A solid Mac podcast setup comes down to four things: a microphone your recording app can see reliably, headphones so you can monitor your own voice as you talk, a Mac that isn't making any noise of its own during the take, and a plan for a co-host's audio if you're recording remotely. None of it needs to be complicated, and none of it needs Chorus to do the actual recording, because that was never its job.
This is the setup picture rather than a single fix. For two people talking into two separate mics seen by one app, see our guide to using two microphones at once on a Mac. For call audio that sounds thin or noisy rather than a setup problem, see the best microphone settings for video calls. This post covers everything around those two, for someone starting a podcast from scratch.
Choosing a microphone: USB first, XLR if you're ready for it
A USB microphone is the easiest way onto a podcast. Plug it in, select it as the input in your recording app, and it works, because it's already speaking a language macOS understands on its own. Most popular podcasting mics, the Shure MV7, the Blue Yeti, the Rode NT-USB, all ship as USB devices for exactly this reason. There's no driver to install and nothing extra to configure.
An XLR microphone is the step up in sound quality most professional podcasts eventually take, but it needs a second piece of hardware: an audio interface that sits between the mic and the Mac and converts its signal into something USB or Thunderbolt can carry. The interface, not the microphone, is what shows up as the input device. It's a better sounding path once it's set up, but it's a genuinely separate purchase and step, not a mic you plug straight into a Mac.
Either way, the practical test before you record anything real is the same: open your recording app, confirm it's listening to the mic you think it is, and speak a few sentences to check the level actually moves. A mic that's connected but not selected is the single most common reason a first recording comes back silent.
Monitor yourself while you record
Monitoring means putting on headphones and listening to your own microphone live, as you talk, rather than only hearing yourself after the fact. It's the difference between catching a problem during the take and discovering it during the edit, by which point the conversation that produced it is gone.
What monitoring actually catches: a cable that's come loose, a stand that's slipped so you're talking past the capsule, gain set too hot so a loud word clips, or a co-host's line sounding distant because of a problem on their end. All of it is audible the moment it happens if you're listening, and invisible if you're not.
Most USB microphones and every audio interface have a headphone jack built in for exactly this, often with a small dial for how much of your own voice you hear against the rest of the mix. If yours doesn't, most recording software has a monitoring toggle in its own audio settings. Either way, keep those headphones separate from whatever your Mac treats as its default output for everything else, a Slack call, a YouTube tab, background music, so a notification doesn't suddenly arrive mid-sentence.
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Your recording app records whatever it's set to listen to, and on a Mac that's typically a single input, your microphone, plus whatever your Mac happens to be doing at the same time if you haven't quieted it down first. A short checklist before you hit record:
- Turn on Do Not Disturb. A Slack ping or Calendar alert mid-sentence is an edit you'll need to make later, and it's audible on both your track and a co-host's if you're on a call together.
- Quit anything with its own sound. Mail, Messages, a browser tab with autoplay video, anything that can make a noise on its own should be closed, not just backgrounded.
- Check what else has your microphone open. A call app running in the background can interfere with the level your recording app sees. One app, one purpose, for the length of the recording.
- Confirm the input right before recording. macOS sometimes switches the active input on its own when a device connects or disconnects, so a last glance at the selector costs nothing and catches a silent take before it happens.
Recording with a remote co-host
If you and a co-host or guest are in different locations, most modern podcast tools, Riverside, Squadcast, and similar services, record each person's own microphone locally on their own machine and upload it afterwards, rather than capturing the call itself. That sidesteps the whole problem of routing call audio anywhere: there's nothing to route, because the call is only there for you to hear each other, not for the recording.
Where routing becomes relevant is if you're instead trying to capture a Zoom or Google Meet call directly, playing both sides of the conversation into a recording app rather than recording each mic separately. That's a specific piece of audio plumbing, sending one app's output into another app's input, and it needs a tool built for exactly that, usually a virtual audio driver alongside your recording software's own setup. Chorus doesn't do this: it has no app-to-app virtual routing and doesn't move audio between applications. If your workflow depends on capturing a call app's output directly, check the recording software's own documentation for the routing tool it recommends.
Where Chorus actually fits
Worth being plain about this rather than overselling it: Chorus is not a DAW, does not record or capture audio, and does not mix your voice with anything. The recording and editing are entirely your recording software's job.
What Chorus does around a podcast setup is smaller and more about speed: choosing which microphone is active from the menu bar instead of a trip through System Settings, keeping the headphones you monitor through separate from whatever your Mac treats as the default speaker for everything else, and switching between input setups in a click if you record in more than one place, a desk mic at home, a lapel mic on location, a different interface at a co-host's studio. None of that touches the recording itself, but it's the layer that keeps the right input selected before you press record.
For the step-by-step on building a Multi-Output Device, see Apple's own guide to Audio MIDI Setup.
Frequently asked questions
What's the easiest microphone setup for podcasting on a Mac?
A single USB microphone plugged straight into your Mac. It shows up as both the input for your recording app and an audio device macOS already understands, with no extra hardware or drivers. An XLR microphone sounds better in most cases but needs an audio interface between the mic and the Mac, which is a second thing to buy and set up.
Why should I monitor my own voice while recording a podcast?
Monitoring means listening to your own mic through headphones as you talk, so you catch problems while they're happening rather than after the recording ends. It's how you notice a loose cable, a mic that slipped out of position, or clipping distortion in time to fix it, instead of discovering a ruined take during the edit.
How do I stop notification sounds from ruining a podcast recording?
Turn on Do Not Disturb before you hit record, and close chat apps, mail clients, and anything else that plays a sound on its own. Recording software captures whatever your Mac is set to record, and by default that's a single system input, so nothing else should be making noise while it runs.
How do I keep a co-host's call audio out of my podcast recording?
This depends on your recording app. Tools built for remote podcasting, like Riverside or Squadcast, record each person's own microphone locally and don't need any routing help. If you're instead trying to capture a Zoom or Google Meet call directly, that call app's audio needs to reach your recording software, which is a job for a dedicated routing tool built for that, not for Chorus.
Does Chorus record or mix podcast audio?
No. Chorus doesn't capture, record, or mix audio at all, that's a job for your recording software. What Chorus does is sit above that layer: picking which microphone is active, keeping your monitoring headphones separate from what other apps play through, and switching between input setups fast if you record from more than one location.
