Lock/Default playback engine

[Macsearcher]

Hey Folks.
I'm wondering if there is a way to lock the playback engine once it has been selected.
Is there any way to have it so that playback engine doesn't disconnect when I add/remove a peripheral.
In my case, when I plug headphones into my macbook while PT is running.

[albee1952]

I am not aware of any way to do this. Some of it is a function of the OS sensing hardware changes(headphones being connected or disconnected) and some is due to what Pro Tools detects when it first opens. Some work arounds would be to try to make sure you have everything connected before running PT or not changing any hardware connections until PT is closed(or better yet, the computer is powered off). Wish I had a better answer for you and I'm happy to be proven wrong on this

[its2loud]

Pro Tools will always use the last selected playback engine however in your case, it’s not a Pro Tools issue. It’s a Mac issue. Plugging the headphones in after you have Pro Tools open will change the default Mac output.

It would a better workflow to use a dedicated hardware interface with Pro Tools. Then use that interface’s headphone and speaker dedicated outputs.

You could work around the Mac issue by using an Aggregate device as your playback engine. You can Google aggregate devices if you’re not familiar.

Creating an Aggregate device with a separate headphone output will allow you to plug in and remove headphones from your MacBook without Pro Tools getting annoyed.

[sw rec]

“It would be a better workflow to use a dedicated hardware interface with Pro Tools.”

Indeed, the best practice in general. I actually use an Apollo 8 as my Pro Tools interface, and a Focusrite 2i2 for everything else.