PSA: You Can't Output Mac System Audio to Stereo-Paired HomePod Minis, But There Is a Workaround

If you were thinking of buying two HomePod mini speakers to use as a stereo pair with your Mac, you might want to think again. As some users undoubtedly found with the original HomePod, it's not possible to AirPlay to multiple speakers from the menu bar on a Mac.

homepod mini stereo pair mac
The inability to select stereo-paired ‌HomePod‌ speakers as your Mac audio output device is a glaring omission in Apple's ‌AirPlay‌ rollout, and the situation unfortunately remains the same in macOS 11 Big Sur. You can only use them with certain Apple apps like Music and TV – all other Mac audio must be output to one speaker or the other, but not both at the same time.

While it's frustrating that Apple's own apps let users select stereo-paired HomePods as a single device, this does provide a workaround, although it's a kludge that has its drawbacks. The following steps show you how it's done.

  1. Launch the Music app on your Mac and select your stereo-paired ‌HomePod‌ minis as the audio output.
    homepod stereo pair music mac

  2. Now, minimize the Music app (don't close it), then launch the Audio MIDI Setup app located in the Applications -> Utilities folder.
    audio midi setup app

  3. In the Audio MIDI Setup app, click the + button in the bottom-left corner of the interface and select Create Aggregate Device from the dropdown.
    create aggregate audio

  4. Select the Aggregate Device in the sidebar and check the Use box next to AirPlay.
    airplay audio midi setup

  5. Close the Audio MIDI Setup app, then select the Aggregate Device from the volume dropdown in the menu bar.
    aggregate device audio device

As for the caveats to this workaround, using it means you can only change the volume by tapping the physical ‌HomePod‌ controls themselves – you won't be able to adjust it from your Mac's menu bar. You also have to keep the Music app open at all times, otherwise you'll lose your audio and you'll have to repeat the steps.

Another thing to consider is that this is only ‌AirPlay‌ 1, so there's a delay in the sound output between playing/pausing, and audio will be slightly out of sync when watching videos, although checking the Drift Correction option (circled in green above) in the Audio MIDI Setup app can compensate for this.

As mentioned, the solution is far from ideal, but until Apple brings system-wide ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support to Macs, it's the only way to pipe your Mac's audio through stereo-paired HomePods, short of purchasing a third-party app like Airfoil.

Update: As MacRumors reader B4rbelith points out, if you play something in the Music app, you can then right-click AirPlay in the Audio MIDI Setup app's sidebar and select Use this device for sound output. This lets you control the volume from the menu bar, but the other caveats still apply.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
ipad pro 2024

Gurman: New iPad Pro and MacBook Pro Models With M5 Chips to Launch Later This Year

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:06 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will "launch this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new iPad Pro models have progressed to an "advanced testing" stage, and he expects mass production of the devices to begin in the second half of this year. If that timeframe is met, the new iPad Pro models could launch...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...

Top Rated Comments

GadgetBen Avatar
57 months ago
This is ridiculous, come on Apple sort it out.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hellosil Avatar
57 months ago
Baffled by the fact that this needs a workaround to work.

For me its a reason not to buy a HomePod (Mini) yet.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Quu Avatar
57 months ago
"It just works"

I actually have two Homepods (not the Mini kind) and Big Sur still doesn't support sending audio to them when they're grouped, just one or the other. So lame.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4rbelith Avatar
57 months ago
You don't need to create an aggregate device. Just play something from Apple Music to your stereo HomePods, then open 'Audio Devices', right click on Airplay, and select 'Use this device for sound output'.
It's not ideal, and media players like IINA and VLC lag. Youtube through Safari works fine though, as it buffers the video to keep in time.


Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
57 months ago

Latency. All your system sounds and time critical audio would be 3-4 seconds out time. Not an enjoyable experience.
But that's only a problem because they chose that to be a problem.

The HomePod has Bluetooth. Bluetooth can transfer sound with a reasonable latency. They just didn't implement it.
Also they could have just added a line-in. (With USB-C in the mini they could still do it with a custom cable or power brick.)

So the question stands: What's the reason they didn't do it?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
57 months ago
We don't need cables anymore, we can do everything over the air! ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)