OBS audio routing

Give every sound one way in

OBS routing becomes manageable when every source has one intentional capture path and every destination has a written mix. Start with the microphone, desktop/application sources, capture audio and guest returns; then assign stream, recording tracks and monitoring separately.

A source appearing in the OBS mixer does not prove which recording tracks, monitor device or remote sends receive it. Check each destination separately.

What to set for each sound

Check these in order. The first two, source inventory and capture method, decide whether it works at all; the rest make it easier to use.

• Source inventory: List every physical and virtual source by exact device/application name.
• Capture method: Choose global device, scene source, application capture or routing-app bus once for each signal.
• Live track: Ensure the destination’s stream track contains every source intended live.
• Recording tracks: Assign isolated or alternate mixes deliberately and choose a recording format that supports them.
• Monitoring device: Select one known headphone/interface output rather than Default.
• Monitor mode: Use monitor-only or monitor-and-output only when the destination requires it.
• Guest sends: Build any remote mix-minus outside or alongside OBS with explicit return exclusions.
• Mute scope: Know whether a mute acts on one scene source, a shared source, a bus or the hardware input.

What can catch you out

Any of these can change your choice, or tell you what to check next when something fails.

• Defaults: OS default devices can change after reconnects or updates.
• Duplicate sources: A global microphone plus the same mic as a scene source produces doubling.
• Track visibility: A moving meter does not prove the source is assigned to the stream/recording track.
• Monitoring feedback: Monitoring the program through room speakers or back into desktop capture can feed back.
• Routing software: Wave Link or device-specific buses must be selected by the intended output name.

Set it up in OBS step by step

Follow the steps in order. Check that your computer sees each device before you choose it in OBS or your audio app, and change one cable or setting at a time.

After assigning sources, select the stream audio track and its encoded bitrate in OBS Output, then listen to the received feed.

• Step 1: Before you change OBS, make a table of every sound and everywhere it should go.
• Step 2: Disable unused global audio devices and add exact sources.
• Step 3: Set levels and mute behavior with normal speech/content.
• Step 4: Assign live and recording tracks in Advanced Audio Properties.
• Step 5: Record locally, listen to every track outside OBS, then test the destination.

A game stream and a capture card

A same-PC game route can capture microphone, game/application audio and alerts as named sources. The live track carries all three while local recording tracks may isolate voice and game.

A capture-card source may expose embedded HDMI audio. If Wave Link or another route also captures that device, choose one path to avoid doubled game sound.

Plan who hears what in the audio routing builder, and see the separate tracks guide to split the recording.

What usually goes wrong

Find your symptom below. Change one thing at a time, and make a short test recording after each change before you go live again.

• Echo/doubling: Find the same signal entering through global, scene, capture and loopback paths; retain one.
• Meters move but recording is silent: Check the recording track assignment and playback track selection.
• Creator cannot hear source: Set the intended monitor mode and explicit monitoring device.
• Guest loop: Remove the guest return from the guest send; OBS monitoring alone is not mix-minus.

Test it with a recording

Record a short file and inspect every intended track in a player or editor. Confirm the creator monitor, stream mix and recording tracks receive the correct sources without duplicates.

Restart OBS and reconnect once. If a source name or default device changes, select the exact device and update the saved profile before going live.

Equipment for these connections

Start with the kind of gear you’re missing, and read its full profile before adding it to your setup.

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