Loopback

Loopback is the answer to the question every advanced Mac podcaster ends up asking: how do I get my microphone, the Zoom call, the YouTube clip, and the soundboard all into the same recording app cleanly? macOS doesn't let you combine audio sources natively in any meaningful way, and Loopback fills that gap with virtual audio devices you configure in a visual patch-bay. Drag in your mic, drag in Chrome's audio, drag in Spotify, route through monitoring channels, and any app that asks for a microphone now sees one combined source.

For a podcaster running a sound-effects deck alongside a remote guest call and wanting everything to land in one Audio Hijack session, this is the missing piece. The downsides are platform — Mac only — and the price.

$99 for a routing utility is real money if you only need it occasionally, though the Loopback + Audio Hijack bundle at $130 is a notable saving if you're picking up both. The free trial works, but watermarks your audio so you can hear what it does without using it for anything real.

For simple one-mic solo shows, you don't need this at all. For multi-source live shows with system audio mixed in, nothing else on macOS comes close.