Table of Contents
This article will show you how to Make Fine-Tuned Adjustments to Mac’s Audio Volume. Have you ever tried to adjust the volume on your Mac, only to discover that one setting was too high and the next was too low? In these situations, it would be nice to get the volume level somewhere in the middle of those two presets. You already know that your Mac allows you to incrementally change the volume and brightness by simply tapping the corresponding function key.
But did you know that you can also adjust these settings with another hotkey? Your Mac probably has a top row of function keys, and you’re probably familiar with using the volume and brightness controls to adjust the sound and brightness of the screen. While it never seemed possible before, there is a little-known way to Make Fine-Tuned Adjustments to Mac’s Audio Volume in even smaller steps, and in this tutorial we’ll show you how!
Adjust Sound Effects Volume
If you go to the Sound Effects tab, you will find a list of alert sounds. These are the system sounds, and you will hear them for events such as notifications, message boxes, alerts, etc. You can customize the notification sound for each event according to your preferences.
Keep in mind that there are two volume controls, and the top one is for system notification sounds, and the bottom one is for sound volume. Some people want to be alerted about events even while watching a video or listening to music, so they need a high alert volume to avoid missing notifications while something is playing.
However, some people don’t like system sounds and drag the alert volume slider to the left to mute them. You can make alert sounds completely silent so that your entertainment is not disturbed. You can drag the slider to the left and clear the Play user interface sound effects.
Sound Controls Available in the Menu Bar
At the bottom of the preferences window is a box that allows you to hide or show the volume control in the menu bar. You may have noticed that clicking on the speaker icon displays the volume control. But do you know which one it is? The output volume or the alert volume?
The output volume can be changed, and the alert volume cannot. However, in the old versions of macOS, users can access the speaker volume by pressing Shift + Click and changing the alert volume. This no longer works with the latest versions of Mac. If you want to know more information about this visit official Apple support site.
Sound Output Options
To Make Fine-Tuned Adjustments to Mac’s Audio Volume. You need to choose the output device from the menu bar. You can go to System Preferences > Sound > Output.
On this tab, you can choose the output device. Some people only have internal speakers as the output device. Still, many people will also have output devices connected such as Apple TV, AirPods, HomePods, or maybe even third-party devices.
Audio Input Options
In System Preferences, you will find the Output and Input tabs. The Output tab is for the devices such as headphones, internal speakers, Apple TV and other output devices you have connected. The Input tab, however, is for choosing the microphone and input volume. This is a live view, and you can check the input level by speaking to your Mac. The input volume can be adjusted with the slider.
It’s pretty clear that using these control and ambient noise reduction options is useful for minimizing background noise. However, you may not know that you can access the list of input and output devices from the menu bar. It is a hidden feature. Hold down the Option / Alt key and click on the speaker icon in the menu bar, and you will see a slightly different panel. It’s a new hidden feature. Options + click adds an input section to the menu. Many users have only the built-in microphone, but some can use alternative inputs, such as third-party microphones.