How To Add Discord Audio To Streamlabs OBS: Full Guide

Many streamers, especially those streaming MOBAs or MMOs, will use Discord to communicate with their teammates even while on stream. Sometimes, they will also look for a way for their audience to hear what they are saying.

In this guide, we will explain how to achieve this result when using Streamlabs OBS. In other words, we will guide you on how to add Discord audio to Streamlabs OBS.

How To Add Discord Voice Chat To Streamlabs

To add Discord voice chat to Streamlabs, you will first need to log in to both your Discord and Streamlabs accounts in their respective apps (you can alternatively use the browser version of Discord if you prefer it for any reason).

Then, go to the settings tab of your Discord app and select voice and video. Then, select the audio source you are going to use as a mic for Discord, such as your streaming microphone.

Afterward, you will need to do the same in Streamlabs OBS. The command path is Settings > Audio. Look for the option: desktop audio device 1. Set that device to be the same one used for output on Discord.

You will also need to select a mic/auxiliary audio device. For the Discord audio to work, choose the same streaming microphone you set as default on Discord for OBS as well.

Next up, you will need to make sure that your viewers can hear your microphone and audio output. To do this, head to the mixer tab of the Streamlabs app and adjust the values.

If you are already live, you can check with your chat if they can hear Discord audio, or if they hear other people talking in addition to yourself.

Once you add Discord audio to OBS. you can focus on your game with the audience being able to hear everything going on in the party chat, or use push to talk to filter what gets on stream, as you will automatically record Discord audio while streaming.

How To Improve The Discord Audio?

Once set up. several problems can arise with your Discord audio being shared with your OBS open streaming software.

Enable Legacy audio. The first one is when your hardware is for some reason incompatible with the latest version of the Discord sound system. This is fixed by selecting legacy mode as your default one. The option to do this can be accessed by clicking on the gear icon, then heading to the Voice&Video section. Select use Legacy audio Subsystem.
Select your default input device for audio communication. To do this, you will need to look at the notification tray of your PC or laptop, then right-click the button called “Playback devices”. Right-click on the device you intend to use for your Discord audio and set it to default.
Refresh the Discord app. Sometimes, the Discord app can bug out. In this case, the easiest thing to do is to simply refresh it. This can be done with the browser version as well. This should also be the first thing you try whenever you encounter issues with Discord audio output, as it is the easiest solution out of all on this list.

What To Do If Your Viewers Cannot Hear You?

Increase the volume. Alternatively, the issue with Discord audio can be a discrepancy between the volume settings of the app itself, the base computer audio, and your headphones or microphone. Make sure that all these volume settings are unmuted and loud enough before you start streaming. In addition, you will need a good mic for Discord to make sure that your voice is picked up properly.
Make sure your system is using the right speakers. If the speaker’s Discord is using isn’t your default ones, it is possible that they simply won’t work. Therefore, you should make sure that your computer recognizes them as the main audio source. To do so, press the home button, then head over to settings. Click on the System button in the drop-down menu, then select Sound. Choose your active device (the one selected in the Discord and Streamlabs audio settings) from the list and set it as the default one.

How To Mute Discord Notifications?

Sometimes when streaming or simply playing a video game, Discord notifications can get quite annoying as they pop up during gameplay. They are distracting both to you and your audience. With that in mind, here are some ways to mute Discord notifications when you have a live stream active.

Using Streamer Mode

The first way to mute Discord notifications when streaming is also the one that is usually active by default. When you run OBS when using Discord, the latter will automatically go into streamer mode, providing you with a variety of privacy privacy-oriented benefits.

The important one, in this case, is that it mutes any sound notifications Discord usually generates, such as pings and incoming DMs.

To ensure that streamer mode is active, click on the gear icon in the bottom left of your Discord app, then scroll down the side menu until you find the streamer mode option.

It should be already enabled, but if it is not, you can do so now. Make sure that the Disable sounds option is enabled as well.

Manually Disabling Notifications

Perhaps it is not all the notifications that you want to disable, but only some of them.

For example, if you are a part of a large group in an MMO doing some activity, or even leading such a group, you might want to ping your party and raid members on Discord to invite them to the group call or react to important pings from your guild.

Either way, the key is to manually disable sounds that you don’t want to hear.

To do this, you will once again need to head to the settings menu of your Discord app.

Once there, scroll down until you reach the notifications tab.

Uncheck all notifications you don’t want to hear.

Finally, remember to enable those same notifications once your stream is over, as you may miss some important information otherwise.

How To Mute Others On Discord?

Perhaps it is not just Discord notifications you want to mute when streaming, but also your teammates. Whether it is to prevent your stream from becoming a cacophony of voices, or because there is a private conversation going on, muting others is sometimes a necessity.

Using Voicemeeter

The easiest way to do this is by downloading the third-party app, Voicemeeter.

Then, head to your sound settings, and select your default device as Voicemeeter input.

Afterward, go to the sound settings of your Streamlabs OBS, and once again select Voicemeeter input.

Next, open your Discord app and head to the audio settings. Set the voice and audio device as your headset.

In this way, you will be able to hear Discord, but the people watching your stream won’t.

Without 3rd Party App

Muting Discord in this way without a third-party app can sometimes be unreliable, but there is a way to do it nonetheless.

First, go to the audio devices menu in your Streamlabs OBS settings, then check for the Global Audio devices option. Select a device different than the one chosen as the main desktop audio source, then click apply.

Next, go to your PC’s system tray and open the sound settings.

Look for the advanced audio properties, then select app volume and device preferences.

Check which audio device is your default one.

Afterward, open any game or software you intend to stream, and set their audio output to the one defaulted in Streamlabs or OBS. What is important is that Discord needs to be left with the default device from the system tray for this method to work.

Otherwise, you will still add Discord audio to OBS.

Once you have completed this step, head back to the Streamlabs app and select advanced audio properties.

Change desktop audio source 2 to monitor and output.

This will allow you to hear the apps you intend to stream, but not Discord, as Streamlabs should no longer capture the audio input from it.

Conclusion

Adding Discord audio to Streamlabs is a very useful thing to do, especially if you use Discord chat as a part of your group activity on stream. Furthermore, muting Discord on OBS is also possible through advanced audio settings.

Finally, tinkering with your sound settings or using a third-party audio mixer can provide you with a way to mute Discord for the viewers only, allowing you to continue the voice chat without the audience hearing it.

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