Question / Help Audio Dampening in background when my preview or stream starts

A

AndrewL12

New Member
Hello!
First of all, I would like to say that anyone who can find the answer to this is a true god, I have been searching for too long, with no answers.
Basically, what I have noticed is that whenever I use an application that uses my microphone (Such as OBS, teamspeak3, skype, curse voice, etc), the noise of background applications gets lowered, whilst also losing the quality of the sounds. For example, a YouTube video, or pandora music. If I am streaming, or previewing my stream (they both enable my microphone), the volume of the song has to be turned up extremely loud for it to not go be dampened. On really quiet parts of the songs, the dampen is very noticeable.
Now now, before you tell me to go into my control panel > sound > communications > and to select "Do nothing", no I have already tried that. It does not work, and that is not my problem.
I have also updated all of my drivers, so it is not a problem there either. I am thinking it has something to do with either feedback, or some sort of hidden 3 party application in my processes that I just can't seem to find (Such as curse voice or something, idk!)
Anyways! Please please please let me know if you know if this error. If you need an example of the sound, just send me a message and I can try and show you via my stream.
Thanks again everyone on here!

-Andrew
 
That problem sounds like you have a ducking/talkover function enabled somewhere.
This is a popular thing at radio stations, on DJ-mixers and everywhere else where the background sound has to be lowered down to talk over it without screaming.
So far i know the only place for this function on a gaming/streaming PC is the communications tab where you can select how it should work. OBS doesnt have this feature (but there is a plugin for this!). Teamspeak has something similar to reduce the echo (it will lower the volume of the person talking at the same time you talk).
Curse Voice and other software so far i know try to avoid it. Radio & DJ-software on the other hand usually has it integrated in some way (SAM broadcaster, Virtual DJ whatever).

Make sure that every software that uses your mic, will get a clean signal. Disable any "help" reducing the echo, noise etc, specially in the communication software.
If it doesnt help - kill everything that has the ability to pick up the mic sound. Do a simple test with a game that can pick up your mic (CS:GO whatever) and OBS only, everything else should be dead (no background stuff in the task manager, kill it with fire).

Generally this is a strange problem, because the idea behind it is to use it only when your voice is picked up by the mic, not constantly...
 
It's any one of your many voice apps with the ducking feature enabled, though I am pretty sure Curse doesn't have ducking
 
Ok so I have restarted my computer with still no luck. I have found out that even when I mute my microphone, I still get the weird tune down thing. I am testing it with amazon music, so I know its not from something else. This is really weird, any other suggestions? I don't think it has to do with the error listed above
 
Is your volume so loud that your combined desktop sound and mic levels exceeds 0 dB? It sounds like you are hitting a limiter with the way you describe it losing audio quality.

Does this only occur in recording/streaming or can you hear it happening as well?
 
If you go over 0dB you will hear crackle sounds, popping and in general just crappy audio, but it will not be tuned down. So far i know there IS no limiter for the audio signal on PC, preventing clipping and overdriving the signal. This can be a part of some software but it works just withhin the software, that will not affect anything else like system sounds!

But now we know more, its not your mic when muted. Try to disconnect or disable it completly in windows, just check your volume without a mic.
 
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