Hello, I'd like to find out how to connect one MacBook Air to another, for audio.
If I connect an iPad to a MacBook Air then it comes up as an audio source (eg in QuickTime).
I have connected two MacBook Airs through a Thunderbolt cable, then that doesn't happen. I'd like one Mac to be visible to the other as an audio source.
Is that possible?
MacBook Air, macOS 15.3
I would try using Airplay. No cables required.
See the instructions in Stream video and audio with AirPlay - Apple Support. It's really simple. Both Macs need to be on the same network and it is preferred but not required that both use the same AppleID.
I do not believe that a direct cable connection will work without an audio interface in the middle (like a Behringer UCA222, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or even a mixer that has USB out); the sending Mac would need to be connected to the device via its headphone out; the receiving Mac via USB.
pnssoc wrote:
Hello, I'd like to find out how to connect one MacBook Air to another, for audio.
If I connect an iPad to a MacBook Air then it comes up as an audio source (eg in QuickTime).
I have connected two MacBook Airs through a Thunderbolt cable, then that doesn't happen. I'd like one Mac to be visible to the other as an audio source.
Is that possible?
You could share music using the setting under System Settings -> General -> Sharing -> Media Sharing also read Set up media sharing on Mac.
pnssoc wrote:
You could share music using the setting under System Settings -> General -> Sharing -> Media Sharing also read Set up media sharing on Mac.
That actually won't do what the OP wants to do. That allows sharing of already-recorded music that is in the Music Library. Even then, it would not appear as a source for recording in Quicktime. The OP wants to record streaming audio from another Mac.
Additional detail will help, for starters ...
Here you go
That’s a good question. I was using the DJ software called Djay on the iPad, connecting the iPad to the MacBook via a Lightning-USB dock-USBC connection, and recording the audio input on the Mac with QuickTime. It recorded all of the sounds coming from the iPad, not just Djay, so I made sure that the iPad was in Do Not Disturb mode to prevent that.
I would like to do the same with a Mac, and Djay is available on Mac. Ideally, I would just like to output from Djay as a single source, but it’s no big deal if I capture everything.
Sequoia on both.
Djay to produce the audio on MBA1, and QuickTime to record it on MBA2.
MartinR wrote:
I would try using Airplay. No cables required.
I looked into this some more today and Airplay by itself won't achieve what you want to do. Although it can stream audio to your receiving Mac, it will not not appear as an audio source in Quicktime. I tested it myself and that's that.
In order to use Airplay you would need additional sofware on the receiving Mac. Under normal circumstances Audio Hijack would do the job just fine - both to capture the Airplay stream and record to a file. I tested it on my Monterey Mac and it works perfectly. But unfortunately there is a reported bug in Sonoma & Sequoia that blocks Audio Hijack from capturing Airplay audio on those versions of macOS. The reported workaround by the authors of Audio Hijack is to use a different one of their products - Airfoil + Airfoil Satellite. Airfoil is $35, Satellite is a free add-on.
Blackhole Audio may potentially be able to route incoming Airplay audio to Quicktime but I haven't used it and cannot provide any help there.
Have you considered just using a single MBAir with both DJ and Audio Hijack on it to produce & record your DJ audio on the same Mac?
If you really do need/want to use 2 Macs, then in my opinion using an audio interface between the two Macs would be easier & preferable to going down a rabbit hole with additional software & system settings.
Connecting two Macs for audio
