OBS Audio Filters for Streamers (No BS)
Quick answer (No BS)
Fix levels first, then add Noise Suppression → Noise Gate → Compressor → EQ (light touches). Monitor in headphones. A clean USB mic with decent placement beats ten filters on a bad setup.
Bad audio loses viewers faster than a soft webcam. You do not need a studio, you need consistent, intelligible speech.
Before filters: placement and levels
- Mic ~15–20 cm from mouth, slightly off-axis if it plosives.
- In OBS meters, speak normally so peaks sit roughly -12 to -6 dB, not slamming red.
- Mute desktop audio bleed into the mic path; fix routing before stacking plugins.
Hardware picks: Best Microphones.
Recommended filter order
- Noise Suppression (RNNoise if available), kills keyboard/fan hiss.
- Noise Gate, closes when you stop talking so silence is actually silent.
- Compressor, tames shout peaks so whispers stay audible.
- EQ (optional), cut mud around 200–400 Hz; tiny presence bump ~3–5 kHz if dull.
Gate without cutting words
- Open threshold just above your noise floor.
- Attack fast, release a bit slower so endings of words do not chop.
- If chat says you sound “robot / cut off,” open the gate (lower threshold) or raise hold.
Compressor starting point
- Ratio ~3:1, soft knee if available.
- Threshold so it works on louder speech, not constantly crushing.
- Makeup gain only enough to restore perceived loudness, do not push into clipping.
Monitoring
Use Advanced Audio Properties → Audio Monitoring → Monitor and Output (or Monitor Only while testing). If you hear yourself late, you will talk weird, fix latency or monitor less obsessively once set.
When to stop tweaking
If friends understand you on stream and hiss is gone, ship it. More plugins will not fix empty chat. Pair with a clean go-live habit: Go Live Checklist.