Next time you're on a flight with someone and you both want to watch a video on your Mac without disturbing other passengers, try this convenient solution for sharing your Mac's audio among two pairs of headphones.

listen to mac two pairs of headphones
The method described below should work regardless of whether you're using one wired pair and one wireless pair of headphones, two pairs of Bluetooth headphones, or even several pairs.

How to Output Mac Audio to Two Audio Devices

  1. Make sure that the headphones you want to use together are paired with your Mac over Bluetooth and/or connected via the headphone jack.
  2. Launch the Audio MIDI Setup app, located in Applications/Utilities.
    how to share mac audio between two pairs bluetooth headphones01

  3. Click the plus (+) button at the lower left of the Audio Devices window and select Create Multi-Output Device.
    how to share mac audio between two pairs bluetooth headphones02

  4. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the Multi-Output Device in the list that you just created, and select Use This Device For Sound Output. (You can also opt to Play Alerts and Sound Effects Through This Device from the same menu.)
    how to share mac audio between two pairs bluetooth headphones03

  5. Tick the sets of headphones that you want to use in the Audio Device list. (If one is a wired pair, tick Built-in Output.)
    how to share mac audio between two pairs bluetooth headphones04

  6. Select a Master Device in the drop-down menu.
  7. Tick Drift Correction for the secondary device in the Audio Device list.
  8. Launch System Settings (select  -> System Settings... from the menu bar) and select Sound in the side column.
    how to share mac audio between two pairs bluetooth headphones05

  9. Under "Output & Input," click the Output tab and choose the Multi-Output Device or "Aggregate device" in the list, and you should be good to go.

Top Rated Comments

KGB7 Avatar
85 months ago
In my day, we used a headphone jack splitter.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vicviper789 Avatar
85 months ago
to me, this is one of the greatest strengths of macs in the audio sphere...I often create multi in/ multi out devices that span a few firewire/USB devices to address my signal routing needs. Ableton/Mainstage/Logic all play along just fine. Whatever foundation apple laid (years ago) to support this, is phenomenal.
Be quiet man, they might remove that feature if they find out people like and use it
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anandhts Avatar
85 months ago
would love to have the same feature in iOS devices..
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathan_reilly Avatar
85 months ago
to me, this is one of the greatest strengths of macs in the audio sphere...I often create multi in/ multi out devices that span a few firewire/USB devices to address my signal routing needs. Ableton/Mainstage/Logic all play along just fine. Whatever foundation apple laid (years ago) to support this, is phenomenal.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMcCoy Avatar
85 months ago
No there are still some airlines that prohibited BT onboard. Such as Air Euroa.
I was replying to the post saying that Bluetooth is banned in Europe.
It's not.

It's not banned in Europe - the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ratified the regulations permitting Bluetooth as well as other aspects of personal electronic devices (PEDs), confirming the low risk of interference to the aircraft navigation and communications systems.

However, airlines remain free to apply more restrictive policies.
The vast majority of airlines that operate in Europe have adopted the EASA regulations in full.
Some have adopted modified rules, depending on the type model of aircraft. Some have adopted some restrictions relating to aircraft altitude.

So Bluetooth is not banned.
A few small airlines have some restrictions, but all the big names are fine.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GGJstudios Avatar
85 months ago
This is great but more often I want the inverse: one pair of headphones (usually Bluetooth) streaming audio from several devices simultaneously. Eg. Listening to audio on my work computer, pick up my phone and listen to a short message, then quickly resume working—without going into menus on each device to switch.
I do this regularly with my Bose QC35 headphones. They connect to my iPhone and MBP simultaneously, so if a call comes in while I'm listening to something on the computer, I just pause what I'm listening to and take the call. No switching or selecting required. I wish my AirPods would do the same thing.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
iphone 17 lineup cad render majin bu

Revealed: Entire iPhone 17 Lineup's Striking New Camera Designs

Monday February 24, 2025 2:49 am PST by
A new CAD render of all the devices in Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 lineup has been shared online by leaker Majin Bu, specifically showing the allegedly different rear camera system designs of the standard iPhone 17, all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. The leaker Majin Bu has had some hits in the past, but some of his information has been wrong,...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...