A common problem that most people would encounter or want to have is separating Discord and game audio.
In many cases, one can interrupt the other, which ruins the livestream’s overall quality.
Discord and OBS function well enough and don’t require you to do anything special for OBS to capture Discord’s audio.
You may wish to stream or record your gameplay while talking to your friends on Discord but all the audio including Discord’s would always be captured by OBS.
This article will quickly go over straightforward solutions to separate Discord and game audio.
How to Separate Discord and Game Audio in OBS
To separate Discord and Game audio in OBS you can either separate them using virtual devices or through the use of multiple physical audio devices.
Before we go more detail on how to separate Discord and game audio, let’s go over why this happens.
The simple answer to this is that OBS is set to capture your entire desktop audio by default, which means whatever you are hearing is what OBS will also be broadcasting.
This is usually indicated in the audio mixer portion in OBS where by default, it will show “Desktop Audio” and “Mic/Aux,” which are self-explanatory.
We mention this because knowing how to manipulate your audio mixer is key to separating Discord and game audio.
Unfortunately, it is not as simple as adding your game window in the audio mixer as OBS doesn’t have this feature as OBS only reads any physical or virtual audio input/output devices.
With that information, there are two possible ways to separate Discord audio from game audio, and both of them involve changing audio channels for OBS read.
This can be done through the use of different programs that allow for virtual devices or using different physical audio devices connected to the computer.
Let’s go over each method and the best one that you can use.
Separating Discord and Game Audio through the Use of Virtual Devices
Using programs from sites like VB-Audio makes it easy for you to create virtual audio devices.
This method is preferred between the two as it is easier to manage while also not requiring any additional hardware as it only requires you to know how to set it up properly, which we’re happy to guide you with and the reason for this article.
Step #1: Download Virtual Audio Cable
To start, in their official site, select Virtual Audio Cable among the different options available. Between all the options, using Virtual Audio Cable is the easiest as it is enough for what we need to separate Discord and Game Audio.
Step #2: Install Virtual Audio Cable
Install the Virtual Audio Cable and do a quick reboot.
This is important as it allows your computer to identify your system’s new audio input/output devices.
You can verify this through your sound settings under Playback and find “Cable Input” from VB-Audio Virtual Cable.
Step #3: Change App Output
Open Windows Setting, and under the Sound Category, scroll down to Advanced Sound Options and select App Volume and Device Preferences.
In this portion of the settings, you can see all the active apps in your computer with their corresponding audio output and input.
Next, change the output of the game you are playing, which in this case is final fantasy, to CABLE Input.
Step #4: Add a new source on OBS
Once you change the output device, you will immediately notice that you no longer can hear your game audio.
This is normal as the audio is now being output elsewhere.
You can now open OBS to start fixing this and separate audio.
In OBS, Add a new source, Audio Output Capture Device.
Select the device as CABLE Input. You will immediately notice a new entry in the Audio Mixer with the corresponding name of the source you just added.
We now have successfully separated your game audio from your Desktop Audio and any changes in volume in your Desktop won’t affect it at all. You can manage the game volume in OBS itself by moving the slider.
Step #5: Change Audio Monitoring to Monitor and Output on OBS
The only problem that remains is hearing the game audio despite it being outputted in a different channel.
You can follow these next set of steps to be able to do just that.
In the audio mixer in OBS, click on the Settings Icon of the audio device in question.
Select Advanced Audio Properties.
Go over to Audio Monitoring which is set to Monitor Off by default. Change it to Monitor & Output.
The moment you do this, you will immediately hear your game sounds as naturally as possible.
Separating Discord and Game Audio through the Use of Multiple Audio Devices
This method of separating Discord and Game Audio is usually only available if you have multiple output devices such as speakers and headphones.
The way to set it up is similar to the previous method, but we jump a few steps ahead.
They are as follows:
Step #1: Change output Device to another device
Change the output device from default to another device in the advanced audio settings and in-app volume and device preference.
For this case, the default device is set to headphones and the unused device are the monitor speakers which will be the new output for our game.
Like before, you will lose the audio from your default device as the game is being output from the corresponding device. You can mute the device physically if you find it distracting.
Step #2: Add new source of Audio Output Capture Device on OBS
Same as before, in OBS, add a new source Audio Output Capture device but set it as the other device.
As OBS will immediately use your default device for desktop audio you don’t have to worry about any conflict.
Likewise, you will see the corresponding device in the audio mixer with your other devices.
If you want to hear the audio on your default device, follow the previous steps in the article to be able to do so.
Conclusion
These methods above should help you Separate your Discord Audio from your game audio.
You should have at least 2 audio devices, 3 if you count your microphone.
Which all of them can be controlled independently without affecting one another.
