Chorus vs MultiSoundChanger: which one do you need?

The short version

These two are not really rivals, they solve the same underlying problem at different depths. MultiSoundChanger exists for one reason: the system volume controller cannot change the volume of a grouped device, so it does that one thing and stops. Chorus solves the identical volume problem, but as one feature inside a wider app that also handles inputs, per-app routing, shortcuts and switching setups automatically. Neither answer is wrong. It depends how much of the wider job you actually have.

Chorus vs MultiSoundChanger at a glance

What Chorus is

Chorus is a native macOS menu-bar app for the devices already attached to your Mac. It groups outputs so several of them play as one, with a single volume that actually moves the sound rather than a slider that has quietly stopped working, and balance between the devices in the group so a quiet speaker can be brought up to meet a loud one.

Around that sits the rest of the job. You choose your input in the same panel. You send individual apps to different outputs, so a call can stay on your headphones while music plays across the room. You save the arrangements you use and switch between them with a keyboard shortcut, and your volume keys drive a whole group instead of one device. Chorus notices devices as they connect and disconnect and adjusts, which matters if you unplug a display at the end of the day. If you want to drive it from elsewhere, it automates through Raycast, Shortcuts or Stream Deck.

There is no driver and no kernel extension. Chorus uses the audio grouping macOS already has, so nothing is installed into the system and dragging the app to the Trash leaves your Mac as it was. It is $4.99 once, free for 30 days with no account and no card details, and one licence covers up to three Macs. It needs macOS 13 or later and runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon.

What MultiSoundChanger is

MultiSoundChanger is a small, free, open-source menu-bar tool built by developer rlxone and published on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 licence. Its own description is direct about the job: a tool for changing sound volume even for aggregate devices, because the native sound volume controller cannot change the volume of an aggregate device. It solves that by changing the volume of every real device inside the group at the same time, which is exactly the greyed-out slider problem that Multi-Output and Aggregate Devices create.

That is the whole tool, and there is real respect due for solving one well-known macOS annoyance cleanly and giving it away for nothing. Nothing in its source or its description suggests it handles per-app volume, input selection, keyboard shortcuts, saved setups, or automation. It is a fix for one control, not a control panel for your audio.

Where Chorus wins

• It solves the whole problem, not one symptom. Grouped-device volume is fixed the same way, plus inputs, per-app routing and setups you can switch on demand.
• Per-app routing. Send one app to your headphones and everything else to the room, something MultiSoundChanger does not attempt.
• Keyboard shortcuts and saved setups. Bind a shortcut to a group, an output or an input, and switch between arrangements instantly.
• Auto-switching. Chorus follows your devices as they connect and disconnect, so a group survives the daily unplugging without you touching it.
• Automation. Trigger changes from Raycast, Shortcuts or Stream Deck.
• Nothing installed into the system. No driver, no kernel extension, and no trace left behind when it goes.

Where MultiSoundChanger is the better choice

• It costs nothing. If grouped-device volume is your one and only problem, a free fix is hard to argue with.
• It is open source. The code is public on GitHub, so you can see exactly what it does before you install it.
• It is small and single-purpose. There is nothing extra to learn, no panel to configure, just a working volume control.
• It does the one job it sets out to do. A native volume controller that cannot touch aggregate devices is a real, well-known gap, and this closes it cleanly.

So which should you pick?

If the only thing wrong is a volume slider that greys out on a grouped output, and you want that fixed for free, MultiSoundChanger alone might be all you need. It is a well-made, focused tool that does exactly what it says.

If you also want per-app control, setups you can save and switch with a shortcut, a group that follows your desk automatically, or a menu-bar panel that handles the whole job rather than one control, Chorus is the fuller answer, at $4.99 once with a 30-day trial to find out.

For the technical detail on how it restores volume control, see MultiSoundChanger's own GitHub repository.

Frequently asked questions