Slack huddles are convenient — you click a button and you're in a voice call without scheduling a meeting. But the audio is a mess. The huddle is at the same volume as your Spotify. Slack notification sounds ping at the same level as the call. And when someone shares music or a screen with audio in the huddle, it's either inaudible or deafening.
The problem isn't Slack. It's macOS. Everything runs through one volume slider, so huddle audio, notification sounds, music, and browser audio are all fighting for the same space.
Slack's internal audio controls
Slack has limited audio controls:
- Notification preferences: Slack → Settings → Notifications → Sound & appearance. You can change the notification sound or disable specific sounds, but you can't set notification volume independently from huddle volume.
- Huddle volume: During a huddle, there's no separate volume slider for the call versus Slack's other sounds. Everything in Slack is one audio stream to macOS.
- Input/output device: Slack → Settings → Audio & Video lets you select mic and speaker devices, but not volume levels per feature.
The three Slack audio problems
1. Huddle too quiet relative to music
Your music is at a comfortable level. You join a huddle. Your coworker's voice is at the same volume as your music — you can't distinguish words clearly. Turning up the system volume makes the music too loud.
2. Notification sounds during huddles
You're in a huddle discussion. Every Slack message that comes in pings at the same volume as the call. In a busy workspace with active channels, the constant pinging makes the huddle unusable.
3. Huddle too loud for background listening
Sometimes you join a huddle to passively listen while working. You want it at background level — quiet enough to not distract, loud enough to hear if someone says your name. macOS won't let you set Slack to 20% while keeping your browser at 60%.
The fix: control Slack's volume independently
SoundDial gives Slack its own volume slider, separate from every other app. Since Slack's huddle audio and notification sounds are part of the same app, the slider controls both — but that's actually what you want most of the time.
Huddle-optimized setup
- Slack: 90-100% (clear huddle audio, notifications are loud but you're actively in Slack)
- Spotify: 15% (barely-there background, doesn't compete with voices)
- Browser: muted (no surprise tab audio)
Passive huddle setup
- Slack: 30% (background listening level)
- Spotify: 40% (primary audio is your music)
- Browser: 50% (normal working level)
Save each as a profile. When a huddle starts, apply the right profile with one click. Or use auto-ducking — when the huddle activates your microphone, SoundDial automatically lowers everything except Slack.
Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store — €14.99 one-time purchase, no subscription, macOS 14.2+.