You're listening to a podcast on your Mac. The host sounds fine, but the guest — recording from a laptop mic in their kitchen — is barely audible. You crank the volume to 100%. The host is now too loud, but the guest is still quiet. There's no way to win because the problem is in the recording, not your Mac.
Podcast audio quality varies wildly. Professional shows are mastered at consistent levels. But interviews, indie podcasts, and live recordings often have guests at -20 dB or lower — significantly quieter than the host or the intro music.
Why some podcasts are so quiet
- Guest mic quality: One host has a professional setup, the guest is on AirPods. The level difference can be 15+ dB.
- No post-production: Professionally produced podcasts compress and normalize levels. Many don't.
- Podcast apps don't normalize: Apple Podcasts and Spotify apply minimal or no loudness normalization to podcast content (unlike music).
- Dynamic range: Some podcast producers intentionally maintain high dynamic range for "natural" sound — which means quiet parts are very quiet.
In-app fixes
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts has no volume normalization or boost feature. What the podcast delivers is what you get. The in-app volume control in older versions was removed — it now uses only the system volume.
Spotify
Spotify's "Normalize volume" setting (Settings → Playback) can help with volume consistency between different podcasts, but its effect on within-episode dynamics is limited. Try setting it to "Loud" for maximum normalization.
Overcast (browser)
If you use Overcast (via web at overcast.fm), it has a "Voice Boost" feature that significantly amplifies and compresses podcast audio, making quiet voices louder. This is one of the best built-in solutions — but it only works within Overcast.
System-level fix: boost podcast apps past 100%
The universal fix is amplifying your podcast app beyond macOS's 100% limit. SoundDial gives every app a volume slider up to 200%.
Set Apple Podcasts or your podcast app to 160-180% while keeping Spotify music at 40% and Slack at 15%. The podcast gets louder without making everything else painfully loud. When you switch back to music, just drop the podcast app back to normal — or let SoundDial's volume memory remember it automatically.
This per-app approach is better than a system-wide volume boost because:
- Only the quiet podcast app gets louder
- Music stays at your preferred level
- Call audio stays at your preferred level
- Notification sounds don't suddenly become deafening
Available on the Mac App Store — Apple-reviewed, €14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, macOS 14.2+.