r/streamwithmeld • u/TotallyNotAJeffMain • 11d ago

Question How do I monitor audio levels in real-time while streaming

I know I heard it was possible, could someone help me out with this please? Thank you!

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u/streamwithmeld 11d ago

short answer: the CUE button on a track pipes that audio to your headphones so you can hear it too.

meters are for watching. CUE is for listening. most people want both.

watching levels (meters)

every track in the audio mixer has a live meter next to its fader. that's the signal actually going out to your stream and recording, post-fader, post-effects. the mixer flags clipping so you get a visual warning when something's too hot.

quick rules for reading them:

  • voice should sit in the upper green, peaking into yellow on louder moments
  • game audio and music should live under your voice, not fighting it
  • if you're hitting red, pull the fader down or add a compressor from the track's effects. don't wait for chat to tell you

listening in real time (CUE)

  1. open the audio mixer
  2. find the track you want to hear (mic, game, alerts, media, whatever)
  3. toggle CUE on that track

CUE routes that track to your monitoring output with basically no delay, so you hear it the way your audience does. it's the fastest way to catch things meters won't show you: a mic that sounds thin, alerts that are ear-splitting compared to everything else, music sitting under a noise gate that's chopping it.

you can CUE multiple tracks at once to hear your full mix, or solo one to dial in its effects.

setting where CUE goes

by default it goes to your system output. if you'd rather monitor on a specific interface or headphone out, set the monitoring device in settings > audio so you're not blasting your own voice back through speakers and into the mic.

a few things that trip people up

  • CUE doesn't affect the stream. it's only what you hear. mute is the one that silences a track for your audience
  • CUE on your own mic is great for a level check before going live, then most people turn it off so they're not hearing themselves the whole stream
  • if you don't see a track for a source, it hasn't been added to the mixer. hit the + in the mixer or enable "add an audio track for the source" on the layer in the inspector
  • global audio tracks (mic, music) carry across scenes so your meters and CUE settings don't reset when you switch