I have a 2012 13" MacBook Pro. However the volume at its highest setting is still not loud enough in many scenarios.
I set the volume to highest in System Preferences. VLC gives me a way to increase the volume over 100% but I want to make the change across the system.
Can someone tell me how to make this change?
http://froyosoft.com/soundbooster.php. Soundbooster comes as lite free version and paid version in App Store (currently around 7 EUR). Does what it say. You set boost once (system-wide), then your volume control works normally, but louder. It is nice to the processor, uses only 2% on my 2011 MBP
You have also EQ there and selective volume, but works simple enough to just enable boost and forget. No noticeable quality loss
Replying to my own answer from years ago about Sondbooster, there is even better and free app: Eqmac. https://eqmac.app/ Integrates with system, basic and advanced 10 band equalizer is free, some more advanced features are paid. I'm using it (free version) for year or two since beta version, works beautiful
There is no way to increase the maximum volume on a mac OS. Like you said, however, there are tweaks that can manipulate the sound to "distort" it and allow for louder sound. One such tweak exists called Boom that does this very thing. Not sure of any free tweaks.
Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba can legitimately overdrive your audio, among other things. It's a digital recorder with a real-time audio effects engine. You don't have to record if you don't want to.
To achieve your goal, Add your sound input(s) (Input Device, or Application) and then add an Overdrive function. Options are: Off (no overdrive/100% volume), 2x, 3x, or 4x. I suggest starting with 2x. Select your Output Device (speakers, earphones, etc), and then start the session. This has been the only thing I've found that actually makes the volume louder using software rather than just distorting the audio. Be warned, I have blown out a pair of earphones using this. I suggest using 3x or 4x with great care turning system audio very low and then bringing it back up to a comfortable level after starting the session and selecting 3x or 4x to avoid blowing out the drivers on your earphone/speakers etc. Below is an animated demonstration to show the essentail blocks you'll need to add to overdrive your audio and start a session. Your input or output device or application names may vary.
Not necessary but I use Audio Hijack in conjunction with Loopback to easily select audio sources I want/don't want as my input audio.
Sound Source can supposedly overdrive audio for applications as well, but I have not noticed an increase in volume when I've tried it, I still use it though as it is a really convenient input/output selector than the Mac OS, and it has the advantage that you can control volume for each application independently.
Update Dec 7 2022 SoundSource overdrive is working for me now on an 2021 M1 MBP, for master output level and per-app as well. I'd go with SoundSource over Audio Hijack by far.
A DAC/ Headphone Amp should do the trick so long as you output to something other than the built-in speakers. That includes headphones, earphones, in-ear headphones, speakers, and all the Bluetooth equivalents.
There are highly portable ones that are powered completely by the USB port.
The HRT microStreamer is compatible with Mac, Windows & Linux, but not mobile devices.
The AudioQuest DragonFly Red works with Mac/Windows (unfortunately not Linux) but does work with mobile devices such as iOS and Android phones/tablets with adaptors. Note that the red one outputs higher voltage than the black one according to this comparison sheet. This means more gain, and/or that headphones that require more power for the same Decibel can be used compared to the black one.
There are others out there to explore too at varying price points. These are just a couple of popular examples.
