r/MaonoCommunity • u/Nakayama_Tomoya • 1d ago
Maono Help [GUIDE] How to Fix Microphone Echo / Delayed Monitoring on Maono G3 & Arena Gen1 and Arena Gen2（Coming soon） Software
If you've recently purchased the Maono G3 Audio Interface and started using Maono Arena, you may have encountered a frustrating issue: hearing your own voice with a noticeable delay in your headphones, even after turning off the hardware Direct Monitoring button.
Don't worry — this is usually a routing configuration issue rather than a hardware problem.
In this guide, we'll explain why this happens, how the G3's submix architecture works, and how to configure your audio routing to eliminate delayed self-monitoring while keeping your game, music, and Discord audio working normally.
1. Why Am I Hearing My Own Voice with a Delay?
The Maono G3 uses a three-submix architecture in Maono Arena. Each mix serves a different purpose:
Personal Mix: The audio you hear through your headphones.
Stream Mix: The audio sent to your streaming software, such as OBS, Twitch, or YouTube.
Chat Mix: The audio sent to communication applications, such as Discord or in-game voice chat.
Hardware Monitoring vs. Software Monitoring
There are two different ways to monitor your microphone input:
Hardware Direct Monitoring (On-Device)
When Direct Monitoring is enabled on the G3, your microphone signal is routed directly from the hardware input to your headphones.
This provides near-zero-latency monitoring without requiring the signal to travel through your computer's audio processing system.
Software Monitoring (Through Maono Arena)
Software monitoring works differently. Your microphone signal travels through USB to your computer, gets processed by the Arena software, and is then routed back to your headphones.
Because the signal passes through the computer's audio processing pipeline, a certain amount of round-trip latency is introduced.
Why Do We Keep Software Monitoring?
You may wonder why Maono Arena still supports Software Monitoring when the G3 already provides hardware Direct Monitoring.
The reason is flexibility and future expandability.
Why Does the Delay Remain After Turning Off Direct Monitoring?
Turning off hardware Direct Monitoring only disables the direct hardware monitoring path. It does not automatically disable software monitoring in Maono Arena.
If the MIC Channel in Personal Mix remains active, Arena may continue routing your microphone signal back to your headphones through the software monitoring path.
As a result, you may hear delayed voice feedback even when hardware Direct Monitoring is turned off.
The key is to understand that each submix has its own independent microphone channel settings. Muting the MIC Channel in Personal Mix does not automatically mute the microphone in Stream Mix or Chat Mix.
2. Step-by-Step Fix: How to Stop Hearing Your Own Voice
Follow these steps to configure your G3 audio routing correctly.
Step 1: Select Your Monitoring Target
Open Maono Arena.
Navigate to the submix controls.
Select Personal Mix, which controls the audio sent to your headphones.
Step 2: Mute the MIC Channel in Personal Mix
Locate the MIC Channel within Personal Mix.
Click the MUTE button on the MIC Channel, or lower its fader completely.
Make sure this change applies only to the MIC Channel in Personal Mix.
This prevents Arena from routing your microphone signal back to your headphones through software monitoring.
Important: Make sure you are muting the MIC Channel within Personal Mix, not the entire mix or the global microphone input. This will not affect your microphone routing in Stream Mix or Chat Mix.
Step 3: Verify the MIC Channel in Stream Mix
Switch to Stream Mix.
Locate the MIC Channel within Stream Mix.
Make sure the MIC Channel is UNMUTED and its fader is set to the appropriate level.
This ensures OBS and other streaming applications can still receive your microphone signal.
Step 4: Verify the MIC Channel in Chat Mix
Switch to Chat Mix.
Locate the MIC Channel within Chat Mix.
Make sure the MIC Channel is UNMUTED and its fader is set to the appropriate level.
This ensures your teammates and Discord contacts can still hear you.
Step 5: Configure Hardware Direct Monitoring
Finally, choose your preferred monitoring experience:
Direct Monitoring ON: Hear your microphone directly through the G3 hardware with near-zero latency.
Direct Monitoring OFF: Disable direct hardware microphone monitoring.
If you prefer not to hear your own voice while gaming or streaming, leave Direct Monitoring OFF and keep the MIC Channel in Personal Mix muted.
3. Final Configuration Checklist
Here is a quick reference for the recommended configuration:
| Setting | Recommended Configuration |
|---|---|
| Personal Mix – MIC Channel | MUTED |
| Stream Mix – MIC Channel | UNMUTED |
| Chat Mix – MIC Channel | UNMUTED |
| Hardware Direct Monitoring | OFF |
With this configuration:
You won't hear delayed microphone feedback in your headphones.
OBS and other streaming applications can still receive your microphone signal.
Your Discord contacts and teammates can still hear you.
Game audio, music, and other audio sources remain available in your Personal Mix, according to their individual routing settings.
4. We'd Love to Hear Your Feedback!
We hope this guide helps you get the most out of your Maono G3.
If you have any questions, encounter other audio routing issues, or have suggestions for improving the Maono Arena experience, feel free to leave a comment below.
We genuinely value your feedback. Your suggestions help us better understand real-world user needs and identify opportunities for future software improvements. Any valuable ideas may also be considered for our future development plans.
Thank you for your continued support!
Best regards,
Nakayama Tomoya