Guides
Step-by-step walkthroughs for recording system audio with AudioRoute in popular DAWs and recording apps. More on the way — if there's a workflow you'd like covered, let us know.
Getting started — record to a file
How to Easily Record System Audio on Mac (No DAW Required)
The fastest way to capture whatever your Mac is playing — YouTube, Zoom, Spotify, anything — straight to a WAV file. Five clicks, or one click with the floating overlay enabled. No DAW required.
How to Easily Record System Audio on Windows (No DAW Required)
The fastest way to capture whatever your PC is playing — YouTube, Zoom, Spotify, anything — straight to a WAV file. Five clicks, or one click with the floating overlay enabled. No DAW, no Stereo Mix, no virtual cables.
Capture audio and drag it into any DAW
The universal workflow: record with AudioRoute, then drag the finished clip straight onto a track in any DAW — Ableton, Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools, Reaper — or to Finder. Mac and Windows.
On-Demand Mode — When and How to Use It
A full explanation of AudioRoute's On-Demand daemon mode: what it changes, the silent-recording trade-off, how to switch in either direction, and who should actually use it. Always-on stays the recommendation for most users.
Record in your DAW
How to Record System Audio in Logic Pro
A six-step walkthrough for capturing whatever your Mac is playing into a Logic Pro session. No aggregate device, no Audio MIDI Setup, no output rerouting.
How to Record System Audio in GarageBand
A three-step walkthrough for capturing YouTube, Zoom, Spotify or any system audio into a GarageBand project using AudioRoute's virtual input device. No aggregate device, no Audio MIDI Setup.
How to Record System Audio in Pro Tools
Capture whatever your Mac is playing into a Pro Tools session with AudioRoute's AAX plug-in and a simple bus-to-track routing. No aggregate device, no driver wiring.
How to Record System Audio in Bitwig Studio
Capture whatever your system is playing onto a Bitwig track with AudioRoute's VST3 plug-in. Bitwig lets you tap the plug-in's output straight to a record track, so there's no bus, no aggregate device, and no driver wiring.
How to Record System Audio in Ableton Live
A seven-step walkthrough for capturing system audio into a Live Set using a feedback-safe two-track Sends Only routing. Mac and Windows.
How to Record System Audio in Reaper
A six-step walkthrough for capturing whatever your system is playing into a Reaper project. AudioRoute Capture as a VST3i, no aggregate device, no driver wiring.
How to Record System Audio in Cubase
The full Cubase Pro / Artist / Elements workflow: AudioRoute Capture on an Instrument Track, a Group Track routed to No Bus for feedback prevention, an Audio Track receiving the Group as its input. Includes the sample-rate-matching gotcha that catches everyone the first time.
How to Record System Audio in Acoustica
A six-step walkthrough for capturing system audio (YouTube, Zoom, Spotify, anything playing on your Mac) into Acoustica using the AudioRoute Input virtual device. Includes the mic-permission fix that catches almost everyone.
Comparisons & alternatives
System Audio Capture Tools Compared — Mac & Windows
BlackHole, VoiceMeeter, Loopback, Sound Siphon, Audio Hijack and AudioRoute side by side: platforms, price, how each captures, and which to pick. Links to every in-depth comparison.
AudioRoute vs BlackHole
An honest side-by-side: where AudioRoute is better, where BlackHole still wins, and how to migrate from one to the other in five minutes.
The best Loopback alternative for capturing system audio
Rogue Amoeba's Loopback is a superb routing tool — but if you just need to capture system audio into a DAW or a file, here's why AudioRoute does that specific job for less, on Mac and Windows, with a plugin and recorder built in.
The best Audio Hijack alternative for getting system audio into your DAW
Audio Hijack is a deep Mac recorder and processor. But if you just want to capture what your computer is playing straight onto a DAW track, or you work on Windows too, here's why AudioRoute is the simpler, cheaper, cross-platform fit, with an honest side-by-side.
VoiceMeeter Alternative for Windows — AudioRoute Compared
VoiceMeeter is free and powerful but famously hard to learn. Honest side-by-side with AudioRoute: where each one wins, when to pick which, and a 5-minute migration walkthrough if you're switching.
Sound Siphon Alternative for Mac & Windows
Sound Siphon is Mac-only and keeps asking for permission on newer macOS. Honest side-by-side with AudioRoute: cross-platform capture, one-time permission, a bundled DAW plugin, pricing, and a 5-minute migration.
Deeper topics & troubleshooting
Stereo Mix Not Working on Windows 11 — Why and What to Use Instead
Why Stereo Mix is missing or recording silence on Windows 10/11, how to check if you have it, how to enable it when present, and the modern alternatives (WASAPI loopback, VoiceMeeter, AudioRoute) that just work.
Bit-perfect system audio capture on Mac
Capture macOS system audio with no AudioRoute-added resampling and no bit-depth conversion. Three settings get you a native-rate WAV. Includes an honest section on Apple's process-tap ingestion-side filtering — what it does, what we measured, and what we're doing about it.
Bit-perfect system audio capture on Windows
Capture Windows system audio with zero conversion through WASAPI process loopback at the device's native mix rate. Verified bit-identical: max |c − s| = 0 across 48 kHz / 96 kHz device rates and a range of source materials. Includes the null-test methodology and the investigation arc behind the result.
Does AudioRoute need an ASIO driver on Windows?
Short answer: no. AudioRoute captures via WASAPI Process Loopback, which is independent of ASIO — so any standard ASIO driver on your interface works fine. Explains the two distinct ASIO-related situations (exclusive-mode sources vs ASIO-only interface drivers like Yamaha/Steinberg 2.1.9), which bridge tools solve which, and what AudioRoute can and can't do for each.