macOS has no per-app default microphone: the input you pick in System Settings controls every app at once. Check the app's own microphone menu first, since Zoom, Discord, OBS and others carry their own picker. If it doesn't have one, switching the system input by hand is the only option left, though a shortcut makes that close to instant.
This comes up most with two microphones connected at once: a good USB mic for podcasting or streaming, and a webcam or built-in mic for casual calls. The want is simple, one specific app always on one specific mic, without remembering to switch the system input every time. What's actually possible depends on the app.
Why the system microphone is one setting, not one per app
Open System Settings, then Sound, then Input, and there's one microphone selected for the whole machine. That's the mic every app receives audio from, unless the app has gone and asked for a specific one itself. There's no built-in list that lets you say "use the USB mic for this app and the webcam mic for that one" at the same time, because the system input is a single value, the same way system output is.
For the basics on finding and switching that one setting, see our guide to choosing a microphone on a Mac. This post picks up from there, for the more specific case of wanting one app pinned to one mic while everything else on the machine stays on whatever you normally use.
Check the app's own microphone setting first
Before touching anything at the system level, open the app's own preferences and look for an audio or input section. A surprising number of apps that actually depend on reliable audio, the ones doing calls, streaming or recording, carry a microphone picker of their own that overrides whatever the system default is set to:
- Zoom: Settings, then Audio, then the Microphone dropdown.
- Discord: User Settings, then Voice & Video, then Input Device.
- OBS: Settings, then Audio, then Mic/Auxiliary Audio.
- Audacity, Logic Pro, GarageBand: their own audio preferences pane.
- Riverside, Descript and most dedicated recording apps: a device picker inside the recording screen itself.
If the app in question is on this kind of list, set the mic there and the job is done. It sticks to that app specifically, doesn't touch the system default at all, and needs no third-party tool. This is worth checking even when you're fairly sure the app doesn't have its own picker, since it takes about ten seconds and settles the question either way.
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Some apps skip this entirely and just use whatever the system input happens to be set to. FaceTime, Voice Memos, Photo Booth, and most browser-based recorders, a Zoom call joined from Safari rather than the app, for instance, fall into this group. There is no in-app setting to change, because the app was never built to offer one.
Make the manual switch effectively instant
What is realistic, and what actually solves the day-to-day version of this problem, is cutting the system input switch down to one action instead of a trip through System Settings. In practice, you're rarely running the podcast app and Zoom at the exact same second wanting two different mics live: you're finishing one and opening the other, so a fast switch beforehand covers it.
Chorus lets you assign a keyboard shortcut to each input directly, so the USB mic and the webcam mic each get their own key combination. Press the one for whichever app you're about to open, and the system input changes immediately, no menu, no Settings app. Those shortcuts also work from Raycast or a Stream Deck, covered in our guide to keyboard shortcuts for switching audio, if you'd rather trigger the switch from there instead of the keyboard.
If one of the two microphones is only ever connected for a single purpose, a USB mic that's plugged in solely for podcast recording, say, Auto-Switch handles it without a shortcut at all. Chorus follows the device as it connects, so plugging the mic in is what selects it, and unplugging it hands the input back to whatever you were using before.
For every option available on a Mac, see Apple's own guide to sound input settings.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set a different microphone for each app on a Mac?
Not automatically and not at the same time. macOS has one system microphone shared by every app, so the only way to get one app on one mic is either the app's own microphone setting, if it has one, or manually switching the system input before you open that app.
How do I check if an app has its own microphone setting?
Open the app's own preferences or settings menu and look for an audio or input section. Zoom, Discord, OBS and most dedicated recording apps carry their own microphone picker, separate from the one in macOS's Sound settings, and setting it there overrides the system default for that app only.
Does Chorus let one app use a specific microphone while another app uses a different one at the same time?
No. Chorus, like macOS itself, changes the system's one input setting, so it can't split a physical microphone between two apps running at once. What it does do is make switching that setting a single keyboard shortcut instead of a trip through System Settings.
What if the app has no microphone setting and I need it on a specific mic every time?
Assign that microphone its own keyboard shortcut in Chorus and press it before opening the app. If the microphone is only ever connected for that one purpose, Auto-Switch can select it automatically as soon as it's plugged in, without any shortcut needed.
Why can't any app just split one microphone between two other apps?
Because macOS treats the physical input as feeding one destination, the system default, at a time. Making two apps hear different microphones simultaneously needs a virtual audio driver built to fork and route input that way, which is a different kind of tool to a lightweight menu-bar app like Chorus.
