OBS Studio Audio Settings Guide

Before diving into the settings, you need to decide which audio sources you want to include in your streams or recordings. Common audio sources include:

• Microphone: Your voice
• Desktop Audio: The sound from your computer, such as game audio or music.
• Audio Input Capture: External audio sources like an additional microphone or a music player.
• Audio Output Capture: Capturing audio from specific applications.

Make a list of the audio sources you want to use, as you'll need to configure them in OBS Studio. You can have multiple Audio Sources that you can control based on your current scene or trigger them using hotkeys.

Once you're done creating the new audio source, you will be able to select the device from the source device list dropdown, whether you use a USB Microphone or an audio capturing device, select the one you desire from the list. If your device does not appear in the list, make sure your sound board is configured correctly.

For your microphone, you can follow these steps:

Attention these settings may not apply to every device, you'll need to adjust the settings in order to fit your device.

• Select your microphone from the "Mic/Auxiliary Audio" in Audio Mixer.
  1. Select your microphone from the "Audio Mixer" panel.
  2. Click on the settings "Three dots button" icon next to the audio mixer panel.
  3. In the settings menu, select "Advanced Audio Properties."
  4. In the Advanced Audio Properties window, locate your microphone source in the list of audio sources.
  5. Ensure the "Audio Monitoring" column is set to "Monitor Off" unless you specifically want to monitor your microphone's audio.
  6. Close the Advanced Audio Properties window.
• Adjust the "Mic/Auxiliary Audio" sync offset if your audio is out of sync with your video.
• Use the microphone volume slider to control your voice volume.

Desktop Audio Settings:

To capture sound from your desktop (game audio, music, etc.), follow these steps:

• Select your desired audio source from the "Desktop Audio" dropdown menu.
• Adjust the "Desktop Audio" sync offset if necessary.
• Control the desktop audio volume using the slider.

Advanced Audio Properties:

Click on the "Advanced Audio Properties" button to access additional settings. Here, you can:

• Assign specific audio tracks for each source, which is useful for editing audio separately later.
• Adjust the audio monitoring settings if you want to hear your audio sources while streaming or recording.

Audio Filters:

OBS Studio allows you to add various audio filters to improve the quality of your audio. Most common filters are:

• Noise Suppression
• Noise Gate
• Compression

To add and configure filters:

1. Right-click on your audio source and select "Filters."
2. Click the "+" button to add a filter.
3. Choose the desired filter from the list (e.g., Noise Suppression, Noise Gate).
4. Adjust the filter settings according to your needs.
5. Click "Close" to apply the filter settings.

Audio Mix and Testing:

It's crucial to balance your audio sources for a smooth stream or recording. You can do this by:

• Monitoring your audio during a test recording or stream.
• Adjusting individual audio source volumes to achieve the desired mix.
• Regularly testing and adjusting audio levels based on viewer feedback.

Noise Suppression and Noise Gate:

Noise suppression and noise gate are essential for improving audio quality:

• Noise Suppression: Reduces background noise such as humming or fan noise.
• Noise Gate: Cuts off audio below a certain threshold, effectively muting background noise when the microphone is not in use. Below are the most common Noise Gate Configuration Values. Keep in mind these values may vary based on your device; the only way to achieve the perfect sound is by testing various values and reading your device's user manual.
  • Close Threshold: Common values range from -40 dB to -20 dB. I strongly recommend using a value around -30 dB.
  • Open Threshold: Common values range from -20 dB to -10 dB. I strongly recommend using a value around -15 dB.
  • Attack Time: Common values range from 5 milliseconds to 20 milliseconds. I strongly recommend using a value around 10 milliseconds.
  • Hold Time: Common values range from 100 milliseconds to 500 milliseconds. I strongly recommend using a value around 250 milliseconds.
  • Release Time: Common values range from 50 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds. I strongly recommend using a value around 100 milliseconds.

Configure these filters by:

1. Adding the Noise Suppression and Noise Gate filters to your audio source.
2. Adjusting the filter settings, including threshold and suppression levels, to suit your environment.