Audex Trace is a Mac mini player for Apple Music that shows what is actually playing in real time: codec, bit depth, sample rate, and output match status. It also shows Playing Next, estimates upcoming queue quality, and warns about tracks that may skip or fail before they interrupt playback.
Hi Product Hunt! 👋 I'm the solo developer behind Audex Trace.
It started as a tiny thing: I wanted a MiniPlayer I could keep in the corner of my Mac. But also wanted it to tell me what Apple Music was actually playing, not just what the track metadata said.
The problem was that Apple Music's real-time playback quality is not exposed through a public API. Metadata can tell you what a track is supposed to be, but not always what is actually streaming at that moment.
I spent weeks researching this and almost gave up. Then, during a stay at a relative's house, a new angle suddenly clicked. I chased it, tested it, and eventually got reliable real-time playback readout working.
From there, Audex Trace grew into a mini player that can show:
- The actual codec, bit depth, and sample rate currently playing
- Whether your Mac output sample rate matches playback
- What's coming next in Apple Music's queue
- Estimated queue quality for upcoming tracks
- Warnings for tracks that may fail or skip before they interrupt playback
Built for Apple Music listeners on Mac who care about Lossless, Hi-Res, output matching, or just want fewer silent playback mysteries.
I'd love feedback, especially from people who use Apple Music Lossless or Hi-Res on macOS. What would you want to see next in a tool like this?
Idea: If the music is not of good quality, the tool could recommend a better-quality song (or sample of that song) – like remastered versions.
About Audex Trace on Product Hunt
“Trace what Apple Music is actually playing”
Audex Trace launched on Product Hunt on June 4th, 2026 and earned 84 upvotes and 3 comments, placing #24 on the daily leaderboard. Audex Trace is a Mac mini player for Apple Music that shows what is actually playing in real time: codec, bit depth, sample rate, and output match status. It also shows Playing Next, estimates upcoming queue quality, and warns about tracks that may skip or fail before they interrupt playback.
Audex Trace was featured in Mac (103.5k followers), Apple (15.5k followers) and Audio (2.1k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 17.8k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted Audex Trace?
Audex Trace was hunted by audex. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
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