Adjust ‘locked’ volume levels when using optical audo

When you use optical audio on your Mac, OS X locks the volume level to the highest setting, forcing you to adjust the volume level with your receiver. This “feature” is both annoying and unneeded. To get around this lock, you can simply install a free utility called Soundflower, which includes Soundflowerbed available in the link below.

After installing Soundflower, launch Soundflowerbed. This application runs as a menu extra, allowing you to quickly change your audio settings. Simply make Soundflower (2ch) your default output, and within Soundflowerbed, set the 2ch to output to your built-in output. Now you can change your volume with your keyboard or Apple Remote, instead of using your receiver’s remote.

Note: you have to adjust the volume and select Built-in Output on Soundflowerbed before you will get output; this is probably a simple bug with the audio settings, and it takes a small change to take effect. …