The Communication Ducking
macOS contains built-in audio management features designed to prioritize human speech over media playback. If you are listening to a podcast or watching a movie and you receive an incoming FaceTime call, or if you launch an application that immediately activates your microphone (like Zoom, Discord, or Microsoft Teams), macOS will often automatically lower the volume of all other applications. This feature, known in audio engineering as “ducking,” ensures the communication stream is perfectly audible. However, if you are a streamer attempting to capture game audio, or if you intentionally want background music playing while you talk in a casual voice chat, this automatic volume reduction ruins the audio mix.
Disabling Audio Ducking
Unlike Windows, macOS does not have a single, system-wide toggle labeled “do nothing when receiving communications.” To stop macOS from automatically lowering the volume, you must address the specific applications or use specialized audio routing software.
First, check the communication app itself. Open FaceTime, go to the top menu bar, click FaceTime > Settings, and look for any audio management toggles. Similarly, in Discord or Zoom, dig into their specific Audio/Voice settings and disable any “Attenuation” or “Echo Cancellation” features, as these often trigger the OS-level ducking. If the native OS is still fighting you, especially when using VoiceOver, click the Apple logo > System Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, open the VoiceOver Utility, navigate to the Sound category, and uncheck Enable audio ducking. If you need absolute, granular control over app volumes to prevent them from lowering each other, you will need to install a third-party audio router like Rogue Amoeba’s “Soundsource” or “Loopback,” which allows you to lock volume levels per application.