Disable the onboard speaker on a Mac Studio?

[transmaster]

In all of the Windows computers I assembled I never added and internal speaker, they are completely unneeded the way I have my system setup. It really annoys when with no input from me the 🤬 thing takes over or is playing something on a page I thought I had closed. I know were its settings are and they are just doing their own thing regardless on what I want. It is bad enough fighting with the HomePods over who is going to do the sound on my Mac Studio at least they sound good. Is there a way of disabling this token internal speaker.💥🔥

 

[TheIntruder]

One lesser known trick on Macs is that the Audio MIDI Setup app (inside the Utilities folder) can be used to configure the audio inputs and outputs in greater detail, including custom combinations of outputs. Those configurations then become selectable from the Sound control panel and the menu bar menu (which used to be added through a checkbox in the Sound panel, but is now in the Control Center section of Ventura's crappy new Settings panel, but I digress…).

I have both headphones and a set of bookshelf speakers connected to my Mac. I set it up to use one, the other, or both simultaneously. The only time I ever hear the internal speakers is during a reboot.

 

[transmaster]

The way my system is setup it is the core of a media system. The MS is connected to a Yamaha Home Theater 7.1 surround receiver via it's HDMI cable. its audio and video goes through the Yamaha. My Apple TV 4K is also plugged into the Yamaha via it's HDMI cable. When I added the HomePod 2 speakers is when my problems started I only have partial control of how the HomePod's do their job. Thanks to many years of working with cut throat backstabbing hospital nurses, and their if looks could kill glares when my desk computer made noise I learned to shut off all of noise my computer made. A habit that continues into retirement. Except I had the Mr Rogers Theme for my boot up sound, I could hear the teeth grating around me. 😋

Sound pull down looks like.

C24F390 is the Yamaha, Basement is my temporary unimaginative name for the HomePods, Man Room which also needs renaming opens the Apple TV, and RX-A770 FCAB25 takes me to the Yamaha's Airplay mode. except when I have to change this when the Mac Studio hijacks the audio all this I do from the Yamaha's remote app.

 

[transmaster]

I think I have solved my problem. I hit the question mark in the sound setting window and in it I found that you can separately mute each of the sound settings. So I muted the Mac Studio Speakers. Also in the same Q/A window it showed how transfer the computer alert, and boot up sounds to the Yamaha.

Here is what My Sound settings look like.

 

[transmaster]

This setting solved another problem I had. changing sound outputs. When the Mac Studio speaker was going it was difficult to switch to another. With it muted I can back-n-forth between the Yamaha, and the HomePods without a hitch to move it.

 

[transmaster]

The above setting didn't work, however there was a thread here on MacRumors back in November 2022 with the solution. Not terribly intuitive either. It is found in the Apple's utility Audio Midi Setup. So far it is working great. I imported a bunch of new video files and the fight over were the sound was coming from resumed. On the above thread someone had the same problem with his Bose speakers.

Here is the first screen. You uncheck the primary box that removes the internal speakers. The only worry I have is that these settings stay put.

Here is it set for C24F390 which is the numerical name of the Yamaha. It is set as the primary stream.

Under the configure speaker tab you have this. My Yamaha takes care of this but in the test mode you
can bring up each speaker to test it, and adjust its volume if you need to.



To be honest about it the Apple Audio setup compared to my ASUS Essence audio chipset and sound card completely suck. Good thing the Yamaha is taking care of things.