Question / Help Single PC Streaming - Want to add a mixer, possibly more?

R

Rexgar

New Member
Greetings, after much debate, and even more reading, I've decided that I'd like to get a mixer and compressor for my PC so that I can both improve the overall quality of the audio going out and gain more control over specific aspects of it along the way. Currently I'm streaming from a single machine with nothing but an on board sound card and a USB AT2100 microphone.

Here are the specs from my motherboard: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z68 Extreme3 Gen3/?cat=Specifications

After reading several other threads I'm under the impression that I'll need 1-2 sound cards in my PC so that I can split audio sources on their way into the mixer, is this correct? If so, what is a good option for such a task?
  1. Output my microphone
  2. Output Skype/TS3/VOIP calls
  3. Output game sounds
  4. Output music
This 18 input Behringer model was recommended (or at least mentioned) in another post: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036E8DE2/ but after poking around a bit online, I found this guy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027B41P0 a Behringer 10 input model and I'm wondering if this would be just fine for my intended purpose, or if I truly need the 18 inputs on the big one. My wife sits right next to me and I was thinking of purchasing a second microphone so that she could also speak on the broadcast from time to time, would this also be an option with such a setup?

Both of those are supposed to have built in compression but is that as good as having a stand alone compressor? This model caught my eye, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCIVI4 and seems reasonably priced, but is it necessary? Could I go with a smaller one (for less money) and achieve the same quality?

Beyond that, it seems that the mixers plug in directly through USB, is that preferable to going through a USB interface since it's removing one piece of equipment entirely?

Thanks very much for your time and assistance with these questions. If I've been unclear or you need more information about any of them, please let me know.

-Rexgar
 
Would really like some help with this, maybe it's the wrong forum, but I've seen a lot of helpful posts from dodgepong here and elsewhere so I figured it was worth a shot.
 
Going all-out on the audio end hey?
Just an FYI, I personally achieve what you're planning by just using VoiceMeeter which is a virtual mixer so you can separate the inputs and outputs.

Anyway, those mixers have their own USB interface built in. You could only use your current USB AT2020 by using your PC to passthrough the audio to the mixer desk, then back into your PC - requiring a second sound card if you want to separate PC audio and your mic audio.
Ideally you want the standard AT2020 or any other XLR condenser microphone(s). And have litteraly all audio going into the mixer from the channel inputs, your PC's sound output to the desks line-in and then use the mixers in-built interface for OBS.

You wont really need 10 inputs for 2 microphones though, unless it's a lan party with several machines and you're attempting to output audio to a dedicated streaming PC.
 
Weznezz said:
Going all-out on the audio end hey?
Just an FYI, I personally achieve what you're planning by just using VoiceMeeter which is a virtual mixer so you can separate the inputs and outputs.

Anyway, those mixers have their own USB interface built in. You could only use your current USB AT2020 by using your PC to passthrough the audio to the mixer desk, then back into your PC - requiring a second sound card if you want to separate PC audio and your mic audio.
Ideally you want the standard AT2020 or any other XLR condenser microphone(s). And have litteraly all audio going into the mixer from the channel inputs, your PC's sound output to the desks line-in and then use the mixers in-built interface for OBS.

You wont really need 10 inputs for 2 microphones though, unless it's a lan party with several machines and you're attempting to output audio to a dedicated streaming PC.
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying!! Yes I am trying to go all out on the audio, I really enjoy setting things up like this and playing around with things. My current mic is the AT2100, which is both USB and XLR, so I'll be able to put that in through a mixer without a problem. As for the software mixer option, I had considered that, but I just really like the idea of more hardware on the desk.. it's exciting.

Okay so multiple inputs aren't really necessary, even if I want to split things up like that without using software? I'm new to all of this so I want to make sure I understand it before I go spending money on things :D

Thanks again for your response!
 
Weznezz said:
Going all-out on the audio end hey?
Just an FYI, I personally achieve what you're planning by just using VoiceMeeter which is a virtual mixer so you can separate the inputs and outputs.

Anyway, those mixers have their own USB interface built in. You could only use your current USB AT2020 by using your PC to passthrough the audio to the mixer desk, then back into your PC - requiring a second sound card if you want to separate PC audio and your mic audio.
Ideally you want the standard AT2020 or any other XLR condenser microphone(s). And have litteraly all audio going into the mixer from the channel inputs, your PC's sound output to the desks line-in and then use the mixers in-built interface for OBS.

You wont really need 10 inputs for 2 microphones though, unless it's a lan party with several machines and you're attempting to output audio to a dedicated streaming PC.
Click to expand...
Hey Wez, you mind talking to this guy as well? https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/need-help-exclude-some-audio-in-stream.26367/#post-131899 I think he need help with either using VAC or that program you are recommending...
 
Hmm, so you want a mixer with at least 4 inputs and you would need 3 soundcards (4 seperate outputs) on your PC to send each channel to the mixer. And one input to get the sound from the mixer back into the PC and then OBS.
With that you should be able to do what you want.
 
Jack0r said:
Hmm, so you want a mixer with at least 4 inputs and you would need 3 soundcards (4 seperate outputs) on your PC to send each channel to the mixer. And one input to get the sound from the mixer back into the PC and then OBS.
With that you should be able to do what you want.
Click to expand...

Excellent, thanks very much sir, that's mostly what I wanted to know.

Any thoughts on whether the built in compression is sufficient or if a separate compressor is more worthwhile?

Thanks so much for your response :-)
 
I have not enough experience with compression to answer that question, but I would assume that an expensive compressor of course will be more flexible and give you more options than a build in one, while the quality of the build in one does not have to be bad because of its simplicity (on my mixer its one knob).
In general I think, unless you are in a studio, the build in one should be enough, and you can add a compressor later into the loop.
 
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