Best OBS Mic Settings: Filters, Levels and Audio Bitrate
Select your mic under Settings → Audio → Mic/Auxiliary Audio, keep the 48 kHz sample rate, then add filters in this order: Noise Suppression → Noise Gate → Compressor → Limiter (with Gain first only if the mic is too quiet). Set the audio bitrate to 160 kbps for Twitch (its maximum) or 128 kbps for YouTube under Settings → Output.
Step 1: Choose your microphone
- Open Settings → Audio.
- Under Global Audio Devices, set Mic/Auxiliary Audio to your microphone (not Default, which can change when you plug in a headset).
- Leave Sample Rate at 48 kHz and Channels at Stereo (both are OBS defaults).
- Click OK. Your mic appears in the Audio Mixer as Mic/Aux on every scene.
Alternatively, add the mic only to specific scenes with Sources → + → Audio Input Capture. Use one method or the other for a given mic, never both, or you’ll capture it twice. On macOS, OBS needs the Microphone permission (macOS System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone).
Still choosing a mic? TwitchStorm tracks the microphones and setups of the biggest streamers, so you can see what Kai Cenat, CaseOh and others actually use.
Step 2: Set your level
Talk at your normal streaming volume and watch the mic’s meter in the Audio Mixer. The meter is green from -60 to -20 dB, yellow from -20 to -9 dB and red from -9 to 0 dB. Aim for normal speech peaking in the yellow, around -15 to -10 dB, with loud moments never hitting 0 dB.
Fix the level at the source first: the gain knob on your mic or interface, or the input level in Windows Sound settings or macOS Sound settings. The OBS docs say gain should generally be applied before the audio reaches OBS. Only use OBS’s Gain filter if the hardware can’t go loud enough.
Step 3: Add filters in the right order
Right-click Mic/Aux in the Audio Mixer → Filters, then click + under Audio Filters to add each one. OBS runs filters from top to bottom, so order matters. Drag them, or use the arrow buttons, to rearrange.
| # | Filter | Job | Why here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gain (optional) | Boosts a quiet mic | Only if needed. Everything after it then works with a healthy level, so thresholds behave predictably. |
| 2 | Noise Suppression | Removes steady background noise (fans, hum) | Clean the signal before anything makes it louder. |
| 3 | Noise Gate | Mutes the mic between sentences | After suppression the gap between noise and voice is bigger, so the gate is easier to set. Before the compressor, which narrows that gap. |
| 4 | Compressor | Evens out loud and quiet speech | Works on clean voice only. Its Output Gain becomes your main loudness control. |
| 5 | Limiter | Hard ceiling against clipping | OBS says a limiter “should be the last filter in your chain”. |
Prefer a softer gate? Use an Expander instead of the Noise Gate. It lowers quiet sounds by a ratio instead of muting them. OBS’s docs suggest placing it after the compressor and before the limiter.
Starting values
| Filter | OBS default | Good starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Noise Suppression | Method: RNNoise | Keep RNNoise. Speex only on a CPU-starved PC |
| Noise Gate | Close -32 dB, Open -26 dB, Attack 25 ms, Hold 200 ms, Release 150 ms | Close a few dB above your noise floor, Open just below your speaking level. Keep the timings |
| Compressor | Ratio 10:1, Threshold -18 dB, Attack 6 ms, Release 60 ms, Output Gain 0 dB | Ratio 4:1, Threshold -20 dB, Attack 6 ms, Release 60 ms, Output Gain +3 to +6 dB to taste |
| Limiter | Threshold -6 dB, Release 60 ms | -6 dB to -3 dB, Release 60 ms |
| Expander (alternative to gate) | Ratio 2:1, Threshold -40 dB, Attack 10 ms, Release 50 ms, Detection RMS | Ratio 4:1 (OBS calls it a balanced start), Release 50 to 120 ms |
Tune in this order: suppression, gate thresholds, then compressor threshold and output gain, and finally check that the limiter only touches the loudest shouts. The compressor’s Threshold controls how much of your speech gets compressed: lower it until normal talking triggers light compression. A 2:1 ratio is gentle, 6:1 is strong. For full noise-removal options, including NVIDIA’s RTX filter, see our OBS noise suppression guide.
Bonus: duck game audio when you talk
Add a Compressor to Desktop Audio (not the mic) and set Sidechain/Ducking Source to your mic. OBS’s suggested starting point: Ratio 32:1, Threshold -36 dB, Attack 100 ms, Release 600 ms, Output Gain 0 dB. Game audio then dips automatically while you speak.
Step 4: Set the audio bitrate
Open Settings → Output.
- Output Mode: Simple: set Audio Bitrate in the Streaming section.
- Output Mode: Advanced: open the Audio tab and set Audio Bitrate for Track 1 (or whichever track is selected as Audio Track on the Streaming tab).
| Platform | Codec | Bitrate | Sample rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch | AAC-LC, stereo or mono | Maximum 160 kbps. 96 kbps recommended for maximum compatibility | Any (AAC) |
| YouTube | AAC or MP3 | 128 kbps stereo (384 kbps for 5.1) | 44.1 kHz stereo, 48 kHz for 5.1 |
| OBS default | AAC | 160 kbps | 48 kHz |
For Twitch, 160 kbps is the sweet spot: it’s the highest Twitch accepts and audio is a tiny share of your total upload. Don’t go above 160 kbps for Twitch. Audio bitrate counts toward your upload alongside video, which you can size with our OBS bitrate calculator. For video encoder choices, see OBS encoder settings.
Hear what viewers hear
To check your filters live, turn on monitoring for the mic. In OBS 32.1 and newer, click the headphone button on the mic in the Audio Mixer. In older versions, open Edit → Advanced Audio Properties and set the mic’s Audio Monitoring to Monitor and Output. Use headphones so the monitored sound doesn’t feed back into the mic, and turn monitoring off again before you go live if it distracts you. A short test recording is the most reliable way to judge how you sound.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best audio bitrate for OBS?
160 kbps AAC for Twitch, which is Twitch’s maximum and also OBS’s default. YouTube lists 128 kbps for stereo. Twitch suggests 96 kbps only if you want maximum compatibility with weak viewer connections.
Should I use 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz in OBS?
Keep OBS’s default of 48 kHz unless you have a reason to change it. Twitch accepts any AAC sample rate. YouTube’s encoder page lists 44.1 kHz for stereo, so YouTube-only streamers can switch to 44.1 kHz under Settings → Audio → Sample Rate. Match the rate your audio interface runs at to avoid resampling.
Why is my mic so quiet on stream?
Raise the level at the source first: the mic’s hardware gain knob, your audio interface or the Windows/macOS input level. OBS recommends that. If it’s still quiet, add a Gain filter at the top of the chain or raise the Compressor’s Output Gain.
Why do viewers hear my voice twice?
The same mic is probably captured twice, once as the global Mic/Auxiliary Audio device and once as an Audio Input Capture source. Disable one of them. Also check that monitoring isn’t being captured by Desktop Audio.
Do the filter settings depend on my microphone?
Yes. The values on this page are starting points. Thresholds especially depend on how loud your mic is and how noisy your room is, so adjust them while watching the Audio Mixer meter.
Sources: OBS Knowledge Base: Compressor Filter · OBS Knowledge Base: Limiter Filter · OBS Knowledge Base: Expander Filter · OBS Knowledge Base: Gain Filter · OBS Knowledge Base: Noise Gate Filter · OBS Studio source (settings and filters) · Twitch Help: Broadcasting Guidelines · YouTube Help: Live encoder settings