Your audio quality is arguably the most important feature of your Twitch stream. If you have popping sounds, are too quiet or loud, or just sound really bad, most viewers won’t stick around to see how you play. Instead, they will check out other streamers and join other communities.
You can’t see or hear when your audio is bad while you are streaming, so it is a good idea to make sure it is set up correctly in advance. The good news is, that just a little understanding about how your mic works can make all the difference in how you sound to your viewers.
Invest in a Good Mic
While the tips in this article will be good for any type of mic, it is a good idea to invest a small amount into a decent USB mic if you intend to take your streaming career seriously. Your sound quality is extremely important to your channel and using a webcam mic or a headset mic are not designed for content creation. They are designed for quick calls between co-workers or friends and can’t offer the same quality as even a basic USB mic.
In the film industry, we have the saying, “60% of your film is audio.” When it comes to Twitch, this can go up to 100% as people will listen to you as they walk around the house or play other games. Here are three basic USB microphones that are affordable and will improve your sound quality:
AT2020+
- High-quality A/D Converter
- Mix Control
- Superior sound
HyperX QuadCast
- Tap to Mute Censor
- Shock Mount
- 4 Polar Patterns
Blue Yeti
- Zero Latency
- Multiple Pattern Selection
- Mute Button
How to Improve Your Audio on OBS or Streamlabs
In order to improve your audio, you will need to first listen back so that you can diagnose the issues. Here’s what you should do:
Step 1: You will need to open OBS or Streamlabs to turn on the monitor feature for your microphone and start speaking.
Step 2: Open advanced audio settings from your mixer.
Step 3: Change your microphone monitoring to “monitor only” or “monitor and output” if you are recording your audio through the process.
Step 4: At this point, you should be able to hear yourself in your own headphones. Make sure that you are speaking at the mic properly as it can sometimes be difficult to know where to speak in a condenser USB mic, so it is important to find where you sound the best or loudest.
Step 5: Level your mic on your desktop before leveling it on your broadcasting software. Go onto your PC settings, then the sound tab. Select your microphone, then go to device properties. Start to level the volume and listen to yourself as you make adjustments.
Step 6: After you have leveled your desktop, open your streaming software and level your mic volume there. Try to aim for the “yellow” bar as the green can be too quiet and red is too loud.
How to Use Filters to Improve Your Twitch Audio
There are three filters that can really improve the audio of your stream. These are the following:
- Noise suppression – can pick up sounds such as fans in your stream room and remove it from the sounds being picked up on your mic.
- Limiter – this will limit how loud you can be. You set up your max audio sound and the limiter will ensure that you don’t peak above that. This will protect your viewer’s ear drums.
- Noise gate – this will make sure that your mic doesn’t pick up sound unless a certain loudness is hit. It is different from noise suppression in that your mic will not pick up anything until something is loud enough, whereas the suppression just quiets a certain steady sound in the background.
To add these filters, click on your microphone settings on your broadcasting software and pick “filters” from the options. Turn on each filter you need and adjust the settings until your audio sounds better.
How to Mix Your Stream Audio for Professional Results
While mixing your audio can be tricky and confusing at first, it is a very important aspect of streaming that every broadcaster needs to learn. While you won’t be able to use the monitoring process you used earlier, you can record yourself playing the game, listening to your Twitch royalty-free music, and speaking into your mic so that you can play it back later.
While you are recording, play with your mixer settings so that you have an idea of what sounds best when you are done with the experiment. You will typically want to have your game audio quieter than your mic and your background music quieter than your game.
Once you find a good mix, keep track of your settings so that you can make minute changes in the future.
Conclusion
Audio is one of the most important features of any stream on Twitch. I hope the above tips helped you toward creating a higher quality show next time you go live.
Eljayem
Eljayem_, is a Twitch Partner with a background in video production. He is passionate about combining his love for video with community building. He’s been playing video games since he was old enough to steal his Brothers GameBoy Colour, copy of Pokemon Blue, and accidentally waste his Master Ball on a Dratini.
