Streams sound quiet when Pioneer mixer is just out of the red & so is OBS Volume

[UKMSc]

A couple of people has said my music is too quiet.
OBS is on full (slider set at 0db) and just about stays out of the red, same for my Pioneer mixer.
They say it needs to be turned up 1-2db put this would make my mixer and OBS slightly in the red. Does that matter?
I could do with boosting the quiete parts of my tracks as well as the beats.
I presume I could put my streams onto red on the mixer and OBS and it wouldn't distort?
I originally thought that being in the red is bad but OBS doen't let you go above 0db anyway so does this mean it won't distort?
The red on OBS is -9db to 0db so think no I can indeed go in the red?

Help! (Please)

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

There are numerous videos on audio mixing differences from in-person (front of house speakers) vs online/streaming (look into videos on House of Worship/Church for more professional, less gaming oriented, considerations)

Basically audio and video compressed for streaming, and most folks listening on devices with poor speakers (ex mobile devices), and you are missing the other cues that exist in-person.

So, yes, a bit louder is often desired. My setup on physical mixer (Presonus) and OBS Studio show going a bit into Red, occasionally (rarely) peaking around -5db. (or mid Red section) and that works just fine
BUT, beware if a sizable portion of your audience is listening to amp, full-size speakers.

A typical approach is to use at least some audio compression for streamed content (if that is available in your setup)

1. I'm not a sound engineer, not even close, so do NOT take my word for this.
2. My understanding is that by definition, distortion happens at 0gb, not before (theoretically). So Red = warning, not that distortion is actually happening. Now, might some gear distort before 0db??