The Tool Desk
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Start with the music source, not a microphone preset
OBS filters can be applied to an audio source or device. Open the Filters dialog for the specific source carrying your music rather than applying processing indiscriminately to a global device or the whole scene. That helps avoid changing unrelated audio, such as alerts or a host microphone.
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Music differs from speech: a track may have quiet passages, long fades, ambience, or sudden transients. A voice-focused gate or noise-suppression preset is not a universal music-radio chain. Add processing to solve an audible problem, not simply because a filter is available.
Build and test the filter chain
- Choose the source. In OBS, open the music source’s Filters dialog. Confirm that this is the source feeding the stream.
- Play representative material. Include a quiet intro or passage, a loud chorus or transient, and a fade. Watch the OBS mixer meters, but also listen to the routed output; peaks on a meter alone do not establish that the sound is right.
- Set gain before adding dynamics processing. If the source is simply too quiet or too hot, adjust source gain. A limiter is a safeguard against peaks, not a way to make a quiet feed appropriately loud.
- Add a compressor only if peaks need control. A compressor reduces signal above its threshold. OBS says compressors generally belong near the beginning of the chain. Choose settings by listening for useful peak control without pumping or unnecessarily squashing dynamics.
- Use an expander or gate only for an audible low-level noise problem. Both reduce quiet sound, which can include musical tails, soft notes, and fades. OBS describes an expander as adjustable and potentially smoother than a gate; a gate acts more abruptly. Its expander guidance places it after compression or other effects and before a limiter.
- Use a limiter last, if needed. OBS says a limiter should be the last filter in the chain. It guards against peaks crossing its ceiling; it is not a loudness target. Set the ceiling conservatively for the material and the downstream path, then listen for audible limiting.
- Test the live playback. Make a private or unlisted test if appropriate, then listen to the YouTube playback and check stream health. YouTube advises creators to test before going live and continuously monitor audio and video quality.
A cautious order, when the source actually needs these processes, is Gain (if needed) → Compressor (if needed) → Expander (only for demonstrated low-level noise; usually omit for music) → Limiter (last). This is an order, not a prescribed preset: settings depend on the source and should be judged by listening.
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What each OBS filter does to music
| Filter | What it changes | When it may help | Music-specific risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compressor | Reduces peaks above a threshold. | When loud peaks need control. | Too much control can sound like pumping or reduce dynamics. |
| Expander | Reduces low-level sound, with adjustable action. | When low-level noise is audible and can be reduced without damaging the program. | May reduce quiet notes, ambience, and fade tails. |
| Noise Gate | Cuts low-level sound more abruptly. | More naturally suited to silencing background noise when a speaker is not talking. | Can close between quiet notes or during musical fades. |
| Noise Suppression | Attempts to reduce noise such as mild background or white noise. | When that kind of noise is actually present. | Can affect other audio; stronger Speex suppression can distort it. OBS describes RNNoise as higher quality but more CPU-intensive than Speex. |
| Limiter | Restrains peaks above its threshold. | As a final peak guard. | Excessive limiting can be audible; it does not set a suitable overall loudness. |
Why voice-oriented filters can damage a music feed
OBS describes a Noise Gate as cutting background noise while a person is not talking, and compressor sidechain or ducking as lowering desktop audio while a microphone is active. Those are voice-over use cases. In a music-only stream, a gate may mistake a soft passage for silence. Sidechain ducking is relevant only if another source, such as a host microphone, should take priority over the music.
Noise suppression is similarly conditional. OBS says it can reduce mild background or white noise, including computer fan noise, but is generally ineffective against loud room noise. On clean digital music, suppression has no noise problem to solve and may introduce unwanted changes.
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Keep OBS processing separate from YouTube encoder settings
YouTube’s live encoder guidance lists stereo audio at 44.1 kHz and 128 kbps using AAC or MP3 over RTMP/RTMPS. These are delivery-encoding recommendations, not OBS filter settings or a music-processing preset. For 5.1 audio, YouTube lists 48 kHz and 384 kbps; stereo is the relevant target for a typical music-radio stream.
Neither the OBS filter guidance nor YouTube’s cited encoder guidance establishes a specific integrated-loudness target, true-peak target, or guaranteed recipe for uninterrupted 24/7 operation. In particular, OBS’s Limiter default threshold of -6 dB is a software default, not a universal loudness target. OBS’s Compressor defaults—10:1 ratio and -18 dB threshold—are also displayed defaults, not a music-radio preset. Use them as descriptions of software behavior, not as automatic settings for every source.
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Monitor the result and troubleshoot by symptom
- Quiet notes or fades disappear: bypass the gate or expander first. If suppression is enabled without a real noise problem, bypass it too, then listen to the same quiet passage again.
- The sound pumps or loses dynamics: reduce or bypass compression and compare the loud passage. A compressor should address peaks, not flatten every musical change.
- Peaks distort: check source gain and the routed output, then check whether peaks are exceeding the limiter ceiling. Keep the limiter last; it is a final guard, not a substitute for correcting an excessively hot source.
- Noise remains despite suppression: OBS says suppression is generally not effective against loud room noise. Stronger Speex suppression can distort audio; compare methods and settings while listening rather than assuming more suppression is better.
- The stream sounds different from the OBS preview: listen to YouTube playback and check stream health and messages. A mixer meter or local preview alone does not tell you how the delivered stream sounds.
For a long-running broadcast, filters are only one part of the setup. Continuity also depends on the computer, network, source playlist and stream configuration, plus monitoring. The cited guidance does not validate a particular failover method or guarantee 24/7 uptime.
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