OBS Studio Audio, Microphone & Filter Setup

Viewers will forgive average video quality, but never bad audio. Configure your microphone audio levels and filter chain in the OBS Studio free application once to ensure crystal-clear sound for every stream.

Audio Mixer Peak Levels

Keep your voice peaks in the yellow zone between −12 dB and −6 dB. Entering the red zone leads to audio clipping, distortion, and unpleasant clipping artifacts for your audience.

Best Microphone Filter Chain Order

The order of your audio filters in the OBS Studio free download software is critical because processing is applied sequentially from top to bottom.

Noise Suppression (RNNoise) — eliminates background noise, fan hum, and static
Noise Gate — silences the microphone during pauses in speech
Compressor — levels out speech volume dynamics (recommended 3:1 ratio)
Gain — boosts audio to target broadcast levels
Limiter (−3 dB) — acts as a safety barrier against audio clipping

Audio Monitoring & Echo Prevention

In Advanced Audio Properties, enable monitoring only for sources you specifically need to hear in your headphones. Otherwise, you risk causing an audio feedback loop and stream echo.