In short
You can send a call's sound to an AirPlay speaker from Control Centre, but AirPlay is built for music. The speaker buffers audio before playing it, so the call arrives late, and the other side's voice fills the room for your microphone to hear. Headphones work better for calls.
You can send a call's sound to an AirPlay speaker, such as a HomePod, from Control Centre › Sound, and the call will play through it. It is not a good way to take a call. AirPlay is designed for music: the speaker holds some audio in a buffer before playing it, so the other person's voice arrives late, and it fills the room, where your Mac's microphone hears it and can send it back to them as echo. For calls, headphones work better, and the Mac's own speakers are the next best thing.
This guide covers how to do it if you want to, what goes wrong, and what to use instead.
Send a call to an AirPlay speaker
- Put the Mac and the speaker on the same network. Apple says both must be on the same network for the speaker to appear.
- Open Control Centre in the menu bar and click Sound.
- Choose the speaker under AirPlay. The Mac's sound, including the call app's, now plays there.
- Check the microphone. An AirPlay speaker is an output only. Open System Settings › Sound, choose Input, and make sure the microphone you want is selected.
- Check the call app. In Zoom, Teams or Meet, set the speaker to follow the system, or choose the AirPlay device if it is listed.
- Test with someone. Ask them whether they hear themselves back. If they do, turn the volume down or switch to headphones.
Apple notes that from Control Centre on a Mac you can stream to one AirPlay speaker at a time, not several.
Why AirPlay and calls do not mix
Delay
AirPlay sends audio over the network to a speaker that buffers it before playing. Apple's WWDC 2017 session introducing AirPlay 2 describes AirPlay as a stream to which the speaker adds buffering, giving a fixed output latency. That buffering is what keeps music smooth when Wi-Fi is busy. In a conversation, it means you hear each sentence later than you would in headphones, and your reply starts later too. People talk over each other more.
Apple does not publish a single latency figure for AirPlay speakers, and it varies. If a call feels slightly out of step on a HomePod and fine on headphones, this is why.
Echo
A speaker across the room is the worst case for echo. The other side's voice fills the room, and your microphone, on the Mac a metre or two away, hears it along with you. Call apps cancel echo by subtracting what they played from what the microphone hears; with a loud, distant speaker, more of it reaches the microphone, and some can get through. The other people then hear themselves, slightly delayed.
The other side is on my track: fixing echo in call recordings explains the same effect in recordings.
Lip sync on video
On a video call, the picture on your screen arrives on time and the sound from the AirPlay speaker arrives late. Some people notice this more than the delay itself.
Better options for calls
| Output | Delay | Echo risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wired headphones | Lowest | None | The simplest choice for calls |
| AirPods or Bluetooth headphones | Small | None | Listen on them, speak into the Mac's microphone for better sound |
| Mac's built-in speakers | Low | Some | Call apps handle this case well; keep the volume moderate |
| External wired or USB speakers | Low | Some to more | Keep them away from the microphone |
| AirPlay speaker | Highest | Most | Suits music, not conversation |
If you use Bluetooth headphones, listen on them and speak into the Mac's built-in or a wired microphone. Apple says a Bluetooth headset's audio quality drops while its microphone is in use; Bluetooth headsets on a Mac explains why.
When a room speaker makes sense
Sometimes you want a group in a room to hear a call. A speaker designed for conference calls, with its own microphones and echo cancellation built in, does that job better than a music speaker, because it knows exactly what it played and when. Connected by USB, it appears as both input and output. Setting up your Mac's audio for calls covers input and output choices in general.
If you only want background music between calls on the HomePod, switch the output back to headphones before the call starts. Control Centre makes that one click.
Switching back before a call
If you use a HomePod or another AirPlay speaker for music during the day, the Mac's output stays on it until you change it, and your next call will play there. Make switching a habit:
- Before the call, open Control Centre › Sound and choose your headphones or the Mac's speakers.
- Check the call app's speaker setting, if it names a device rather than following the system.
- After the call, switch back to the AirPlay speaker for music.
If calls start unexpectedly on the speaker, check whether the call app is set to a specific output rather than following the system; choosing the right microphone on a Mac shows where call apps keep their own device settings.
If you record calls
A recorder that captures what the Mac plays has to capture it somewhere on its way to the speaker. How that works with network speakers depends on the recorder.
With Notey, check before relying on it. Notey records what your Mac plays as the Them track, and we have not confirmed how that behaves when the output is an AirPlay speaker. A one-minute test settles it:
- Choose the AirPlay speaker as the output.
- Press Start in Notey and play a video with speech.
- Watch the Them meter on the floating button, then stop and read the transcript.
If the Them side is empty, switch the output to headphones for calls you record. In any case, a speaker in the room means your microphone hears the other side too, so their words can also appear on your side of the transcript. Headphones avoid that.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a HomePod as a speaker for Zoom calls on a Mac?
You can choose it as the Mac's output from Control Centre, and the call plays through it. Expect a delay, and expect more echo, because the sound fills the room your microphone is in. Headphones avoid both.
Why is there a delay on AirPlay speakers?
AirPlay speakers hold some audio in a buffer before playing it, which keeps music smooth over Wi-Fi. Apple's own developer material on AirPlay 2 describes that buffering. For a conversation, the same delay makes replies feel late.
Why does the other side hear an echo when I use an AirPlay speaker?
The speaker plays their voice into the room, and your Mac's microphone picks it up. Call apps try to cancel that, but a loud speaker across a room makes it harder, and some can get through.
Will a recording of the call include the AirPlay audio?
It depends on the recorder and how it captures sound. Test before a real call - play a video to the AirPlay speaker while recording and check that the other side's track moves.
Can I use two AirPlay speakers for a call?
Apple notes that from Control Centre on a Mac you can stream to one AirPlay speaker, not several. For calls, one speaker is already more delay and echo than headphones.