Core setting, System Output or Speaker

Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)

MacBook Pro, soon to be Mac Mini.

Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)

MacBook is wireless to router, no Ethernet.

Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)

MacBook connected to Hegel H360 amp via usb, only stream from Tidal hifi.

Description Of Issue

In the audio settings I see 3 items connected to core.

  1. System output
  2. Built in output
  3. Speaker
    I’d like to know the difference between system output and speaker, they both play music through the usb setting on the Hegel. Is there a better option to use? Speaker has some additional setting options but I don’t understand the difference…

Appreciate any assistance…thank you, Rob

Hi @Rob_Lonsbrough,

Welcome to the forum!

When using “System Output”, audio is routed through the Operating System’s audio mixer, using the Hegel output directly allows Roon to communicate directly with the Hegel audio driver instead of relying on the system to perform the mixing. I would suggest using the “Speaker” output, not “System Output” for the best results.

You can read more about how this works in a few knowledge-base guides, all links are click-able:
Audio Basics Setup
Supported Audio Outputs/Devices
Signal Path:

OS Mixer Output

While the Mac software mixer does not do anything too gross, it might be performing software-based volume adjustments or sample rate conversion before playing the audio. As such, we can’t guarantee that the output quality is lossless, so we label it as “High Quality”.

A post was split to a new topic: Volume Control on Hegel H390

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