Using Virtual Audio Cables to Route Stream Audio
· Advanced Techniques
Virtual audio cables give you precise control over where each audio source goes. Learn to route audio like a professional broadcaster.
Virtual audio cables create software-based audio channels that let you route sound between applications with precision. Instead of everything going through your default speakers, you can send game audio to one virtual cable, music to another, and Discord to a third, then mix them independently in OBS.
The most popular tools for this are VoiceMeeter Banana on Windows and Loopback on macOS. VoiceMeeter Banana is free and provides three hardware inputs and two virtual inputs, plus multiple output buses. This lets you assign your microphone to one input, your game to a virtual input, and your browser music to another virtual input, each with independent volume control and processing.
Once your virtual cables are set up, assign each one as a separate audio source in OBS. This gives you per-source control over volume, filters, and monitoring. You can apply compression to your voice, a limiter to your alerts, and EQ to your game audio, all independently and without affecting each other.
Advanced routing also enables selective monitoring. You can hear everything in your headphones while sending only specific sources to stream. This is invaluable for situations where you need to listen to Discord calls that you do not want your audience to hear, or when monitoring audio cues from StreamSponsor.app sponsor rotation alerts without broadcasting them.
Setting up virtual audio cables takes about thirty minutes the first time, but once configured, the routing persists across reboots. Document your routing setup with a simple diagram so you can recreate it quickly if you ever need to reinstall your system. This level of audio control separates amateur broadcasts from professional productions.
Tags: virtual audio cables, VoiceMeeter, audio routing, OBS, production