Capture card has no sound in OBS

First: check whether the sound is missing or only not in your headphones

Open OBS and find the capture card in the Audio Mixer. Play something with sound. If the card’s meter moves, OBS is receiving the sound; you just are not hearing it. The meter doesn’t prove the sound reaches your stream and recordings: in Advanced Audio Properties, check the source isn’t set to Monitor Only (mute output) and is ticked on the tracks your stream and recording use, then play back a short test recording. OBS’s Audio Output Mode can be set to Capture Only, which records the sound without playing it to you unless audio monitoring is on. The monitoring guide shows how to hear it without an echo.

If the meter does not move, the sound is not reaching OBS. Work through the console first, then OBS.

Check the console’s sound settings

Headphones on the controller or console. A PS5 sends no sound over HDMI while headphones are plugged into the controller or the console, and the same goes for a PS4 controller and a docked Nintendo Switch’s headphone port. Unplug them and check the meter again.

Surround or compressed sound. Elgato’s cards capture stereo PCM only, not Dolby, DTS or other multichannel formats. When a console sends surround sound to one of them, the card keeps only the front left and right channels, and whatever plays in the centre channel, usually the dialogue, goes missing: music plays, voices do not. Set the console to stereo:

• PS5 and PS4: in the audio output settings, set Audio Format (Priority) to Linear PCM.
• Nintendo Switch: in System Settings, TV Settings, set TV Sound to Stereo. On a Switch 2 it is System Settings, Audio: see the Switch 2 setup.
• Xbox: under Settings, General, Volume & audio output, set Speaker audio to Stereo uncompressed.

Check OBS

On Windows, OBS takes the sound from an Elgato capture card automatically once the card is in a scene. If it does not, open the capture source’s properties, tick Use custom audio device at the bottom, and choose the capture card as the audio device.

On a Mac, audio from a capture card is not added automatically. Add an Audio Input Capture source and choose the capture card as its device.

Then check the mixer itself: the capture source must not be muted, and its fader must not be at the bottom. Some capture devices work in only one program at a time, so close the maker’s capture app if OBS is meant to have the card.

Prove it with a recording

Record thirty seconds of the game with talking in it, and play the file back. Listen for voices as well as music, in case the console is still sending surround sound. If the picture is the problem instead, see capture card black screen; if the sound is late, see audio and video out of sync.

Questions

Why do I hear music but no voices? The console is most likely sending surround sound, and the card captures only the front left and right channels. Set the console’s output to stereo.

Can I wear headphones on the PS5 controller and still capture game sound? Not over HDMI: the PS5 stops sending sound there while headphones are plugged into the controller. Listen on headphones plugged into the computer instead, through the capture card’s audio.

Why does OBS show the meter moving but I hear nothing? The sound reaches OBS; monitoring is off. Check the source’s tracks in Advanced Audio Properties and play back a short test recording to be sure your stream and recordings have it.