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If OBS audio stops when a second video begins, first find out where the silence starts: in OBS’s audio meter, the local recording, your headphones, or the YouTube stream. Those checkpoints separate a source or track problem from a monitoring issue or a problem with stream delivery; the symptom alone does not identify one cause.
Find which output is silent
Make a short local recording that captures the first video, the transition, and the next video. While testing, watch the relevant audio meter in OBS, listen to the recording, and compare it with the YouTube stream. YouTube recommends checking the encoder and local archive; if the encoder output is healthy, its guidance is to check the outbound connection. YouTube’s live-stream troubleshooting guide explains this diagnostic split.
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| What you observe | Where to investigate first |
|---|---|
| The OBS meter stops at the transition, and the recording is silent too | Check whether the media source stops, restarts, is replaced, or becomes hidden; then verify audio-track assignment. |
| The meter moves, but the local recording is silent | Check track assignment and recording/output routing. A moving meter alone does not prove that the source is included in the output. |
| The recording has audio, but your headphones or speakers go silent | Investigate monitoring separately from stream output. |
| The recording is healthy, but YouTube playback is silent | Check the YouTube live dashboard for encoder errors and inspect connection evidence before changing hardware. |
Check the source’s audio-track assignment
In OBS, open Edit > Advanced Audio Properties and inspect the affected source’s track checkboxes. Make sure it is assigned to the track used for stream output. OBS’s interface text warns that a source assigned to no audio tracks will not be audible in streams or recordings. The current interface wording is available in the OBS Studio English interface strings.
If the source is assigned to a track but is absent from the recording, check the recording track selection too. Stream and recording outputs can use different tracks, so confirm the relevant output configuration rather than relying only on the mixer meter.
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Separate monitoring from the sound sent to YouTube
OBS distinguishes Monitor Off, Monitor Only (mute output), and Monitoring Enabled. Monitor Only explicitly mutes output, while monitoring controls what you hear locally and does not by itself establish what the stream receives. For a test, set the affected source’s monitoring to Monitor Off, then compare the meter, local recording, and YouTube playback.
Reports of monitoring problems are specific to their reported versions and setups, not evidence of a universal defect. One report concerns OBS 26.0.2 on Windows 10, where local monitoring reportedly stopped intermittently after scene transitions while stream audio continued (OBS issue #3806). Another concerns OBS 32.0.1 on Windows 11 and describes Monitor and Output behaving like Monitor Only (OBS issue #12750). Neither report proves the cause in another installation.
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Inspect what changes when the second video starts
If the local recording also loses audio, examine the media source and scene behavior at the transition. Check whether the source is restarted, replaced by another source, hidden, or otherwise changed. Play the second video by itself in the same scene and record a short test; then test the transition again. This helps determine whether the silence follows the second file, a scene/source change, or only the transition.
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Check encoder and connection evidence
If the local recording contains the audio but the YouTube stream does not, review YouTube Studio’s live dashboard for encoder errors and CPU load. Also inspect OBS logs and connection status. OBS says dropped frames indicate connection instability or an inability to sustain the configured bitrate; that is useful when connection symptoms appear, but dropped frames alone do not explain audio-only silence. See the OBS stream connection troubleshooting guide.
Common symptoms and fixes
- Only the second video is silent in the local recording: test that media source alone, then inspect its track assignment and what the scene does at the transition.
- OBS meter moves, but the stream has no source audio: verify that the source is assigned to the stream’s selected track and confirm with a local recording.
- You hear silence locally, but the stream and recording are audible: treat it as a monitoring path problem; test with monitoring off before changing stream settings.
- The local recording is fine, but YouTube is not: inspect Studio’s encoder status and OBS connection evidence; check for dropped frames if the connection is unstable.
- Audio and video both break up or stop: investigate encoder and connection issues, including whether the configured bitrate can be sustained.
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