Question / Help Need help setting audio volumes

V

vgr

New Member
Hi. I'm using Arch Linux with KDE/Plasma as the desktop and the current version of OBS.
I followed the "Understanding the Mixer" OBS guide to set up the volume on my Desktop Audio. I started the game I was going to play, and I adjusted the volume slider so that the volume meter wouldn't go into the yellow zone, even when it peaked. That resulted in the volume level being -13.3dB (or 22%). I went ahead and streamed on Twitch with that setting for about an hour (my first actual stream). An acquaintance of mine spoke up in chat and said the volume was low, but being in the middle of a stream, I couldn't exactly hear just how low it was. After I was done with the stream, I watched the VOD, and it was significantly quieter than I would prefer. I tried doing a test recording with the desktop audio at 0.0dB, and I could hear the occasional audio glitch.
So just how should I set the audio volumes? Is there a setting in KDE/Plasma I should use? Am I being a little too cautious of the game audio peaking into the yellow zone? I'm absolutely a newbie at this stuff, so please be easy on me.
 
V

vgr

New Member
Narcogen said:
Mix for -1, not -13. Yellow is fine. You want to stay out of the red.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. Sorry for my delay in replying. I tested some audio levels shortly after I read your post, but I hadn't actually streamed again until a few hours ago.
-1dB seemed like it was still peaking in the red, so I lowered it to -4.5dB. That seemed to keep it out of the red (just barely), but it still sounds too low to me. I have the audio volume on KDE/Plasma set to 40%, and almost every program I use outputs sound at a reasonable volume. I know the Plasma volume doesn't affect what OBS hears or records, though. That said, at -4.5dB, it still sounds a little too quiet compared to everything else. I'm afraid to raise it more because I'm afraid it may drown me out whenever I talk (which, so far, has been rare). I'm a quiet talker.
I have my streams uploaded to YouTube. Here's the one from tonight at -4.5dB. I had some music playing for a while before starting the game, but the music should be the same volume as the game.
https://youtu.be/JJZw1QIKI70
I don't know. I'm still very new (only two streams so far) and I'm just over-worried that my game audio will drown me out or that it's too quiet or any number of other things. I suppose I should expect -4.5dB, or minus any dB, would sound quieter than every other program does at their max volumes. I guess expecting the volume of the stream and/or recording to be at the same level as everything else is a bit misguided.
EDIT: I recorded a new video with the same settings as the one posted above, only in this one I captured the OBS mixer (and made it huge so you can see the details). Maybe it can give some insight into where exactly it's peaking on the volume meter.
https://youtu.be/n4yDrguNlEk
 
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Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
-4 sounds quiet because it is. TV broadcast mixes for -12 but generally YouTube is mixed for 0.

If you're worried about game audio drowning you out, add a compression filter to your game audio source in OBS and set the sidechain source to be your microphone. The defaults will be broadly sensible but you can tweak them; this will duck the game audio when you talk. You can adjust how much, but this makes sure you never get drowned out AND the game isn't too quiet when you're not speaking.
 
V

vgr

New Member
Narcogen said:
-4 sounds quiet because it is. TV broadcast mixes for -12 but generally YouTube is mixed for 0.

If you're worried about game audio drowning you out, add a compression filter to your game audio source in OBS and set the sidechain source to be your microphone. The defaults will be broadly sensible but you can tweak them; this will duck the game audio when you talk. You can adjust how much, but this makes sure you never get drowned out AND the game isn't too quiet when you're not speaking.
Click to expand...
Oh, I didn't know about that. Thanks!
How much higher should I set the desktop audio level, though? As you can see in the second video I linked (the one showing the mixer), the game audio comes very close to the red zone. In fact, the PS1 startup sounds go into the red, which I hadn't noticed previously.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Going into the red is okay. The default "sample peak" metering display in OBS shows red from roughly -8 to 0, which is very broad. I generally put a limiter on all my sources so nothing goes above -1, ever, but peaking in the red area is not, in and of itself, bad.
 
V

vgr

New Member
Narcogen said:
Going into the red is okay. The default "sample peak" metering display in OBS shows red from roughly -8 to 0, which is very broad. I generally put a limiter on all my sources so nothing goes above -1, ever, but peaking in the red area is not, in and of itself, bad.
Click to expand...
Okay, good to know. But what's a limiter and how do you apply it?
 
V

vgr

New Member
Sorry for the double post. I think I figured out how to use the compressor filter as a limiter, and also how to use the compressor to do audio ducking. That's all well and good. But right now I'm thoroughly confused. I don't remember doing anything in the last 48-hours in regards to my volume settings, but suddenly I can now set the desktop audio to 0dB and the game audio doesn't go into the red, and at -4.5dB it peaks near the middle of the yellow instead of being just barely outside the red like in the one video I posted earlier.. The only thing I know I did was reboot because I applied a kernel update. I checked my desktop volumes, and RetroArch is still at 100%. Everything should be the same.
So, I have no clue what happened. I removed a compressor filter I had applied to the desktop audio, thinking that was the culprit, but it wasn't. I'm at a loss, but I guess I shouldn't question a good thing.
EDIT: I think I figured out what happened, but it still doesn't make any sense to me. Apparently if I have my headset plugged in (which has the mic I'm using, so it'd be plugged in whenever I stream), I can set the desktop audio to 0dB and it will only peak in the middle of the yellow. If I don't have my headset plugged in, I get the results documented in the YouTube video from a few days ago. I have no idea why that would make a difference, but it apparently does.
 
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V

vgr

New Member
Narcogen said:
Can't address the volume issue on RetroArch and headphones, but a limiter is a specific kind of compressor designed to enforce a hard limit.

This is a good place to look for free plugins, and it allows you to browse by category, platform, and price:

https://www.kvraudio.com/plugins/wi...ins/rack-extensions/effects/free/most-popular

Personally I use LoudMax as my limiter:

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/loudmax-by-thomas-mundt
Click to expand...
I don't know if I'll need a limiter. See, I tested playing an MP3 using Kaffeine while OBS was open. I did so without my headset plugged in, and again with it plugged in. When my headset was plugged in, the music peaked at around 5dB lower than it did without my headset plugged in. Kaffeine was still louder than RetroArch, but that's not relevant to the test, in my opinion.
But thanks for the help! I really appreciate it.
 
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