Hi all,
I've been building a small Mac and Windows utility called AudioRoute and the KVR listing just went live, so figured I'd introduce it properly here.
Short version: it lets you record system audio in any DAW or recorder without the usual aggregate-device dance. Drop a VST3 plugin on a track in your DAW and you get whatever the OS is playing as the input. Or pick "AudioRoute Input" as a recording source in something like Audacity. Or just hit record from the menu bar / tray icon and capture straight to a WAV file.
If you've used BlackHole or Loopback before it's in a similar space, but the goal was to avoid having to repoint your Mac's output anywhere or build an aggregate device just to grab a few seconds of system audio. Same on Windows: no rerouting your default output, no Stereo Mix tricks.
Under the hood it's CoreAudio process taps on Mac (the API Apple shipped in macOS 14), WASAPI process loopback on Windows. Both user-mode, no kernel extension. The plugin and the input device read from a shared-memory ring the capture daemon fills, so latency is the usual DAW level rather than virtual-device level.
One honest caveat for Windows users. The virtual input device (the part that shows up as a recording source in Audacity, OBS, Zoom etc.) is built and signed but waiting on Microsoft's driver attestation review.
So right now the Windows build ships the plugin and the direct-to-file capture, and the input device will arrive as a free update once Microsoft signs off. License carries over either way.
Price is €19 lifetime (early-bird until June 1), 14-day trial, no card. macOS 14.5+ / Windows 10+, VST3 on both, AU on Mac.
Site: https://audio-route.com
Happy to answer anything. And if you've tried it I'd genuinely like to know what fell short. Specifically which DAWs you'd want me to verify against next, since I've mostly tested in Ableton and Audacity so far.
AudioRoute — capture system audio in any DAW or recorder (Mac/Win)
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- KVRer
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
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- KVRist
- 370 posts since 13 Jul, 2003 from Berlin
Looks very interesting, I especially like that the developer is clearly identified on the page.
I should buy it unseen just for that fact alone to send a signal to developers that non-information "About Us" pages are unacceptable if I'm supposed to do business. Saw someone elses about page who developed the exact same application (meaning the same funcitonality) over on gearspace and that page was not saying anything at all about the team (or individual) behind it.
So kudos and I wish you success!
I should buy it unseen just for that fact alone to send a signal to developers that non-information "About Us" pages are unacceptable if I'm supposed to do business. Saw someone elses about page who developed the exact same application (meaning the same funcitonality) over on gearspace and that page was not saying anything at all about the team (or individual) behind it.
So kudos and I wish you success!
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Thank you for your words of appreciation!
I hope you like the app and the plugins as well )
I think it's very important to be transparent about the publisher and the functionality of the app as well!
There's more info on the web page about the company and me as the founder.
I hope you like the app and the plugins as well )
I think it's very important to be transparent about the publisher and the functionality of the app as well!
There's more info on the web page about the company and me as the founder.
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- KVRist
- 202 posts since 26 Jul, 2023 from France
I don't quite understand what the advantage is compared to BlackHole… Can you elaborate a little more for limited minds like mine?
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Compared to BlackHole, three differences:
1. Zero setup. No aggregate device in Audio MIDI Setup, no rerouting your Mac's output. You install it and your normal output keeps working. Speakers, audio interface, whatever you had.
AudioRoute just gets a parallel copy.
2. VST3 / AU plugin. Drop "AudioRoute Capture" on a track in Ableton, Logic, or Reaper. Record system audio straight to that track. BlackHole doesn't ship a plugin.
3. Built-in recorder. The tray app captures straight to a WAV file. No DAW needed.
Also runs on Windows. Same plugin, same one-click capture. The Windows virtual input device is going through Microsoft's driver attestation and will land as a free update.
1. Zero setup. No aggregate device in Audio MIDI Setup, no rerouting your Mac's output. You install it and your normal output keeps working. Speakers, audio interface, whatever you had.
AudioRoute just gets a parallel copy.
2. VST3 / AU plugin. Drop "AudioRoute Capture" on a track in Ableton, Logic, or Reaper. Record system audio straight to that track. BlackHole doesn't ship a plugin.
3. Built-in recorder. The tray app captures straight to a WAV file. No DAW needed.
Also runs on Windows. Same plugin, same one-click capture. The Windows virtual input device is going through Microsoft's driver attestation and will land as a free update.
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- KVRist
- 202 posts since 26 Jul, 2023 from France
Thank you for clarifying 
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- KVRist
- 107 posts since 24 Apr, 2021
Re. Windows - I'm slightly confused. If I am using the plug-in, do I also need the virtual input device?
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
On Windows today the VST plugin is all you need.
Install AudioRoute, open your DAW, drop "AudioRoute Capture" on a track. Hit record. Done. No extra setup.
The virtual input device is a different way to do the same thing, useful when you want to record outside a DAW (e.g. picking "AudioRoute Input" as the source in Audacity or OBS). On Mac that's available today. On Windows it'll arrive as a free update once Microsoft approves the driver.
You don't need both. Pick whichever fits your workflow.
Hope it helps.
Install AudioRoute, open your DAW, drop "AudioRoute Capture" on a track. Hit record. Done. No extra setup.
The virtual input device is a different way to do the same thing, useful when you want to record outside a DAW (e.g. picking "AudioRoute Input" as the source in Audacity or OBS). On Mac that's available today. On Windows it'll arrive as a free update once Microsoft approves the driver.
You don't need both. Pick whichever fits your workflow.
Hope it helps.
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Karbon L. Forms Karbon L. Forms https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=29033
- KVRian
- 1407 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Inverness, Scotland
Does not work. "This VST3 Plugin could not be opened" in Ableton on Win11.
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"Hell is other People" J.P.Sartre
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"Hell is other People" J.P.Sartre
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Thanks for flagging this, and sorry about the breakage.
We shipped a fix today for a separate AU validation issue on Mac, and that change has very likely knocked the VST3 over on Windows in the process. Investigating now - will post back here as soon as the hotfix is live.
We shipped a fix today for a separate AU validation issue on Mac, and that change has very likely knocked the VST3 over on Windows in the process. Investigating now - will post back here as soon as the hotfix is live.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Fixed in 0.1.9. Both Windows and Mac builds are now live. AudioRoute auto-updates on next launch, or right-click the tray / menu bar icon -> Check for Updates if you want it now.
Thanks again for catching this.
Thanks again for catching this.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Short postmortem for anyone curious: 0.1.8 shipped a fix for an AU validation issue on Mac. The change was correct for AU but JUCE applies the same flag to VST3, which made the Windows VST3 declare itself as an instrument with no MIDI bus - Ableton (correctly) refused that contradiction. Reverting both flags to 0.1.7 unblocks Ableton. The Mac AU validation issue is being fixed properly in 0.1.10 via a more targeted patch.
Adding a CI smoke test that loads the VST3 in a real host before any tag, so the next regression doesn't reach you.
Adding a CI smoke test that loads the VST3 in a real host before any tag, so the next regression doesn't reach you.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
Couple of quick updates for anyone watching this thread.
0.1.10 is out - auto-updates the next time you launch AudioRoute. The Logic Pro AU validation issue some of you hit in 0.1.7 is fully fixed now.
Two longer pieces I wrote that came out of some questions:
- "How to Record System Audio in Logic Pro" — the Bus routing + AU Generators submenu workflow, with screenshots: https://audio-route.com/guides/record-s ... -logic-pro
- "AudioRoute vs BlackHole" — honest side-by-side, including where BlackHole still wins: https://audio-route.com/guides/audioroute-vs-blackhole
If there's a workflow or DAW you'd want covered next, drop a reply. Ableton walkthrough is on the queue, and a Pro Tools note (Mac, via the virtual input device) is a maybe.
0.1.10 is out - auto-updates the next time you launch AudioRoute. The Logic Pro AU validation issue some of you hit in 0.1.7 is fully fixed now.
Two longer pieces I wrote that came out of some questions:
- "How to Record System Audio in Logic Pro" — the Bus routing + AU Generators submenu workflow, with screenshots: https://audio-route.com/guides/record-s ... -logic-pro
- "AudioRoute vs BlackHole" — honest side-by-side, including where BlackHole still wins: https://audio-route.com/guides/audioroute-vs-blackhole
If there's a workflow or DAW you'd want covered next, drop a reply. Ableton walkthrough is on the queue, and a Pro Tools note (Mac, via the virtual input device) is a maybe.
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- KVRAF
- 2654 posts since 13 Mar, 2004
@OP: I used to use this one:
https://github.com/eiz/SynchronousAudioRouter
gave me the lowest latency of all routing "apps" I tried.
Broke someday though (and the driver isn't signed anymore).
Is yours similar in performance and latency?
https://github.com/eiz/SynchronousAudioRouter
gave me the lowest latency of all routing "apps" I tried.
Broke someday though (and the driver isn't signed anymore).
Is yours similar in performance and latency?
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 25 posts since 13 May, 2026
I haven't used SAR personally, but it looks excellent for what it did - a kernel ASIO router, essentially. Different category from AudioRoute, which is process-capture sitting on top of the OS's own APIs (CoreAudio process taps on Mac, WASAPI process loopback on Windows).
Latency-wise SAR could push lower in raw numbers because it was kernel + ASIO clock-locked - practical 1–2 ms buffers. AudioRoute adds the OS loopback layer's overhead on Windows (roughly 10 ms on that path), which is invisible for recording into a track but would matter if you were trying to monitor app audio through DAW plugins live. On Mac the CoreAudio tap path is tighter.
The other half of what bit you was signing. Our VST3/AU plugin path is fully user-mode — no driver involved at all, so nothing for Windows to reject. We do also ship a virtual input device on Windows for the non-DAW cases (Audacity, OBS, Zoom), and that one is a kernel driver, but it's going through Microsoft's attestation process and will ship signed, not as a test-signing-mode workaround. And on Mac there's no kernel extension anywhere - the virtual device is built on CoreAudio in user space.
Latency-wise SAR could push lower in raw numbers because it was kernel + ASIO clock-locked - practical 1–2 ms buffers. AudioRoute adds the OS loopback layer's overhead on Windows (roughly 10 ms on that path), which is invisible for recording into a track but would matter if you were trying to monitor app audio through DAW plugins live. On Mac the CoreAudio tap path is tighter.
The other half of what bit you was signing. Our VST3/AU plugin path is fully user-mode — no driver involved at all, so nothing for Windows to reject. We do also ship a virtual input device on Windows for the non-DAW cases (Audacity, OBS, Zoom), and that one is a kernel driver, but it's going through Microsoft's attestation process and will ship signed, not as a test-signing-mode workaround. And on Mac there's no kernel extension anywhere - the virtual device is built on CoreAudio in user space.