A FineTune Alternative built into the notch
FineTune is a free, GPL-3.0 menu bar app and one of the most complete open-source SoundSource alternatives: per-app volume and mute, 2×–4× boost, multi-device routing, a 10-band EQ with 20 presets, AutoEQ headphone correction, input control and a volume HUD. It needs macOS 15 and installs with Homebrew. Notchy's Sound Mixer is lighter — per-app volume, mute and a three-band EQ per app — but it runs on macOS 14.4 and lives in the notch alongside everything else.
Looking for FineTune itself? It lives on GitHub as ronitsingh10/FineTune.
- FineTune price
- Free
- FineTune requires
- macOS 15 Sequoia or later
- Notchy price
- $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial
Why use Notchy instead of FineTune?
- Works on Sonoma 14.4
FineTune requires macOS 15. Notchy's Sound Mixer runs from macOS 14.4, where Core Audio process taps arrived.
- Beside the output picker
Open the mixer from the chip next to Notchy's audio output switcher and AirPods battery, in the notch.
- A per-app EQ
Each app gets its own three-band equaliser, remembered per app. Apps left at 100% get no processing.
- Where FineTune is deeper
Volume boost past 100%, a 10-band EQ, AutoEQ headphone profiles and input control. For serious audio, FineTune is the stronger free tool — and it's open source.
Everything Notchy does, in one app
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
The honest verdict on FineTune
FineTune is the best free per-app audio tool on Sequoia, full stop. On Sonoma 14.4, or if you'd rather not run a separate menu bar app for it, Notchy's Sound Mixer turns one app down from the notch.
FineTune alternative — FAQ
Is FineTune free?
Yes — free and open source under GPL v3, per its GitHub README.
What macOS does FineTune need?
macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Notchy's Sound Mixer needs macOS 14.4; the rest of Notchy runs from macOS 13.
Can Notchy route an app to a different output?
Yes, since 1.0.172: the Sound Mixer can send any single app to its own output device, on macOS 14.4 or later. FineTune does the same and adds multi-device output.
How do I install FineTune?
brew install --cask finetune, or download a release from GitHub.
Is Notchy free?
No. Notchy is a one-time $24.99 purchase for one Mac with a 7-day free trial — no subscription or in-app purchase.