Play your music app through Sonir Bench to your DAC
Install Sonir Bench and its virtual audio device, then choose "Sonir Bench" as the output device in your music app’s own settings. In Bench, pick your DAC as the output and press Start engine. Leave the Mac’s own output on something other than that DAC, so YouTube and notification sounds stay out of the music. Apps that let you choose the output this way, such as TIDAL and Qobuz, arrive untouched.
Checked with Sonir Bench 0.1.62 on 2026-10-12
Before you start
- A Mac with Apple Silicon running macOS 13 or later. There is no Intel build.
- A DAC or audio interface macOS can see. The built-in output works too.
- A music app that lets you choose its output device, such as TIDAL, Qobuz, Roon or Audirvana. For Spotify and Apple Music, see the end of this guide.
- A beta license key. Request one on the Pricing page.
- Your administrator password, asked for once when the virtual audio device is installed.
Steps
01Download the app and move it to Applications
Download the disk image from the Sonir Bench download page, open it, and move Sonir Bench into the Applications folder. Then open it from there.
REFERENCERequirements
02Activate it with your license key
On first launch Bench asks for a license key. Paste the key you received and press Activate. One key runs on one Mac at a time; to move it, choose Stop using on this Mac in the settings of the other Mac first.
03Install the virtual audio device
The Engine screen shows a notice when the virtual audio device is missing. Press Open the installer and enter your administrator password. At the end macOS restarts its audio process, so sound cuts out for a moment; stop anything that is playing first.
REFERENCEThe virtual audio device
04Choose Sonir Bench as the output in your music app
In the settings of your music app, find the output device and choose Sonir Bench. Do not change the output in the macOS Sound settings. The app then opens the device itself, so the audio arrives untouched and no other app’s sound gets into Bench.
05Keep the Mac output off that DAC
Open System Settings, then Sound, and check that Output is not the DAC Bench will use. If it is, YouTube and notification sounds are mixed in with Bench’s output just before the DAC. Choose another output, such as the built-in speakers or headphones.
06Pick your DAC and start the engine
On the Engine screen, leave Input on Sonir Bench and choose your DAC by name under Output. Press Start engine. With no graph chosen it starts as a bypass, which is the right state for a first check.
REFERENCEPlayback settingsSignal path
07Allow microphone access
macOS treats audio coming from a virtual device as recording, so Sonir Bench needs the microphone permission. Allow it when asked, or under System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone. Without it macOS hands Bench silence instead of an error.
08Play something and check the monitor
Play a track in the music app. Sound now comes out of your DAC through Bench. Open Monitor: it says whether what arrives is still the file, untouched, and at which bit depth. If it says Not untouched, the player is changing the volume, equalising or converting the rate on the way in. Lossy files such as MP3 and AAC are flagged too, so check with WAV or FLAC.
REFERENCEMonitor
Apps with no output setting (Spotify, Apple Music)
Spotify and Apple Music have no output setting of their own, so the only way through Bench is to set the Mac output itself to Sonir Bench (System Settings, Sound, Output). Every sound on the Mac then goes through Bench, YouTube and notifications included, and neither app arrives untouched: the audio is changed before it reaches Bench, either by the app itself or by the macOS processing that hands the app’s audio to the device. Bench never switches the Mac output for you. In this setup, choose your DAC by name in Bench rather than the OS default output, which now points at Bench itself. An app that is already playing may keep its old output, so pause and resume playback. Set the output back when you are done.
If it does not work
Bench shows no incoming audio.
Check that the music app outputs to Sonir Bench. If it still shows nothing, check the microphone permission.
YouTube or notification sounds come out of the DAC.
The Mac output is the same DAC Bench uses. Choose another output in the Sound settings.
Bench says "Input signal is not bit-perfect" with Spotify or Apple Music.
That is not your settings. In both, the audio is changed before it reaches Bench, either by the app itself or by the macOS processing that hands the app’s audio to the device, so Bench cannot receive the file as it is. If you want it untouched, use an app that lets you choose its output device, such as TIDAL or Qobuz, and choose Sonir Bench there.
The Mac is silent while Bench is stopped.
The Mac output points at Sonir Bench, and nothing carries the sound on while the engine is stopped. Start the engine again, or set the output back in the Sound settings.
A design will not load.
Every refusal has a code. The error code page says what each one means and what to change.
Removing Bench.
Use the uninstaller bundled inside the app. Moving the app to the Trash leaves the virtual audio device in the system.