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Vizzdom - macOS System Audio Spectrum Analyzer and EQ

Vizzdom is a little tool for macOS that lets you see the frequency spectrum, RMS and peak level of your system audio. It includes a small driver that you can also use to record your system audio in Garageband, Ableton, Logic, QuickTime etc. and a 10 band parametric EQ with AutoEq import for headphone settings.

Download

Vizzdom Analyzer with EQ
macOS (ver. 1.28)

Disclaimer

This is very alpha-ish personal software. It works flawlessly on my M1 Macbook but your mileage may vary ✌️ Does not work on macOS 15! (See below)

Changelog

1.28 (7/2024)

  • Hopefully fixed an issue where the audio would start to crackle after a while.

1.27 (6/2024)

  • The automatic driver install had stopped working at some point, sorry - please reopen the app after installing the driver!

1.26 (6/2024)

  • Calm down spectrum view a little bit

1.25 (5/2024)

  • Fix a bug where the app would pick the mic input

1.24 (5/2024)

  • Detect audio device changes automatically
  • Fill the spectrum graph
  • Energy save in background

1.21 (5/2024)

  • Added a 10 Band EQ and AutoEq import

1.10 (5/2022)

  • release signed by Apple

1.0 (8/2018)

  • Initial release

FAQ

macOS 15 (Sequioia)

Sadly the app stopped working in macOS 15. Me personally I switched to Element to do the eq and visualizing part. The import of AutoEq settings sadly needs to be done manually…

Install screen

You need to install the virtual DriveThrough device (See “How to install”) and Element. Then setup Element like in the screen, from the DriveThrough device to an eq (you can use AUNBandEq) and to the output. I also connected Voxengo Span to see the output as before. CPU usage is ok for me (1%). If you have Vizzdom open without starting, the volume control should also work!

How to install

  1. Download and open - if you like to use the analyzer or eq, you need to grant microphone access when asked
  2. You should see an “Install Driver” button to install the driver and restart coreaudio
    Install screen
  3. After installing the driver, the app shuts down - please reopen the app and you should see a start button
  4. If you hit start, the app pipes your system audio through the virtual device and you should see the frequencies dance when playing audio 🕺 (not needed for recording)

How to use AutoEq settings

AutoEq is a collection of eq settings for a lot of common headphones to fix some flaws in their frequency response.

  1. First if you have not done already follow the steps to install the driver and hit start.
  2. To use a setting, enter your headphone on the AutoEq website and adjust the profile to your liking. Then select “soundsource” as equalizer app and hit the download arrow. Open the file in a text editor and copy the content.*
  3. In the app click the icon with the plus next to the preset list. Give the preset a name, paste your AutoEq settings and hit ok!

* You can also use “AUNBandEq” as app and copy the values manually - that is the equalizer that lives under the hood!

How to record system audio

Anything that is playing through your speakers or headphones can be recorded after installing the driver.

  1. First if you have not done already follow the steps to install the driver
  2. To record audio, you go to your audio settings and choose “Drivethrough Device” as Output
    Settings screen
  3. Then you can use this device as Input in other apps like QuickTime, Garageband, Ableton, Logic, Cubase, Maschine etc. to record or sample audio coming from anything your computer can play.
    Quicktime screen

How to create your own EQ preset

  1. Enter your EQ settings
  2. Hit the plus icon next to the preset list
  3. Name your preset

If you make further adjustments, don’t forget to hit save. You can also make adjustments and make a new preset from it - just hit the plus button after adjusting.

To delete a preset just hit the trash can when the preset is selected.

How to reset the peak level

Just click on it :)

How to uninstall

If you want to uninstall the driver, simply open the app and choose “Setup -> Uninstall Driver”! The app shuts down afterwards.

I cannot hear audio anymore

If something gets out of sync even after uninstalling, restarting CoreAudio should help:

sudo kill `ps -ax | grep 'coreaudiod' | grep 'sbin' |awk '{print $1}'`

Credits

Available from 1/2025