Logic Pro has no sound: follow the signal chain

Platform and version

Match the symptom to the first thing to check

The single most useful question is whether the channel strip meters move. Meters that move mean Logic is producing audio and the fault is downstream; dead meters mean the fault is inside Logic or upstream of it.

Diagnosis order: follow the signal from the interface to the monitors

Audio in Logic Pro travels one way: from the interface driver through Core Audio to the device Logic has selected, into a track, out of the track to Stereo Out or a bus, then back through Core Audio to your monitors. Check each link in that order and stop at the first one that fails.

1. Interface and driver. Is the interface powered, connected, and shown in System Settings > Sound > Output? If not, Logic cannot see it either.
2. Core Audio in Logic. Is Core Audio enabled in Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices? It is off if you launched with Don't Launch.
3. Logic's Output Device. Is it the device you are listening on? Logic does not automatically follow the macOS default output.
4. Track level. Mute, solo, fader at the bottom, or a region muted or muted by the M key.
5. Track output. The output slot at the bottom of the channel strip should read Stereo Out or a bus that itself reaches Stereo Out.
6. Stereo Out. Fader up, not muted, and its output set to Output 1-2 (or whichever pair your monitors are on).
7. Monitors. Volume on the interface, the correct output pair, and headphones not switched to a different pair.

Fixes, one link at a time

Set the Output Device

Choose Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices (Preferences on macOS 12 or earlier). Make sure Core Audio is selected, then choose your interface in the Output Device menu, or MacBook Pro Speakers / Built-in Output if you use the Mac's own output, and click Apply. If the interface is missing from the menu, quit Logic, reconnect the interface, confirm it appears in System Settings > Sound, and reopen Logic. Apple's own troubleshooting step for isolating an interface fault is to set Output Device to Built-In Output and play the project; if you hear it, the fault is the interface or driver. Expected result: Stereo Out meters and sound from the chosen device.

Check macOS Sound settings

Open System Settings > Sound > Output. Select the device you are listening on and raise its output volume; also check the mute state. If an interface uses a vendor control app, open it and make sure the main output is not muted and that the software mixer routes DAW playback to the main outputs. Expected result: system sounds play from the same device Logic uses.

Clear Mute and Solo

A lit yellow S on any track silences every other track; a lit blue M silences that one. Look at the Mixer (press X) to see every strip at once. Option-click an active Solo button to clear all solos. Also check for muted regions, which appear dimmed in the Tracks area; select them and press Control-M. Expected result: the track's meter moves again.

Fix the track output routing

At the bottom of each channel strip the Output slot should read Stereo Out. If it reads a bus, open the Mixer and find the Aux that receives that bus; its own output must reach Stereo Out and its fader must be up. If it reads No Output, click it and choose Stereo Out. Check that the Stereo Out strip itself is routed to Output 1-2, not to an unused pair. Expected result: audio appears on the Stereo Out meter.

Turn on Software Monitoring

If an audio track is silent only while you record or when it is record-enabled, choose Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > General and select Software Monitoring. With it off, Logic expects you to listen through the interface's direct monitoring instead. Also click the I (Input Monitoring) button on the track to hear the input without recording. Expected result: you hear the live input through Logic's plug-ins. See the latency page for the trade-off.

Match the sample rate

Open File > Project Settings > Audio and note the Sample Rate. Then open Audio MIDI Setup (in Applications > Utilities), select the interface, and check its format. If they differ, audio may be silent, pitched wrong, or crackle. Set the interface to match the project, or change the project's rate; Logic can convert regions when asked. Expected result: clean playback at a single rate.

Bluetooth output

AirPods and Bluetooth speakers appear as output devices but add latency and may not report a usable sample rate to Logic. If you must use them, select them as the Output Device and keep the I/O Buffer Size large. Apple's latency article recommends Bluetooth only for listening and mixing, not for recording or playing instruments. Expected result: sound after a short delay.

Low Latency Mode and plug-in bypass

If a track goes silent only when Record > Low Latency Mode is on, that is by design: it bypasses plug-ins whose latency exceeds the limit set in Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > General, and a bypassed instrument or a look-ahead limiter on the Stereo Out can go silent. Turn Low Latency Mode off for playback, or raise the limit. Expected result: all plug-ins active again.

External MIDI vs software instrument

If you play a keyboard and hear nothing, first confirm MIDI arrives: the control bar's MIDI activity display should show note data. If it does, check that the track is a Software Instrument track with an instrument loaded in the instrument slot, and that the track is selected or record-enabled. An External MIDI track sends notes out to hardware and makes no sound inside Logic by itself; you need an audio track from the hardware's output, or you need to replace the track with a software instrument. Expected result: notes trigger the instrument and its meter moves.

Core Audio off

If no meters move at all and the transport runs, open Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices and select Core Audio, then click Apply. This state is normal after launching with Control and choosing Don't Launch.

Verify the fix

1. Create a new empty project and add an Apple Loop. Play it. If you hear it, the device chain is correct and any remaining silence is inside your own project's routing.
2. Open your project and watch the Mixer with the Stereo Out strip visible. Every track that should be audible should show both its own meter and a contribution on Stereo Out.
3. Record-enable an audio track and speak into the input. The track meter should move, and with Software Monitoring on you should hear it.
4. Play a software instrument track from your keyboard and confirm the MIDI activity display and the instrument meter both respond.