Getting your audio into OBS Studio - or at least, polishing it or having any sort of
complex setup for it - isn’t always as easy as just plugging in a microphone and going.
If you have XLR microphones, professional setups, want to monitor your microphone audio
as you go, want to mix different audio inputs, and so on - you may need additional hardware,
specifically an audio mixer or USB interface.
This can be a super in-depth topic, but I’ll do my best to make it easy to consume and
focus primarily on just what relates to OBS Studio usage.
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I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier and more fun, and welcome back to my OBS Studio
tutorial course.
I have many, many more videos on the software in the playlist linked in the description.
Check that before asking questions, and check the introduction video to learn how this course
works, if you get confused.
So first and foremost - what is a mixer or an audio interface, and what’s the difference
between them?
Well the two terms aren’t technically interchangeable, but that doesn’t mean they’re mutually
exclusive, either.
An audio interface is just a box that converts your analog microphone (or other audio) signal,
in this case via XLR, to a digital signal - usually over USB.
A mixer takes multiple audio sources - microphones, music sources, game consoles or PC sound,
etc. - and mixes them together, balancing out, applying effects, and other side things,
into a primary audio track, maybe with a secondary sub-track.
A mixer can be a USB audio interface, too.
But sometimes they just output an analog signal that can be taken in via the blue Line In
jack on a desktop computer, or via another USB audio interface.
Generally speaking - though this is not a 100% universal rule - USB audio interfaces
can provide a cleaner overall audio signal with better pre-amps and such than mixers.
But they don’t inherently contain any additional signal processing, effects, or mixing capabilities.
Mixers frequently come with built-in equalizers, compressors, or other effects, and let you
mix in multiple different devices and so on - but at the tradeoff of potentially less
raw audio quality.
Typically not a big enough deal to matter to you, especially if your focus is on streaming
or making YouTube videos, not doing professional voice over.
But some USB audio interfaces, especially Focusrite Scarlett devices like I’ve reviewed
in the past, can have USB driver-based issues on modern Windows versions, which can cause
issues with OBS Studio.
This is not a fault of OBS, nor are there usually much workarounds.
Personally, I’ve gone the analog route.
I have a huge, overkill audio rack with processing chains and a big-powerful mixer - which also
acts as a USB audio interface, but I don’t use its USB capabilities.
I run the 1/4" main line out from the mixer using a dual 1/4" TRS to 3.5mm analog cable
and a 3.5mm ground loop isolator to clear out ground loop issues - and run that setup
into the blue Line In jack on my motherboard.
This provides me a direct-access, analog audio connection that is way way less likely to
run into compatibility issues.
It’s also worth noting that the blue Line In jack on a computer is not the same as the
pink Mic In jack.
In some PCs, you can set the microphone jack to Line In mode, but this isn’t always the
case.
These jacks take audio in at different levels or “hotness” - aka.
sensitivity to sound.
“Mic Level” and “Line Level” are different sensitivities, and running your Main Out line
from a mixer to your pink Mic In jack can result in some very gnarly results.
You can also run into other issues with ground looping, humming, hissing, interference, and
static with multiple audio devices hooked together, especially with a PC involved.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone - but you can experiment with power
conditioning units, 3.5mm ground loop isolators for individual audio runs, or ground hum isolators
for your individual plugs such as the HumX from EBTech.
I’ve got a full video on audio filtering options that explains in more detail if you
need, linked in the video notes.
When choosing an interface or mixer, you should consider your current needs, potential expansion
if things went really well, and your budget.
You can get a USB mixer for as cheap as 15 dollars, but it doesn’t provide high enough
phantom power for most condenser mics.
You can get one for 30 dollars that can support most mics, but maybe doesn’t have all of
the inputs you might want.
You can get a kickass 99-dollar high-quality audio interface, but then you only have microphone
inputs, no built-in effects, and higher potential for driver issues.
I can’t pick for you, but I do have a list of recommended mixers and interfaces linked
below for you to look through.
Also, a hidden recommendation from me - I use a Monoprice 5 by 1 HDMI switcher that
extracts the audio from the HDMI sources to a 3.5mm audio jack and optical SPDIF audio.
This lets me, with a ground loop isolator, run my game consoles to a capture card with
audio in tact, but also run the audio to my mixer for me to hear in my headphones and
send to the stream separately, if needed.
It’s not a 4K60 HDMI 2.0 switcher, but works great for my standard consoles.
Worth taking a look.
So how do I use my mixer?
What IS this wirey mess?
My mixer, the Behringer Xenyx X1832USB, takes in 2 microphone inputs from the processing
chain of rack-mounted boxes below - 1 mic for me and 1 for my fiancee on the other side
of the desk.
Then it takes in a few more microphone inputs from my microphone pre-amplifier - this lets
me quickly hook up and test other mics for reviews.
Those are the main inputs.
Then I have stereo 1/4" inputs which take in my game consoles via HDMI switcher, PC
sound, record player turntable, and a secondary PC output via a USB sound card.
Then the mixer outputs to my headphones, my studio monitor speakers, and then 2 outputs
to the PC.
The “Main Mix” takes any sounds I hear in my headphones and speakers and mixes down
to the USB sound card for a sort of complete mixdown for a stream if I want.
I primarily use the “Sub mix” which is a secondary output channel that only my microphone
inputs runs to.
This allows me to keep a primary voiceover track going that I never have to worry about
accidentally looping in game sound or desktop sound.
This runs to my motherboard’s input.
This allows me to hear EVERYTHING - games, PC sounds, VOIP calls via the secondary output,
vinyl records, and so on - and choose what my stream, recording, or call partners can
hear.
It’s pretty handy.
This is a huge and overkill mixer for most people’s needs, and it took me a few years
to truly master the mixer and fully understand it, but it’s well worth it.
If needed, the mixer can also apply a compressor, equalizer, or special effects to audio tracks,
too.
Now, I know someone has already left a nasty comment, so I’ll address it - YES, with
some creativity, patience, and realistic expectations of lesser results, you can do a lot of this
within OBS’s own audio mixer or utilizing third party programs like VoiceMeter, VoiceBanana,
or Virtual Audio Cable.
But those setups are tedious, complicated, prone to issues or errors, and so on.
Despite all that I have described, I honestly just can’t make myself mess with those programs.
To me, it’s not worth it when you can get a nice little hardware audio setup where you
can easily diagnose what is going on.
Mixers, interfaces, and all things audio.
Hopefully this guide has helped you along your way.
It’s a complicated quest, but well worth it in the end.
I hope this episode of my OBS Studio tutorial course has been helpful for you.
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Until next time, I’m EposVox, Happy Streaming!
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