Blackhole works on my M1 MacBook but not on M4 MacBook

[ooganah]

I installed the latest version of Blackhole on M4 MacBook, but audio does not work in a recording.

[devinroth]

That doesn't give me much to go on. What are you doing? What exactly is going wrong? And include screenshots.

[magwa101]

I'm having problems with my M4 Sequoia 15.6.1 as well.

I set my Chrome browser output to Blackhole 2ch and I setup Reaper as Blackhole 2ch as the Audio Device. I assume I can record/monitor on a channel, but nothing is incoming. I tried the same setup with Bitwig and it did not work.

I did set it up on Bitwig using Loopback and that worked.

I can do various debugging steps that you suggest.

Thanks

[devinroth]

First think to check is BlackHole volume/mute and that your daw has mic permissions. Devin

…

On Sep 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM -0700, magwa101 ***@***.***>, wrote: I'm having problems with my M4 Sequoia 15.6.1 as well. I set my Chrome browser output to Blackhole 2ch and I setup Reaper as Blackhole 2ch as the Audio Device. I assume I can record/monitor on a channel, but nothing is incoming. I tried the same setup with Bitwig and it did not work. I did set it up on Bitwig using Loopback and that worked. I can do various debugging steps that you suggest. Thanks — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[magwa101]

Thanks, I saw you say that to someone else...turns out...it started working "magically". But I think that Reaper is known to be flakey with aggregate. The working config was to start with UAD, then other devices, finally blackhole. This worked. There were a couple of reboots in between. In all, it was painful.

Bitwig has 'aggregate device' right in their own audio settings and it works perfectly. I was just being stubborn to make Reaper work for a couple of features and personal pride.

All good we can close.

[pinkflemmingo]

I’m experiencing the same issue on a brand new M4 Mac Mini running macOS Sequoia 15.6.1.

Everything is set up exactly the same way I’ve used Blackhole for years on my older MacBook.

In Cubase, when I select the Blackhole input channels in the Audio Connections dialog, I can hear the input signal for about five seconds — then it completely cuts out.

If I switch to a different input and then back to the Blackhole inputs, the signal returns for another five seconds before cutting out again.

My assumption is that Sequoia might be applying some kind of voice isolation or noise reduction automatically. Cubase shows “Standard Mic Mode” enabled in the system, and I suspect Blackhole might be defaulting to “Voice Isolation.”

However, I can’t find any way to change those settings for Blackhole — it doesn’t appear as an app, and I don’t see it listed anywhere in the system settings.

[devinroth]

BlackHole is a driver not an app. The mic mode only applies to apps not drivers. Test with a different app like audacity and see if it’s the same. Devin

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On Nov 5, 2025 at 1:37 AM -0800, pinkflemmingo ***@***.***>, wrote: I’m experiencing the same issue on a brand new M4 Mac Mini running macOS Sequoia 15.6.1. Everything is set up exactly the same way I’ve used Blackhole for years on my older MacBook. In Cubase, when I select the Blackhole input channels in the Audio Connections dialog, I can hear the input signal for about five seconds — then it completely cuts out. If I switch to a different input and then back to the Blackhole inputs, the signal returns for another five seconds before cutting out again. My assumption is that Sequoia might be applying some kind of voice isolation or noise reduction automatically. Cubase shows “Standard Mic Mode” enabled in the system, and I suspect Blackhole might be defaulting to “Voice Isolation.” However, I can’t find any way to change those settings for Blackhole — it doesn’t appear as an app, and I don’t see it listed anywhere in the system settings. Screenshot.2025-11-05.at.10.35.12.png (view on web) — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>