Ballast

Update 2019-05-29

Tunabelly Software are now releasing their software for free (Previously paid app). They have a more polished and reliable app than this project. You may want to use their great work:

https://www.tunabellysoftware.com/balance_lock/

Keep your audio balance from drifting!

There is, still, a long standing MacOS bug where your balance may drift when volume buttons are pressed while CPU is under heavy load 🤷‍♀️ (Also charging your Macbook on the left side can cause heavy CPU usage).

Ever noticed your audio not quite right? Only to discover your audio balance slightly off 😔

This free app keeps your balance stable and center. Lives in your Menu Bar.

Installation

⚠️ You will likely need to give permission to open app from unidentified developer. See: https://support.apple.com/kb/ph25088

From the web

👉 Download Zip from the latest release page (macOS 12.1 or later required)

📝 Copy ballast.app to your Applications folder.

From the command line

ℹ️ Requires homebrew to be installed

🐚 Run brew install --cask ballast

Features

• 😴 Idles in the background, only activated on system audio changes
• 📝 Keep track of how many times your balance drifts
• 🚀 Option to launch at login
• 👻 Hide menu bar icon

FAQ

• Why can I not open the app after installing?
  As a security measure MacOS won't open apps from unidentified developers. This is because I do not have an Apple Developers subscription, so cannot sign the app. To open see https://support.apple.com/kb/ph25088?locale=en_US

• How do I stop the app from centering balance?
  Two options:

  1. Quit the app from the menu bar option
     OR
  2. Disable the app with the menu bar option

• After hiding the menu bar icon, how do I make it reappear?
  Open ballast.app from your Applications folder or open via spotlight, alfred etc. A window should be displayed with an option to restore the menu bar icon or keep hidden.

  

• I found a bug or problem?
  Great work Sherlock! 🕵️‍♂️ It’s elementary. Please open an issue on this GitHub repo. Or submit a Pull Request 🙇‍♀️

• I have an idea for improvement
  Let me know by opening an issue. All welcome!