Setting USB speakers as default audio output?

Hi all-

I just got some new Logitech Z-5 speakers, which connect via USB. The sound is quite nice, and I like the reduction in cable clutter that comes from not needing another power supply.

One minor gripe I have is that every time I restart my computer, the sound output defaults back to my MacBook's built-in speaker. I've downloaded Rogue Amoeba's SoundSource, so at leat I don't need to go into System Prefrences to switch back to the Z-5s every time, but is there any way to just set them as my default audio output device?

Thanks in advance,
Josh

Macbook 2.4 GHz, Mac OS X (10.6), 4 GB RAM

Posted on Sep 14, 2009 5:22 AM

19 replies

Ashka

Level 4

3,891 points

Oct 8, 2009 12:06 PM in response to Jay Ducharme

G'Day Jim, Glad it worked 🙂

Hi Jay,
Check the system Prefs > Sound > Sound Effects and set the > 'Play sound effects through' to > 'Selected Sound output device' not your Bose speakers.
Best.

Oct 8, 2009 4:35 PM in response to Ashka

Wow. That worked for me, Ashka. Never saw that preference field before.

stooky

Level 1

0 points

Oct 30, 2009 6:02 AM in response to Jay Ducharme

hi everybody

unfortunately none of the provided hints and solutions worked for me 😟

I deleted all sound related plists I could find as described in
/Library
/Library/Audio
~/Library

I have set the system sounds in preferences panel to default soundscource not dedicated.
I tried with a new user account.
I tried with too external USB soundcards, a sennheiser and a plantronics headset adapter.
I tried a PRAM and SMC reset.

no success at all. after reboot the external soundcard is always default for input/output/systemsounds.

I use soundsource by rogue as well and deleted it, but as it has no plist/ApplicationSupport/caches … whatever, it is just the app, … no success either.

this happens on a new iMac 27" with OSX 10.6.1
before I had an iMac 24" with OSX 10.6.1 and all was fine, never had any problems at all.

despite the fact that I do boot my mac only rarely and it happes only after reboot, it is annoying when ya forget it an miss especially the system sounds as they go to the headset 😟

any other suggestions?
rgds, stooky

EZ Jim

Level 7

22,590 points

Nov 6, 2009 10:12 AM in response to Joshua Fruhlinger2

Here is what worked for me.

(1) Set audio sys prefs as desired.

(2) Shut Down - do NOT restart Mac

(3) Wait about an hour and restart. Startup chime is still internal speaker, but iTunes (and other apps) plays through external speakers without needing to reset prefs now.

(4) All audio sys prefs are stored and working properly now, whether after reboots or restarts.

I had previously repaired permission, reset PRAM, reinstalled 10.6.1, deleted all files that were in the HD/Library/Preferences/Audio folder, used Time Machine to restore HD/Library/Preferences/Audio folder and HD/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ com.apple.audio.coreaudiod.plist file from several weeks earlier (before I noticed the problem had started). None of these resolved the problem, but I am not sure whether the ShutDown/Wait would have worked without at least one of them.

EZ Jim

Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz w/Mac OS X (10.6.1) MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.1)
LED Cinema Display G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Setting USB speakers as default audio output?