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LOOPBACK REVIEW: TURN YOUR MAC INTO AN AUDIO PATCH PANEL



For Mac users who are doing any audio or video work, Loopback is a useful app that can turn your Mac into a patch panel. Are you creating a screencast, podcast or just recording an audio or video?

 Loopback lets you route audio to and from multiple apps or audio devices you may have connected to your Mac. In addition to routing audio signals, Loopback can combine multiple sources, and even reassign audio channels.
LOOPBACK


It's not so much an audio processor or mixer, although it does mix multiple sources together; it's more of a patch panel, where you basically plug one component into another to build up an audio processing system that meets your needs.
Loopbackfrom Rogue Amoeba includes an easy-to-use interface and the ability to create very complex audio processes with just a few clicks.
Pros
·        Easy-to-use interface.
·        Easily build custom Loopback Audio devices.
·        Combine audio output from multiple apps into one device you can use anywhere on your Mac.
Con
·        Strictly an audio patching device; no audio processing built-in.

Installing Loopback

The first time you launch Loopback, the app will need to install audio handling components. After the audio components are installed, youre ready to use Loopback to create your first audio device.

One may have concerns when an app installs components deep within Macs operating system, but in this case, it doesn't cause any issues. If you decide not to use Loopback, it includes a built-in uninstaller that will leave your Mac just as it was before you started using the app.

Creating Your First Loopback Audio Device

The first time you use Loopback, it will walk you through creating your first Loopback devise. 

Although you may wish to dash through this process so you can get to the fun of using Loopback, its important to take your time and see what Loopback is doing. 

After all, youre going to be creating many different Loopback devices over time.
The first device created is the default Loopback Audio

This simple virtual audio device allows you to pipe the audio output from one app into the audio input of another. 

A simple example would be taking the output of iTunes and sending it to FaceTime, so the person you're video chatting with can listen to the music you're playing in the background.

Loopback handles combining devices, including mixing multiple devices together, however, it lacks its own mixer; that is, Loopback can't set the volume for each device that is combined in a Loopback Audio device.

You'll need to set the volume of each device in the source app or hardware device, independent of Loopback, to set the balance or mix heard as the output of the Loopback Audio device you're using.

Using Loopback

Loopbacks user interface is clean and straightforward, with standard Mac interface elements. 

It wont take long for an average user to figure out how to create custom Loopback devices, or even discover the advanced channel mapping features that can help create a complex audio workflow.

For the basics, you simply create a new Loopback Audio device (dont forget to give it a descriptive name), and then add one or more audio sources to the device. 

Audio sources can be any audio device recognized by your Mac, or any app running on your Mac that contains audio information.

Using a Loopback Device

Once you've created a Loopback device, you'll likely want to use its output with some other apps or audio output devices. Using the Loopback Audio device is as simple as selecting it as the input within the app.

In the case of sending the output of a Loopback device to an external audio device, you can do so in the Sound preference pane; you can also do it by option-clicking the Sound menu bar icon, and selecting the Loopback device from the list of available devices.
Loopback is $99.00. A demo is available.

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