I have quite a lot of equipment in my home office, connected to my Mac Studio.
This results in a number of audio devices available for selection, that I will never use - eg the speakers embedded in any of my 5 monitors.
To remove audio devices is not a readily available option on macOS.
Neither in Preferences > Sound, nore in Audio MIDI Setup > Audio Devices.
One solution for audio devices installed as plugins is:
- use Finder:
Go>Go to folder...and type/Library/Audio(not~/Library/Audiowhich is the User's folder, not the root folder) - navigate to
Plugins > HALand delete devices that have been added there as needed - restart macOS
Still looking for a solution to remove audio devices from hardware devices (eg the monitors).