Discord keeps its own Input Device and Output Device dropdowns inside User Settings > Voice & Video, separate from the Mac's system-wide sound settings. Most games have no equivalent setting at all, so they simply follow whatever macOS currently has set as the default output, which is usually the same device Discord is using. That is why voice chat and game audio so often end up fighting for the same speaker.
The fix people actually want is specific: teammates on a headset, so you can hear callouts clearly and they are not picked up by your own microphone, while the game itself, or Steam, or whatever launcher you are running, keeps playing out loud through desk speakers. Getting there means understanding two separate settings rather than one, because Discord and your game are not reading from the same place.
Discord's own Voice & Video settings
Open Discord, click the gear icon for User Settings, and go to Voice & Video. Near the top, above the microphone test and the noise suppression options, are two dropdowns: Input Device and Output Device. Both default to whatever your Mac's system default currently is, but either can be pointed at a named device instead, headset speaker or headset microphone specifically, rather than "whatever the system happens to be using right now".
This is worth setting explicitly rather than leaving on the system default. If Discord is left following the system default and you switch outputs for any other reason, a software update, a Bluetooth reconnect, plugging in a display with speakers, Discord moves with it and voice chat can end up back on your desk speakers without you changing anything inside Discord itself.
Why the game keeps using the same speaker as Discord
Discord having its own Output Device setting only solves half the problem. The other half is the game itself, and almost no game on macOS ships an audio output picker of its own. Steam does not have one. Most launchers do not have one. They all send their audio to whichever device Sound settings currently has selected as the system default, the same place Discord's Output Device points to unless you deliberately separated the two.
This is the actual mechanism behind "voice chat and game audio are stuck on the same speaker": Discord has an app-level setting standing between it and the system default, and the game does not. One layer can be redirected from inside its own preferences. The other can only be redirected by something that sits between it and Core Audio, the system that handles all sound on a Mac, and reroutes its stream regardless of whether the app has ever heard of the word "output device".
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Download for MacThe real setup: Discord on headset, game on speakers
Two settings, done in order. First, inside Discord, set Output Device to your headset under Voice & Video. That takes care of Discord itself: every ping, every notification sound, and every teammate's voice now plays through the headset, no matter what the rest of the Mac is doing.
Second, the game needs its own instruction, and since it has no dropdown to give it one, that comes from Chorus. Open Chorus from the menu bar, find the game (or Steam, or your launcher, whichever process is actually producing the sound) in the app list, and set its output to your desk speakers. Chorus sits between that app and Core Audio and redirects its stream directly, which is exactly the layer a game without its own picker is missing.
Both assignments are remembered independently. Discord keeps using your headset every time it opens because that is set inside Discord. The game keeps using your speakers every time it launches because Chorus remembers the assignment against that app specifically. Neither setting has to be redone, and neither one interferes with the other, because they are two different layers answering two different apps.
What if I use a headset mic for Discord too?
The same Voice & Video screen has an Input Device dropdown for exactly this. Point it at your headset's microphone the same way you pointed Output Device at your headset's speaker, and Discord picks up your voice from the headset regardless of what the Mac's system input is set to. Combine that with Push to Talk under Input Mode if you would rather teammates only hear you when you are holding a key down, which is a separate setting from either device dropdown and does not need to be touched to get the output routing above working.
For more on device selection, see Discord's own voice and video troubleshooting guide.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Discord's audio device settings on a Mac?
Open Discord, then User Settings > Voice & Video. Near the top are two dropdowns, Input Device and Output Device, that are entirely separate from the Mac's system-wide sound settings. Both default to whatever your Mac's current default is, but either can be pointed at a specific speaker or microphone instead.
Why does the game keep coming out of the same speaker as Discord?
Because almost no game, and no launcher like Steam, has its own output picker. They send audio to whatever device macOS currently has set as the system default, the same device Discord's Output Device setting is likely also pointed at unless you have changed it, so both end up in the same place.
How do I get Discord on my headset and the game on my speakers?
Set Discord's own Output Device to your headset inside Voice & Video, then use Chorus to route the game (or Steam, or your launcher) to your desk speakers at the macOS level. Discord's setting handles Discord directly; per-app routing handles everything that has no audio setting of its own.
Does push-to-talk affect which output Discord uses?
No. Push-to-talk and its Input Sensitivity setting only control when Discord's microphone is heard, using the separate Input Device dropdown. They have no bearing on which speaker Discord's Output Device is pointed at, which is the setting that decides where you hear teammates.
Does Chorus change Discord's own voice settings?
No. Chorus routes audio at the macOS level for apps that have no device setting of their own, such as most games and launchers. Discord's Input Device and Output Device dropdowns live entirely inside Discord and are set from within the app, the same as they always have been.
