Diagnosis
Your Mac will only AirPlay to one speaker. Which one is it?
Five quite different problems all get described the same way. Find the sentence that matches what you are seeing — the causes and the fixes have almost nothing in common.
Find the sentence that matches
- Symptom 01
“The menu shows my speakers with round buttons, and picking one deselects the other”
- Cause
- Working as designed. The system output menu is a single-choice control — macOS has no system-wide multi-speaker AirPlay.
- Fix
- Multi-speaker AirPlay exists inside the Music app and Apple TV app only. For everything else you need an output device that fans out.
- Symptom 02
“It works in Apple Music but not in Spotify or a browser”
- Cause
- The controls available depend on the player. SoundFerry provides a separate system-audio route.
- Fix
- Move the problem below the app, to the Mac's output device.
- Symptom 03
“Only one of my speakers even appears in the list”
- Cause
- A discovery problem, not a playback one. AirPlay is found over Bonjour, which does not cross subnets.
- Fix
- Put the Mac and every speaker on one SSID — no guest network, no client isolation, no separate VLAN. Then check Privacy & Security → Local Network.
- Symptom 04
“I built a Multi-Output Device and it drifts apart”
- Cause
- Aggregate devices resample against a master clock, and that mechanism does not extend across AirPlay endpoints. Most AirPlay speakers are not even listed there.
- Fix
- It is a dead end for AirPlay specifically. It remains excellent for two sound cards.
- Symptom 05
“Two start together, then one stops”
- Cause
- Almost always wireless. Every speaker is another stream competing for airtime, and the weakest link fails first.
- Fix
- Wire what you can, move distant rooms to 5 GHz, and stop the Mac roaming between access points mid-song.
The short version
If your music comes from Apple Music and your video from the Apple TV app,you already have this for free — open Music, start a track, click the AirPlay icon in the player bar, and the same speakers that were round buttons a moment ago are checkboxes. Stop reading and go and use it.
SoundFerry routes Mac system audio through a virtual speaker instead of relying on player-specific integration. Check that the player uses the Mac system output.
SoundFerry sends the same audio to multiple network outputs and provides per-speaker synchronization delay adjustments. Check timing on your own device and network configuration.
Questions
Can't macOS do this already?
SoundFerry makes a virtual macOS output available to apps and routes it to selected network speakers. App-specific AirPlay features are a separate way to play audio.
Is this a bug in macOS?
No — it is a gap. Apple implemented multi-speaker AirPlay inside its own apps and never exposed it at the system level or to developers. There is no hidden setting and no Terminal command that turns it on.
Will a newer macOS fix it?
It has not through several major releases, and nothing in the developer documentation suggests it is coming. Every third-party solution, including SoundFerry, works around the gap rather than through it.
Does an iPhone have the same limitation?
Less so — long-pressing the AirPlay control on iOS gives you checkboxes for the whole system in more places. It is one of the few areas where the phone is simply better equipped than the Mac.
Does it work with Spotify, YouTube and everything else?
Select SoundFerry as the macOS audio output to send audio from apps using that output. No browser extension is required. Apps that use a separate output need their own output setting adjusted.
Do the speakers actually stay in sync?
SoundFerry manages playback across selected speakers. Timing depends on the devices and network; SoundFerry provides per-speaker delay adjustment. Try your speaker combination before purchasing. No fixed synchronization accuracy is guaranteed.
How much delay is there?
The managed default audio path adds several seconds of delay. It is intended for listening rather than live instrument monitoring, gaming or video calls. Video playback may need delay compensation.
How much is it, and is it a subscription?
19 USD buys a perpetual license for version 1.x. Updates such as 1.0 to 1.1 are included. Version 2.x requires a separate purchase, with pricing not yet decided. There is no subscription. Other currencies are converted from the USD price.
What is in the free trial?
The trial lasts seven days and requires no payment card. An internet connection is required to start it, after restarting the app, and every 12 hours during use. The server manages expiry; changing the Mac clock does not extend it. Purchased licenses are verified offline.
Bring your rooms together.
Full version, free for 7 days. No account, no card, no email required to start.
- One-time purchase, no subscription
- Free updates within 1.x
- macOS 14+, Apple silicon