Valu-Loop User Manual.

Install

Windows (64-bit Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, or Windows 11)

1. Download Valu-Loop from the link above and run Valu-Loop-Setup.
2. Follow the steps. The installer adds Start menu and desktop shortcuts.
3. To update, run the newer installer. Your settings stay in place.
4. To remove Valu-Loop, use Installed apps in Windows Settings.

Mac (Apple Silicon with macOS 14.2 or newer)

1. Open the DMG and drag Valu-Loop to Applications.
2. Open Valu-Loop. When macOS asks, allow audio recording so it can capture apps, and Microphone if you use a mic source.
3. To update, drag the newer version over the old one. Your settings stay in place.

Valu-Loop installs no driver or virtual cable on either system.

The main screen

• Sources on the left are the apps and mics you can send from.
• Destinations on the right are your computer's sound outputs.
• Wires in the middle show where each source goes.
• The top bar shows how many routes are carrying audio, plus the version, theme menu, Tip Jar, and Add Source.

Sources

Click Add Source to open the picker.

The first time Valu-Loop opens, Zoom, Teams, Webex, and Google Chrome (for Google Meet) are already listed, switched off. Turn on the ones you use and remove the rest with the ×.

• Outputting Audio Now lists apps with an active audio stream, marked with a green dot. The list updates every couple of seconds. An app can be listed here during a silent moment, such as a quiet Zoom meeting.
• Other Running Apps lists apps with no active audio stream.
• Microphones and Inputs lists your mics and other sound inputs.

Each source card has these controls:

• Switch: turns the source on or off.
• ×: removes the source and its wires.
• Meter: shows the level after the source's volume and mute.
• MUTE: silences this source until you click it again.
• Slider: sets its volume from 0% to 150%.

Capturing an app includes its helper processes, which is where browsers usually play sound. Capturing doesn't silence the app, so it still plays through its own speaker setting.

• Sending audio: sound is coming through.
• Running, silent: the source is captured but quiet.
• On, waiting for app: the app isn't open yet. It connects when it opens.
• Muted: the source's mute is on.
• Can't capture, retrying: the system refused the capture. Valu-Loop keeps trying. On a Mac, check that audio recording is allowed for Valu-Loop.

On/off switches

Use the switch to change which app you're using without rewiring. An off source isn't captured, and its wires stay on screen as faint lines. Turn it back on and they work again.

If a source is off while its app is playing audio, the card shows a gold warning: Off, but this app is playing audio.

Destinations

Every sound output your computer lists appears here automatically. Two devices with the same name, such as two monitors of one model, are numbered (1) and (2).

• Rename: gives a device a clear name. Its system name stays underneath.
• Hide: moves a device you don't use to Hidden devices at the bottom of the list. Click that row to open it, then Show to bring a device back. A device with wires can't be hidden until you remove them.
• Test tone: plays a 2-second 1 kHz tone on that device. It works with or without a wire, and it follows that destination's mute and volume.
• MUTE and slider: control this destination only, from 0% to 150%.
• Meter: reads the final sound sent to that device.

The status at the top right of each card tells you what's happening:

• Receiving audio: sound is being sent to the device.
• Connected, no audio: it's routed, but no sound is coming through.
• Not routed: no wire goes here.
• Source off: its wires come only from sources that are off.
• Muted: the destination's mute is on.
• Output problem, retrying: the system wouldn't open the device. Valu-Loop keeps trying.
• Disconnected: the device is gone from the system.

A gold note appears if Windows or macOS has the device below 100%, and a red note appears if it has it muted. These settings lower what the device actually gets, so fix them in your sound settings.

Above the list, Rescan lists devices and apps again right away, and Sound Settings opens your computer's sound settings. Valu-Loop can only send to devices the system lists as outputs, so a missing device has to be fixed there.

Routes and wires

• Add by clicking: click a source, then click each destination.
• Add by dragging: drag from a source's dot onto a destination.
• Remove: hover over a wire and click the red ×, or select the source and click that destination again.
• Finish: click empty space to deselect the source.

Wire colors:

• Green with moving dots: sound is reaching the destination.
• Gold: the source has sound, but the destination isn't receiving it.
• Gray: routed, with no sound right now.
• Red: the destination is disconnected. A wire also turns red while you hover to remove it.
• Faint line: the source is off.

Reading the meters

Each meter has a left and a right bar, running from -60 dB to 0 dB. Green is normal, gold starts at -12 dB, and red starts at -3 dB. The thin line marks the recent peak. Keep it out of the red, because sound past full scale will clip.

Multiple sources

You can turn on as many sources as you want. Each destination mixes everything wired to it, and each source keeps its own volume, mute, and meter. If a destination reaches the red, lower the source volumes.

Meeting app settings

• Set the app's speaker to your normal speakers, not a routed device, or that device gets the sound twice.
• Zoom doesn't play your own mic back to you, so add your mic as a source if your voice belongs on the recorders.
• Zoom's own volume control or the system volume mixer may change the level Valu-Loop captures, so check your meters after changing them.

Your speakers

Each route goes to a specific device, not to whatever the system calls the default. You can change your default speakers without moving your routes. To hear the sound on a monitor with speakers, route to it and use that card's own slider.

OBS and other apps

Valu-Loop sends to existing devices and doesn't create one, so another app such as OBS can't select it directly. To give OBS exactly Valu-Loop's mix, use a free virtual cable:

Both are free from their makers (VB-CABLE is donationware). On the BlackHole page, choose the 2ch version.

1. Install VB-CABLE on Windows or BlackHole on Mac from the links above.
2. In Valu-Loop, wire your sources to CABLE Input (Mac: BlackHole). VB-CABLE's names look backwards: Valu-Loop plays into Input, and the other app listens to Output.
3. In OBS, add an Audio Input Capture source set to CABLE Output (Mac: BlackHole).

• Keep the meeting app's speaker and microphone on your normal devices. If Zoom's microphone is set to the cable, the other participants hear themselves echoed back.
• Don't add the cable as a Valu-Loop source while it's wired as a destination, or the sound feeds back into itself.
• For a simple recording, OBS can also capture one app by itself: Application Audio Capture on Windows, or the macOS Screen Capture source with audio on Mac.

Saved settings and reconnecting

Valu-Loop saves changes as you make them, including sources, switches, wires, levels, names, and theme. It also returns to your last window size and position.

• If an app closes and reopens, its route reconnects.
• If a recorder drops off, it shows Disconnected with a red wire and reconnects when the system sees it again.
• Closing Valu-Loop stops sound to every destination, so it asks you to confirm.
• Only one copy can run at a time.

Settings are stored in %APPDATA%\Valu-Loop on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Valu-Loop on Mac.

Themes

Use the menu at the top to pick Lab Dark, Lab Light, or Follow System.

Tip Jar

Valu-Loop is free. The Tip Jar button opens a PayPal page in your browser if you'd like to support development. It's completely optional.

Troubleshooting

• The recorder isn't listed. Make sure it's connected and active, then click Rescan. If it's still missing, click Sound Settings and look for it there. Valu-Loop can only show devices the system lists as outputs. Also check Hidden devices.
• Mac: a source says Running, silent while the app plays. Allow Valu-Loop under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, then reopen Valu-Loop.
• The app isn't in the picker. Open it and join the meeting or start playback. The list refreshes every couple of seconds.
• The source meter is still. Make sure the source is on and not muted, and that the app is really playing sound.
• The source moves but the destination doesn't. Check for a wire, the destination's mute and slider, and any red Disconnected status.
• The meter moves but the recorder is silent. Use Test tone, then check the system volume warning and the recorder's audio input.
• The sound is doubled. The app is probably also playing directly on that device. Set its speaker to your normal speakers.
• My voice isn't on the recording. Add your mic as a source and route it.
• Something else went wrong. Send the log, valu-loop.log in the settings folder above, to holmstockd@danielholmstock.com.