List the available destinations
Open Apple menu → System Settings → Sound and inspect the output devices. Apple’s guide covers choosing the desired sound output; the choices depend on what is connected. Look for the television, headphones or audio interface you actually intend to use rather than selecting a familiar name automatically.
If two devices have similar names, disconnect an unused one temporarily where practical. Avoid changing several cables at once. A short note of the previous output helps restore the setup if a test does not improve the problem.
Select the destination and check a known sound
Choose the output and play a brief familiar sound or local clip at a low level. Confirm which physical speakers respond. Only increase volume after identifying the destination, particularly when changing from room speakers to headphones.
Some external outputs manage volume on the television, receiver or audio device instead of through the Mac’s ordinary slider. An unavailable software volume control can therefore be a property of the selected path. Check the receiving device’s mute and volume controls rather than assuming the Mac has lost audio altogether.
Return to the affected player
With the output confirmed, reopen the same programme and inspect the player’s selected audio track. A programme with no selected or decodable track can remain silent even while ordinary Mac sounds work. Conversely, every app becoming silent after connecting a dock points towards the shared output path.
Keep the comparison specific: built-in speakers work, television output does not; or the same output works in another app. Those observations guide the next step better than reinstalling the player immediately. If an app exposes its own output selector, compare it with the system choice.
Check the setup after reconnecting equipment
Disconnecting a headset or display can change the set of available outputs. Confirm the destination again after docking the Mac, waking it or changing the TV input. Use the same spoken passage to judge whether the route is now stable.
For a support enquiry, record the Mac model, macOS version, app and exact cable or wireless path. Explain whether the output is absent, selectable but silent or playing through the wrong speaker. Do not use a screenshot containing private account information when a redacted Sound settings view can show the relevant evidence.