Dictation apps quieten other audio by turning down or muting your Mac’s current output. A group of speakers, built on the Multi-Output Device in macOS, has no volume and no mute switch of its own, so they have nothing to change and your music keeps playing. Use your dictation app’s pause option instead, or let Chorus handle the group.
It looks like a bug in the dictation app, and it is the first thing people blame. The app is doing exactly what it does on a single speaker. The difference is what it finds when it reaches for the volume.
What is going on when mute does nothing?
When you choose a group as your output, macOS plays through a Multi-Output Device: a wrapper that sends the same sound to several real speakers at once. Each of those speakers keeps its own volume, but the wrapper itself has none, which is why the menu bar volume slider greys out. A dictation app’s mute or dampen setting asks macOS for the current output’s volume or mute switch and changes it. Paraspeech reads the output volume; VoiceInk sets the device’s mute switch; MacWhisper changes the output volume too. On a group there is no volume to read and no switch to flip, so the music carries on at full level. Wispr Flow’s help centre describes the same limit from its side: on a device with no mute control it tries setting the volume to zero, and when it cannot read or change the level at all, it skips muting. No setting inside the dictation app can fix it.
Which settings still work on a group?
Pause does. It tells the music player to stop through your Mac’s Now Playing controls and never touches the speakers, so it behaves the same on one speaker or five. Wispr Flow offers it on paid plans as Pause music while dictating, superwhisper as Pause Media While Recording in each mode’s Advanced settings, and VoiceInk, Hex and Pindrop have their own pause options. If pausing is all you want, switching your dictation app from mute to pause is the fastest fix, and it costs nothing.
Every feature free for 30 days. No account, no card details.
Download for MacHow do I get mute or lower working on a group?
Chorus handles it for you. It already gives a group one working volume by setting each real speaker’s level together, and Dictation Controls in Chorus 1.0.10 uses the same control while you dictate. Open Settings, choose Dictation, and make sure the switch beside Apps is on. With Default selected, Chorus follows your dictation app’s own setting, and for apps whose setting it cannot read, such as Paraspeech, Wispr Flow and MacWhisper, Default lowers your audio. You can also pick Pause, Lower or Mute for any app, and set how quiet Lower goes with the Lowered Volume slider, from 0% to 100%. Your audio fades down as you start and back up about half a second after you stop, and the menu bar icon dims while Chorus is quietening it. This needs Chorus 1.0.10 or later on macOS 14.4 or later.
Still not working?
- The switch beside Apps is off. That switch turns the whole feature on or off.
- The app is set to Off. Off leaves your audio exactly as it is for that app.
- Your dictation app is not listed. Click Add App at the bottom of the list and choose it from your Applications folder.
- You changed the volume mid-dictation. Chorus takes that as you wanting to hear it and steps aside until that dictation ends.
- Pause did not pause. Pause controls whatever shows in Now Playing in Control Centre. If Now Playing cannot be reached, Chorus mutes instead.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Paraspeech's dampen setting do nothing on my group?
Paraspeech dampens by changing your Mac's output volume, and a group has no volume of its own. Chorus can lower the group for it: with Default selected, Chorus lowers your audio whenever Paraspeech listens.
Does Wispr Flow's mute work with a Multi-Output Device?
Not on its own. Wispr Flow's help centre says it skips muting when it cannot read or change the output level, and a group has no level of its own. Its Pause music while dictating option, on paid plans, still works.
Do I need a group to use Chorus's dictation controls?
No. With a group, Chorus handles your audio for every app, including those on Default. On a single speaker, Default leaves it to the dictation app, and any other choice, such as Pause, applies on every speaker.
Is Chorus listening to my microphone when I dictate?
No. Chorus never listens to, records or saves anything from your microphone. It only checks whether a dictation app is using the microphone, which your Mac reports without any audio involved, and needs no permission.
