How to downmix stereo output to mono on Mac OS X
Solution 1
I tried modifying the setting in com.apple.universalaccess.plist
, but couldn't get it to take effect:
f=~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.universalaccess
sudo defaults write $f stereoAsMono -bool true
sudo chown $USER $f.plist
An AppleScript that toggles the preference:
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
reveal anchor "Hearing" of pane id "com.apple.preference.universalaccess"
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "System Preferences"
click checkbox 2 of tab group 1 of window 1
end tell
quit application "System Preferences"
Solution 2
Yes, there's an option to enable mono conversion under Universal Access.
System Preferences > Universal Access > Hearing > Play Stereo as Mono.
Found the answer here.
EDIT 2014-05-25: As explained in Apple's documentation, the stereo to mono downmix option can be found under Accessabilty on Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
System Preferences > Accessibility > Hearing > Audio > Play stereo audio as mono
Under iOS 7.1 on the iPhone and iPad, stereo to mono conversion can be enabled here:
Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing > Mono Audio
Solution 3
(Forgive me for digging up an old post...)
On Mac Os X Yosemite (maybe on Mavericks too), the Accessibility window is slightly different and the Applescript posted above doesn't work. Here's the same one with a slight modification:
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
reveal anchor "Hearing" of pane id "com.apple.preference.universalaccess"
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "System Preferences"
click checkbox 2 of window 1
end tell
quit application "System Preferences"
Save it as an app and pop it into your dock for one-click monofying bliss!
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nybergh
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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nybergh over 1 year
Let's just open and close this:
Is there a built in way to downmix all stereo output to mono on Mac OS X?
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nybergh over 12 yearsOk after a page reload it turns out Lri apparently posted basically the same answer and then some. I'm going to accept his answer.
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nybergh almost 10 yearsI edited my answer to include instructions for enabling mono audio on OS X 10.9 Mavericks and iOS. As someone who occasionally has struggled with semi broken headphones and weird PA systems for important presentations, I know I'd be delighted to find instructions for enabling stereo to mono downmixing on all Apple gadgets on the same page.
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original_username over 8 yearsCool. Alternately, I made an app to toggle the setting. It's called "Mono Menulet" charlesism.com/monomenulet.html