Linux OBS Audio Quality Worse Than macOS with Same Hardware and Default Settings

[XaviC]

Hi,

I’ve noticed that my Linux recordings sound worse than my macOS ones—even though I haven’t modified any default settings in OBS.

I installed OBS on both my Linux Mint ThinkPad and my MacBook Pro, and I’m using the same microphone and camera for both.

Even though the OBS settings are identical (I don’t recall changing any defaults), the audio quality on Linux is noticeably worse than on macOS. The video/camera quality, however, is very similar—if not identical.

On Linux, the only setting I’ve adjusted is the audio input volume, to prevent the recording from being too loud. Everything else remains at default.

What could be causing this difference? Is it related to my OBS configuration, or is it something deeper in the OS audio stack?

I’ve attached two sample videos—one recorded on macOS and one on Linux—so you can hear and see the difference for yourself.

Thanks in advance!

forum videos - Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[stephematician]

Without logs and more debug info I can't say for sure: but it's clearly having issues with xruns (either a packet of sound isn't ready on time, or too much sound is buffering and packets are having to be dropped).

This is probably the fault of the PulseAudio server running on top of PipeWire. The OBS PipeWire audio plugin talks to PipeWire directly, meaning there's no PulseAudio in the middle (it also allows for application capture, which is nice!) and I suspect it'll solve the problem for you, see: https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/pipewire-audio-capture.1458/

If you still get glitches with OBS PipeWire audio plugin, it may be that certain buffer/quantim settings aren't right - there's ways around that too either in WirePlumber or PipeWire settings (there are some hints here if you need: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/where-did-alsa-input-and-output-go.186864/#post-685664)