WavesmacOS 14.2+ · free · MIT
Per-app audio control for Mac.
Control each app's volume, EQ, priority, and place in the mix. Try the mixer below.
This browser demo uses generated audio. In Waves, the lines show your apps' audio.
01 Per-app controls
One volume slider per app.
Turn down a loud browser without touching your music. Boost a quiet call without raising system audio. Waves gives each app its own volume, mute, and 2–4× boostfrom the menu bar.
Waves also connects browser and Electron helper processes to the app you recognize, including picture-in-picture video.
- Controls volume · mute · 2–4× boost
- Browsers Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc, Helium, Electron
- Pin keep favorite apps at the top
- Shortcuts ⌘⌥↑ / ⌘⌥↓ volume · ⌘⌥M mute
02 Live visualizer
See what is playing.
Each playing app has its own line in the Waves header. The bright line is the combined mix. Its movement follows real output levels, and each app keeps the same visual pattern between sessions. The demo above uses the same waveform math with generated sources.
03 No audio driver
No driver. No reboot.
Some per-app mixers install virtual drivers or system extensions. Waves uses audio controls already built into macOS 14.2 and newer. No reboot or admin password needed.
Delete Waves and there is no driver or extension to remove. Only local preferences remain. You can also exclude DAWs, conferencing tools, or any app you do not want Waves to manage.
- Audio built into macOS
- Install no driver · no extension · no reboot
- Support Apple Silicon and Intel
- Exclude remove any app from Waves in one click
04 App and managed EQ
Shape one app or the whole managed mix.
Choose a 3-band or 8-band EQ for any app. Start with Flat, Voice Focus, Warm, Bass Reduce, or Treble Soften. Clean up a boomy podcast without changing your music.
Open Sound to apply the same EQ to every stream managed by Waves. Combined headroom protection keeps stacked app and managed boosts from clipping.
This demo changes the low, mid, and high parts of one generated wave. In Waves, the EQ changes the app's real audio.
05 Adaptive mixing
Put the right app in front.
Lecture Focus keeps speech clear while music stays audible behind it.Media First keeps music or video forward during a low-priority meeting.Assign each app a content type and priority. Smart Hybrid promotes an audible frontmost app by one tier without overriding your guardrails.
This browser demo uses a generated voice signal. In Waves, voice and meeting sources activate only when speech is present, then Sidechain Focus smoothly lowers lower-priority apps.
06 Route status
Know what Waves can control.
Each app shows one of four route states, so you can tell whether its controls are ready.
- Visible
- The app is running, but it has not produced audio Waves can control.
- Monitored
- Waves is watching for audio and can create a route when the app starts playing.
- Managed
- Audio is passing through Waves. Volume, mute, boost, and EQ are active. Apps playing now also appear under Live.
- Errored
- The route failed or has limited control. Waves shows the problem and offers a way to retry.
If a route has a problem, Copy Diagnostics creates a limited report. It never includes audio.
07 Profiles and routing
Save the setups you use.
Create profiles for groups of apps such as work or gaming. A profile can simply group apps, or it can remember volume, mute, and boost. Switch profiles from the sidebar or menu bar, and import or export them as JSON.
- Devices remember volume for each output device
- Routing send each app to a different output
- Calls pause music automatically (optional)
- Automation waves:// URL scheme, off by default
- Appearance Waves or Graphite, in light or dark mode
- Repair direct macOS permission and route fixes
- Access keyboard and VoiceOver support
- Sort activity, name, category, or manual order
08 Privacy
Your Mac. Your audio.
| Virtual audio driver | Not used. |
|---|---|
| System extension / reboot | Neither is needed. Removing Waves leaves only its local preferences. |
| Admin password | Not required. |
| Account, telemetry, analytics | None. Update checks use the signed appcast only when you request or allow them. |
| Audio recording | None. Audio is processed live and is never stored or sent anywhere. |
| Permissions | macOS audio access is required for per-app controls. Accessibility is only needed for global shortcuts. |
Read the full privacy details or view the MIT-licensed source.
09 Download
Get Waves.
6.5 MB · macOS 14.2+ · Universal · Apple Silicon + Intel
Or install with Homebrew
Waves is free and open source under the MIT License. Release notes are in the changelog.