The OBS Audio Mixer controls volume levels for every audio source. Most detailed settings are only one click away in Advanced Audio Properties. The Advanced Audio Properties panel gives you individual control over delay, monitoring, track routing, and channel format for every audio source in your setup. If you have been dealing with sync issues, microphone echo, or messy recordings, this is the panel to learn. This guide breaks down every column, explains each setting in simple terms, and shows you when each one matters.
What Are Advanced Audio Properties in OBS?
Advanced Audio Properties is a separate OBS window with extra audio controls. It gives each audio source its own settings and options. The Audio Mixer lets you change volume, mute sources, check levels, and open filters. Advanced Audio Properties lets you adjust sync offset, monitoring, stereo balance, mono, and audio tracks. Every audio source can have different settings without affecting others.
For example, your microphone can have a 40 ms sync offset. It can also record on Track 2 at the same time. Your game audio can stay unchanged and record on Track 3. This gives much better control over audio routing and audio timing.
How to Open Advanced Audio Properties in OBS
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From the Audio Mixer: Click the three vertical dots button next to any audio source in the Audio Mixer, then select Advanced Audio Properties from the dropdown.
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From the menu bar: Go to Edit > Advanced Audio Properties to open a full panel view displaying all active audio sources at once.
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Tip: The menu bar method is the better starting point because it shows every source side by side, making it easier to compare and edit settings in one place.
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Note: The panel updates in real time. Adding or removing an audio source while the panel is open will automatically refresh the list.
Every Setting in Advanced Audio Properties, Explained
The panel is organized as a table with one row per active audio source and six columns of settings. Here is what each column controls.
Volume
The Volume column mirrors the fader in your main Audio Mixer. Adjustments made here sync immediately with the mixer, and changes in the mixer are reflected here. Because the two controls are linked, you get no additional range from one versus the other. This column helps keep audio levels consistent across different sources. If one microphone always sounds louder than another, adjust the baseline here first. That keeps volume more predictable before making scene-level changes.
Mono
The Mono checkbox converts a stereo audio source into a mono signal, distributing the same audio equally across both the left and right channels. This matters most for single microphones like lavalier, dynamic, and condenser models. OBS may detect them as stereo sources instead of mono. Without Mono enabled, the microphone signal may only appear on one channel, leaving viewers hearing audio in just one ear. Checking this box fixes the issue immediately. It also applies cleanly to game audio sources that transmit in mono but arrive wrapped in a stereo container.
Sync Offset
Sync Offset adds a deliberate delay, measured in milliseconds, to a specific audio source. The purpose is to align it with the corresponding video when the two are arriving at OBS at slightly different times.
The most common cause of desync is the signal chain itself. Wireless microphone systems introduce transmission latency during encoding and decoding. HDMI capture cards add processing delay when converting the video signal. Bluetooth devices buffer audio before output. Each device contributes its own delay independently, and those values rarely cancel each other out automatically.
To measure your offset, record a short clip of yourself clapping sharply in front of the camera. Open the recording in a media player or video editor with a waveform view, then observe the gap between the visible motion and the audio spike. That gap is your starting offset value.
Tip: Capture cards typically introduce 30–80 ms of video delay. Wireless microphone systems commonly add 5–20 ms of audio delay. If your audio is arriving early relative to the video, add the offset to the audio source. If the video is arriving early, offset the video source instead.
Even well-engineered wireless systems may need a small adjustment here. If you are using a low-latency wireless microphone like the Hollyland LARK MAX 2 alongside an HDMI capture card, both the microphone’s transmission time and the card’s processing delay contribute separate latency values. OBS cannot detect these automatically, so a measured sync offset on the audio source is the correct correction.
Audio Monitoring
Audio Monitoring is the most commonly misunderstood setting in this panel. It controls whether you hear a source through your own output device, and whether that monitoring affects what gets sent to the stream or recording.
Monitor Off is the default state. The source sends audio to your stream and recording as expected, but you hear nothing from it on your own system. This is the correct setting for most sources most of the time.
Monitor Only (mute output) plays the audio privately through your headphones or desktop speakers, but nothing from that source reaches the stream or recording. This is useful for reference audio you need to hear privately. For example, a music track you are previewing before committing it to a scene.
Monitor and Output does both. You hear the source, and it also goes to the stream and recording. For secondary audio sources like music, this often works fine. For microphones, this mode creates a feedback loop if you are not wearing headphones. The mic picks up its own playback through your speakers, and that echo is broadcast to everyone watching.
One prerequisite: Audio monitoring only functions if you have selected a Monitoring Device under Settings > Audio. Without that, changing this setting has no audible effect.
|
Option |
What Viewers and Recording Hear |
What You Hear |
Primary Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Monitor Off |
Source audio normally |
Nothing |
Default for all sources |
|
Monitor Only (mute output) |
Nothing |
Source audio through headphones |
Private preview or in-ear monitoring |
|
Monitor and Output |
Source audio normally |
Source audio through headphones |
Secondary audio (with headphones only) |
Tracks (1–6)
OBS can record up to six separate audio tracks simultaneously, each carrying a different combination of sources. The Tracks column controls which of those tracks each source feeds into.
By default, most sources send audio to Track 1, producing a single mixed recording. When multi-track recording is enabled in Settings > Output > Recording, you can assign sources to different tracks and keep them isolated for post-production editing.
A common track assignment for a streaming or gaming setup:
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Track 1: Full mix (all sources combined) — for streaming or quick export
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Track 2: Microphone only
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Track 3: Game or desktop audio only
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Track 4: Background music only
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Tracks 5–6: Additional guests or secondary sources
Limitation: Track assignments have no effect on your live stream. Regardless of how the checkboxes are configured, the stream always receives the full mixed audio output. Track routing only changes the structure of the recorded file.
Practical Scenarios: Putting Advanced Audio Properties to Use
Scenario 1: Fixing audio-video sync with a wireless mic or capture card
Your voice appears ahead of or behind the video in recordings. Open Advanced Audio Properties, locate your microphone source, and use a clap test to measure the gap in milliseconds.
Enter that value in the Sync Offset field for the microphone source. Adjust in small increments and retest with a short recording until the audio and video align.
Scenario 2: Hearing your microphone in headphones without sending it to the stream
Want to hear your own voice through your headphones only and not in the stream? Set your microphone's Audio Monitoring to "Monitor Only (mute output)."
Then select a Monitoring Device in Settings and Audio. You'll hear your microphone in your headphones without any problem.
OBS will not send that microphone source to your stream. It also will not include that source in your recording.
Scenario 3: Routing microphone and game audio to separate recording tracks
You want to adjust voice and game audio independently in post-production. In Advanced Audio Properties, assign your microphone to Track 2 only and your game audio to Track 3 only. Enable multi-track recording in Settings > Output > Recording. The resulting file will contain isolated tracks that can be mixed separately in any video editor.
Scenario 4: Making a USB microphone heard in both ears
Your microphone only plays through the left channel because OBS receives audio from one side of a stereo input. Open Advanced Audio Properties and find your microphone source. Then check the Mono box for that source. OBS sends the same microphone audio to both left and right channels. Your voice will sound centered in both ears during playback. This fix helps when a mono microphone appears as a stereo source with audio on only one side.
Common Mistakes in OBS Advanced Audio Properties
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Setting a microphone to “Monitor and Output” without headphones: This creates loopback echo for viewers. Use “Monitor Only (mute output)” and wear headphones instead.
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Leaving a stale Sync Offset after switching from wireless to wired: The old offset value will introduce audio drift. Reset the field to 0 and remeasure after any microphone change.
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Assigning tracks before enabling multi-track output: Track checkboxes have no effect until multi-track recording is turned on in Settings > Output > Recording. Enable that setting first.
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Adjusting Volume in both this panel and the main Audio Mixer: Since both controls are linked, using both creates unpredictable levels. Pick one location and make all level adjustments there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does Sync Offset do in OBS Advanced Audio Properties?
Sync Offset in OBS Advanced Audio Properties adds a manual audio delay in milliseconds. This lines audio up with the matching video during recording. People usually adjust it when audio reaches OBS before video. Wireless microphones, HDMI capture cards, Bluetooth audio, or audio effects can cause this timing mismatch. If video arrives later than audio, delay the video instead. Adding extra audio delay is not the recommended fix there.
Q: What’s the difference between “Monitor Only” and “Monitor and Output” in OBS?
“Monitor Only (mute output)” plays audio to your headphones or speakers privately and does not include it in the stream or recording. “Monitor and Output” plays audio to your headphones while also sending it normally to the stream and recording. Use Monitor Only when you need private reference audio that viewers should not hear.
Q: Why do I hear an echo when monitoring my microphone in OBS?
You may hear an echo when monitored microphone audio plays through speakers. Your microphone then picks that sound up again, creating feedback. This usually happens with "Monitor and Output" or similar monitoring modes. Wearing headphones stops monitored audio from getting picked up again. Choose "Monitor Only (mute output)" if only you need monitoring. Keep "Monitor and Output" when viewers also need microphone audio. Just wear headphones so the echo does not come back. Also check that your microphone is not added twice anywhere. Make sure it is not routed through Desktop Audio either.
Q: What does checking “Mono” do in OBS Advanced Audio Properties?
It converts a stereo source to mono by duplicating the audio signal equally across both left and right channels. This matters most when OBS captures one microphone as a stereo source. Without Mono enabled, your microphone may only play from one side. People watching your recording or stream might only hear one channel.
Q: Do audio track assignments in OBS affect my live stream?
Audio track assignments in OBS can change what people hear live. It depends on which track you select for streaming audio. In Advanced Output Mode, OBS only streams sources assigned there. Track 1 is the default choice unless you change it. Those same track checkboxes also support multi-track recordings. This lets different audio sources save onto separate tracks for editing.
Q: How many audio tracks can I record separately in OBS?
OBS supports up to six separate audio tracks, labeled Tracks 1 through 6. To record multiple tracks, switch to Advanced Output Mode first. Then enable the recording tracks inside Settings, Output, and Recording. The track checkboxes in Advanced Audio Properties assign each audio source. Only selected recording tracks are saved in the final file. Any source assigned to unselected tracks will not be recorded.
Conclusion
Advanced Audio Properties is one of the most important panels in OBS. Still, many people skip it during their first setup. Start with Sync Offset to fix audio and video timing issues. Next, set Audio Monitoring for safe headphone listening while streaming. Then organize Tracks for cleaner editing after recording finishes. Record a short test before you go live every time. Once everything sounds right, learn the OBS Audio Mixer next. After that, explore multi-track recording and noise suppression filters..
