ audio
SoundDial lets you set independent volume levels for every app on your Mac. For a DJ set, the key use is silencing or lowering everything that is not your DJ software.
DJ set profile
- Traktor / Serato / rekordbox: 100% — full output to your audio interface
- Browser: muted — no surprise audio from tabs
- Spotify: muted or 10% — reference only through a quick unmute
- Slack / Messages / Mail: muted — zero notification sounds
- Calendar: muted — no reminder chimes
Save this as a "DJ Set" profile. Before you start, apply it in one click. Your DJ app runs at full volume, and nothing else can interrupt. When the set ends, switch back to your regular profile and notifications resume.
Quick reference track checks
Need to quickly check a reference track on Spotify mid-set? Instead of unmuting system-wide, just raise Spotify's individual slider to hear it in your headphones, then drop it back to zero. The audience never hears it, and your DJ app stays untouched.
Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store — €14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, macOS 14.2+.