Xounds Redux Version History

Version 1.5.1 (October 11th, 2026)

Made it clearer that the “Exclude” button is a button.
Changed "Play sounds for accessibility notifications" to "Enable Xounds Redux" to make it clearer that this is a controlling switch. (#1)
Added compatibility with a bundle containing WindowShade Redux in the registration system.
Added sound interoperability with WindowShade Redux.

Version 1.5 (October 6th, 2026)

New: Supports SoundPackager sound schemes (.soundpack). Note: Windows events and macOS events are very different with little overlap so you’ll probably need to set a macOS sound set and a Windows Sound Scheme in the System section to get full coverage.
New: Supports SoundManager sound schemes (.ths). Note: Windows events and macOS events are very different with little overlap so you’ll probably need to set a macOS sound set and a Windows Sound Scheme in the System section to get full coverage.
New: Supports Windows 7+ theme packs (.themepack) and Windows 8+ theme packs (.deskthemepack). Many themes don’t include any sounds of their own, and Xounds Redux tells you when one doesn’t. Note: Windows events and macOS events are very different with little overlap so you’ll probably need to set a macOS sound set and a Windows Sound Scheme in the System section to get full coverage.
New: Supports freedesktop sound themes, the kind KDE Plasma, GNOME, and Ubuntu use. Import a theme’s folder, or the archive it comes in (.tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.xz, or .zip) with the Import… button in the Sound Sets tab. You can find a selection of them in the KDE Store’s System Sounds category. Unlike Windows sound schemes, sound themes can have sounds for menus, windows, and controls too.
New: Supports Mechvibes sound packs, which can give every key its own sound. Import a pack’s folder, or the .zip it comes in, with the Import… button in the Sound Sets tab, then choose it for Key Press and Key Modifier, where it’s marked Enhanced. You can find a selection of them at mechvibes.com. To hear them, turn on Play sounds for key presses in the General tab.
Now loads Xoundsets from all appropriate Library/Application Support/com.totallynotmalicious.XoundsRedux/Xound Sets/ folders in each domain (network, local, user, et fam)
Improve VoiceOver readings a bit.
Added volume sliders for each event.
Added ability to choose sound output device for audio played by Xounds Redux.
Added menu item release event.
Hooked up numerous Mac OS Classic sound events that were previously listed but did nothing.
Hooked up key modifier state change events.
Moved Mouse Click, Key Press, and Key Modifier to the System section of the Sound Sets tab, next to Caps Lock On and Caps Lock Off.
No longer plays menu open/closed sounds for multiple 0-sized phantom menus when a context menu opens and closes.
Added Silence and Change Sound to the context menu of each sound in the WTF Was That?! tab. Silence stops a sound in just that app, and Afflicted Apps lists the sounds you’ve silenced so you can turn them back on.
Added Pause Sounds to the Xounds Redux menu: pause for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or until tomorrow morning (6am). Choose Resume Sounds to hear them again sooner.
Added “Sound would come from the Mac’s own speakers” to the Go quiet reasons, for hearing sounds only in headphones and the like. It’s off by default.
Added Shortcuts actions to turn sounds on or off, pause/resume them, and choose a sound set. (They’re accessible via Spotlight and Siri too.)
Added a Focus filter that chooses a sound set for each Focus (without needing access to your Focus status). Set it up in System Settings > Focus, under Focus Filters. When the Focus turns off, Xounds Redux goes back to the sound set you had before.
Added UX polish.
Added explicit notification event. Dialog open/close events will continue to play if no explicit notification event sound is set.*
Added Device Connect/Disconnect events for USB devices. This is separate from disk mount and unmount events.*
Added Low Battery (22%) and Critically Low Battery (~10 minutes remaining) events. To hear sounds assigned to these events, leave “Go quiet when ‘The Mac is on battery power’” turned off (the default).*
Plays Change Theme/Startup/Login sound on Xoundset change if the Xoundset supplies one.*
Added Application Crashed event. Only fires for applications with Dock icons.*
Added explicit password prompt event for administrator, keychain, and Touch ID prompts. Window open/close events will continue to play if no explicit password prompt event sound is set.*
Added Navigate event for when a Finder window goes to another folder.*
Added Power Connected and Power Disconnected events for the power adapter. To hear Power Disconnected, leave “Go quiet when ‘The Mac is on battery power’” turned off (the default).
Added Sleep and Wake events. Sleep doesn’t play when the Mac goes to sleep on its own after sitting idle.
*Added for better SoundPackager sound scheme (.soundpack) support

Version 1.0.2 (September 25th, 2026)

Critical Fix: You can now import Mac OS 8.5-Mac OS 9.2.2 Sound Sets on macOS 26.x again.
Made it more explicit in the status item why Xounds Redux isn’t playing sounds.

Version 1.0.1 (September 23rd, 2026)

Status item icons by Davi Andrade
Now supports setting sounds for keyboard key presses (and they support stereo panning based on keyboard layout). You can get royalty-free keypress sounds from Canva’s Pixabay website (this is not an endorsement).
No longer plays an absurd number of “application launch” sounds when first launching Xounds Redux.

Version 1.0 (September 17th, 2026)

Initial Release. Welcome to Xounds Redux. <Plays Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter Stage Start Theme>
Icons by Davi Andrade