Sound Output Issues on Mac OS X Catalina

Audacity 3 Help Forum macOS
1

Hi,

I have a USB headset which adds a new output device when connected to the Mac. I have an annoying bug which forces me to restart Audacity frequently.

  1. When I connect the headset while Audacity is running it does not show up in the list of output devices.
    I have to restart Audacity while the audio device is present.

  2. Also - when the Mac goes to sleep while the USB headset is connected and selected as an output device in Audacity, I get an error when trying to play which says “Error opening sound device”.

Switching to another sound output and back to the headset doesn’t help either, only restarting Audacity.

Best,
-John

2

Alternatively, you could “Rescan Audio Devices” (near the bottom of the “Transport” menu). This usually takes a few seconds to complete.
Very occasionally I find that it necessary to rescan twice, though usually just once is sufficient to allow Audacity to see the newly added device.