If your audience has complained about Twitch audio, you probably have to tweak a few settings in the software.
Twitch noise and OBS mic too quiet are some problems that many streamers have had, and luckily for you, there are easy to resolve.
These are the best OBS audio settings you can use for streaming if you are just a beginner:
Adjusting Microphone Volume
1. Open Sound Settings on your PC
2. Find the Microphone device listed > right-click on it > click Properties
3. Click on the Levels tab
4. Adjust the microphone volume to somewhere between 70-80
5. Press OK and open OBS
OBS Audio Filters
To add Filters, go to Audio Mixer, click “cog icon” and then “Filters”. Click “+” to Add New Filter.
1. Noise Suppression – start with -10dB and go lower if the noise is still present;
2. Noise Gate
– Close Threshold to -32dB;
– Open Threshold to -26dB. Adjust if needed;
3. Compressor
– Ratio 4:1;
– Threshold: start with 0 and adjust;
– Output Gain: lower until you are not in the red zone
4. Limiter
– Release Time: don’t go over 100ms
– Threshold: start at 0 and adjust from there
Wondering how to improve mic quality on OBS?
If you want to know more about OBS audio settings for streaming and how to increase mic volume OBS, continue reading this guide!
Table of Contents
Best OBS Audio Settings for Twitch
Most streamers cannot rent a professional studio every time they go live, so it is not surprising that many of them have trouble with sound during the stream.
Sometimes it is too low, other times it is too high.
It takes them a lot of trial and error to find the best settings and resolve the problem of Twitch volume low.
If you are experiencing the same problems, I have a few tricks – here are the best OBS mic settings.
1. Tweaking the settings on your computer
Before you launch OBS and start changing the settings there, let’s focus on the things you need to change in your PC settings.
If you haven’t connected the microphone you plan on using during the stream to PC, do it now, and then continue reading.
What you need to do first is open the Sound settings on your computer.
You should see the microphone listed among other devices your PC is using as a source of the sound.
Select the microphone, and then open Properties.
A new window should pop up, and you will see several different tabs – for now, let’s focus on the Levels.
There isn’t any specific rule for picking the Levels of your microphone, but from my experience, I would say that anything between 70 and 80 is the best.
Now you can close this tab, and open OBS.
2. Audio filters
You can find the Filters for audio in the Audio mixer.
Noise suppression
Now, either right-click on the screen or tap the “+” icon to select the Noise suppression.
With this feature, you can easily remove any wanted noise that is coming from the background – such as traffic noise, or sound coming from the fan in your room.
The level for Noise suppression is expressed in dB.
For starters, choose -10 dB and check if the unwanted sounds are eliminated.
If they are not, go even lower, and do constant testing to see at which level the noise is no longer getting picked up by the mic.
Noise gate
Now, it is time to add another filter and that is the Noise gate.
This filter has a similar feature as to Noise suppression one. It will further contribute to the removal of unwanted sounds. If an alarm goes off during the stream, the Noise gate will make sure it is removed, so your audience can watch a stream without any distractions.
There are two meters you have to adjust – I will firstly talk about Close Threshold.
To set the level, talk very quietly into the mic. Make sure that you are using a realistic tone while doing it – a tone you might even use during the stream.
Talk into the mic, slowly change the levels of Close Threshold and see at which level you cannot hear your voice.
Now that you’ve set the value for Close Threshold it will be easy to choose the one for Open.
This one should be just a few decibels higher – for example, if the value for Close is -40 dB, the level for Open should be – 38 dB.
Compressor
The compressor does the opposite job as the Noise gate and Noise suppressor – thus it can help you resolve the issue of OBS mic volume too low.
Even though you’ve already set a quite high level for your microphone in Windows settings, the sound could still need a little boost, and the compressor will increase mic volume OBS.
Also, the problem of Twitch audio distortion will be resolved as well.
There are a few things you have to tweak here:
- Ratio – the best is to keep it at 4:1
- Threshold – firstly, set the value to 0. You will once again have to use the mic to determine which level works the best for your microphone. Talk loudly, and lower the levels. The sound should also be lowered, so keep changing the level until it is quite low. Then, decrease the final level by an extra 10 dB.
- Output gain – again, speak very loudly. Watch the bar in the audio mixer hitting the red zone. Then lower the value for Output gain and repeat the process. Your voice should never hit the red zone, no matter how loud you are.
Limiter
This is the last part – along with the compressor, it will make sure that the mic sound is never too loud.
For Release time, don’t go over 100 ms.
For Threshold, start at 0 and keep talking loudly – this is the only way to set the right value.
Related: Best OBS Settings for Twitch
Few Additional Tips
Some problems are caused by improper use of the gear, in this case, microphone, so here are a few extra tips:
1. Check which side of the mic you are using.
Every microphone has two sides, so the low sound could be caused by speaking at the wrong angle or to the back of the mic.
2. Check the distance
Unwanted noise can be caused by not maintaining the right distance from the mic.
The mic will pick up more background noise if you are too far away from it.
If you are too close to the mic, the audio will be more distorted.
More about it in our video:
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article on Twitch streaming audio setup has helped you set the best audio settings for your next stream.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to increase the sound quality?
You can increase the sound quality by adding filters – these are great for removing background noise, resolving the problem of audio distortion, or too low and too loud sounds.
What is a good audio bitrate?
Set the audio bitrate to 4000 Kbps. You can even set a higher one, but not than 6000 Kbps.
My audio sounds bad – why?
There could be too much-unwanted noise coming from the background that is interfering with your voice. Also, check if you are using the right side of the microphone – for example, speaking into a mic at the wrong angle will result in low sound.
