You updated macOS, and now your Mac sounds noticeably quieter - or the audio is thin and weak even at full volume. The good news: this is almost always a software or settings issue from the update, not a blown speaker, and you can usually fix it in a few minutes.
Why a macOS update can make your speakers quiet
An update can change your sound in a handful of predictable ways. Knowing which one you've hit makes the fix obvious:
- Your output device switched. Updates sometimes reset the active output, so audio is now routing to a paired Bluetooth device, an HDMI display, or the wrong port at a low independent volume.
- An app's audio permission or driver broke. Third-party audio tools and virtual devices can stop working after a macOS bump until they're updated, leaving your real volume capped low.
- Balance or output settings drifted. A left/right balance that's pushed to one side, or a re-enabled "Sound Check"/normalisation setting, can make everything feel quieter.
- You've simply noticed the ceiling. macOS deliberately caps peak loudness to protect the speakers. If a fresh install nudged you back toward default behaviour, that hard limit can feel like a regression even though nothing is technically broken.
The fixes, in order
Work through these from the top - the first few solve the vast majority of post-update sound complaints.
- Check your output device. Open Control Centre → Sound and make sure the correct speakers are selected. If a Bluetooth device sneaked in, switch back to your Mac's built-in output and re-test.
- Check the balance and per-app volume. Go to System Settings → Sound and confirm the balance slider is centred. Then check the volume inside the app itself (YouTube, Zoom, VLC) - apps keep their own level.
- Restart Core Audio. A quick way to clear a confused audio stack after an update is to restart your Mac. If you're comfortable in Terminal, relaunching the system audio process also forces it to re-read your settings.
- Update or reinstall audio apps. If you use any sound enhancer or virtual audio device, grab its latest version. Tools that rely on a low-level system audio driver are the most likely to break across a macOS release and need a fresh install (and an admin password) to work again.
- Toggle off normalisation. In the Music app, switch off Sound Check and reset any EQ preset that might be cutting your level.
When the audio works but it's just too quiet
Sometimes everything is routed correctly, nothing is muted, and the sound is clean - it's just not loud enough for a noisy room, a quiet film, or a softly mastered call. That isn't a bug you can patch away; it's the macOS volume ceiling doing its job. The only real fix is to raise that ceiling.
That's exactly what Vlume does. It boosts your entire system's audio up to 800% (8×) past the macOS maximum, with an always-on limiter that keeps the louder signal clean instead of letting it clip and distort. Crucially for anyone who just finished an update, Vlume is built on Apple's modern Core Audio process-tap API - so there's no kernel driver, no restart, and no admin password. It sits in your menu bar and won't be the thing that breaks the next time you update macOS.
It also includes a 6-band equaliser if a software change left your sound too harsh or too dull, plus multi-speaker output with per-device volume. If you've been hunting for a fix because your Mac feels permanently quiet, see why MacBook speakers sound so quiet and how to push past maximum volume for the full picture.
A note on the alternatives
If you want a software volume boost beyond 100%, a few apps can do it. The free, open-source eqMac offers a boost option, but it installs a kernel-level HAL audio driver (which needs an admin password) and has no limiter, so heavy boosting can distort - and a driver is precisely the kind of component a macOS update can disrupt. Boom 3D has a strong 31-band equaliser and 3D surround, though it's typically paid via subscription bundles and doesn't publish a numeric boost figure. Vlume's pitch is simpler: a one-time price of £39 Pro (1-2 Macs) or £59 Family (up to 5 Macs), no subscription, and no driver to break.
Requirements are macOS 14.4 or later on Apple silicon or Intel. You can try Vlume free for 3 days with no card - long enough to confirm it restores the loud, clean sound your Mac had before the update.