Dual PC Setup Sound Issues

[Azp3ct]

Hello everyone iam Benjamin and iam a Fulltime Streamer. Couple of weeks ago i got an Streaming pc.

I have a huge problem that i can not solve for about 4-5 weeks now. I dont know how to setup my Sound for both pc.

 

My goal is to Use my Shure SM7B on Both pc´s so i dont need secondary headset. And sending my sound from Game pc to Stream pc maybe even seperate Discord and such

 

No Alerts - Bad Game Audio
At the moment my setup looks like this

 

Iam sending ALL my Audio through my Elgato 4k Capture card VIA HDMI But the Game Sound is terrible.

What i want to Archive is that i can send my Game Sound to my Streaming sound - Hear Alerts and such having a normal solution.

I hope i explained my Self well, iam sorry if i made something complicated iam very new to all this.

Iam very thankfull for all solutions, have a nice day god bless and greetings from germany

[ninbura]

This is the configuration I would recommend for the MG10XU in a multi-PC streaming / recording setup:


Apologies for the messy diagram, but it just takes waaay to long to make something like this look clean. Basically with this setup you're sending the Mic input to the FX Send output, converting it to a stereo signal, splitting the signal with a powered splitter, and then sending it to the line level inputs on your capture PC and Gaming PC which lets you utilize one mic for both PCs. Additionally you are sending the HDMI signal from your computer (and other consoles if desired) into an HDMI audio extractor, which then sends your game audio to your mixer and your capture card so you get high quality, low delay, stereo audio to both your capture and your headphones. Ground loop isolators help eliminate buzzing in various analog connections, but it's always best to try and keep your audio cables away from power cables so you don't get noise bleeding in in the first place.

In your case, if you wanted to keep the dbx 286s you'd just insert that in-between your mic and the mixer, though it's really not necessary. The MG10XU can supply enough gain even to the SM7B, has a hardware compressor if you really want it, and you can just use OBS and Discord to apply noise gates. I understand the dbx has a few more options than that, but I'd say they're a bit gimmicky for this situation. 

Relevant links:
Ground Loop Isolator
1/4 TRS to 3.5mm TRS
3.5mm TRS to Dual 1/4 TS
1/4 Male TRS to 3.5mm Female TRS
1/4 Female TS to 1/4 Male TRS
1/4 TRS to 1/4 TRS
Dual 1/4 TS to Dual RCA
XLR Cable
1/4 Stereo Splitter
HDMI 2.0 Switch
HDMI 2.0 Audio Extractor

[ShearMe]

 

10 minutes ago, TheNimbleOne said:

This is the configuration I would recommend for the MG10XU in a multi-PC streaming / recording setup:
 

Spoiler

Apologies for the messy diagram, but it just takes waaay to long to make something like this look clean. Basically with this setup you're sending the Mic input to the FX Send output, converting it to a stereo signal, splitting the signal with a powered splitter, and then sending it to the line level inputs on your capture PC and Gaming PC which lets you utilize one mic for both PCs. Additionally you are sending the HDMI signal from your computer (and other consoles if desired) into an HDMI audio extractor, which then sends your game audio to your mixer and your capture card so you get high quality, low delay, stereo audio to both your capture and your headphones. Ground loop isolators help eliminate buzzing in various analog connections, but it's always best to try and keep your audio cables away from power cables so you don't get noise bleeding in in the first place.

Relevant links:
Ground Loop Isolator
1/4 TRS to 3.5mm TRS
3.5mm TRS to Dual 1/4 TS
1/4 Male TRS to 3.5mm Female TRS
1/4 Female TS to 1/4 Male TRS
1/4 TRS to 1/4 TRS
Dual 1/4 TS to Dual RCA
XLR Cable
1/4 Stereo Splitter
HDMI 2.0 Switch
HDMI 2.0 Audio Extractor

 

Hot damn....

 

8 hours ago, Azp3ct said:

Hello everyone iam Benjamin and iam a Fulltime Streamer. Couple of weeks ago i got an Streaming pc.I have a huge problem that i can not solve for about 4-5 weeks now. I dont know how to setup my Sound for both pc.

Spoiler

 

 

My goal is to Use my Shure SM7B on Both pc´s so i dont need secondary headset. And sending my sound from Game pc to Stream pc maybe even seperate Discord and such

 

No Alerts - Bad Game Audio
At the moment my setup looks like this

 

Iam sending ALL my Audio through my Elgato 4k Capture card VIA HDMI But the Game Sound is terrible.

What i want to Archive is that i can send my Game Sound to my Streaming sound - Hear Alerts and such having a normal solution.

I hope i explained my Self well, iam sorry if i made something complicated iam very new to all this.

Iam very thankfull for all solutions, have a nice day god bless and greetings from germany

 

 

I've simplified your image a little bit below. Have you tried adding a 3.5mm to RCA cable between game pc and the mixer (purple cable)?

 

 

 

[ninbura]

49 minutes ago, ShearMe said:

I've simplified your image a little bit below. Have you tried adding a 3.5mm to RCA cable between game pc and the mixer (purple cable)?

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

I think one major problem with OP's current setup is that he's looping his game audio through his capture PC to the MG10XU and then into his Focusrite via a mono connection. This would explain his distaste for game audio, as he's only getting 1 channel (mono mapped to faux stereo) and delay from looping it around. 

The problem with just attempting to connect the gaming PC to another input on the mixer is that one can't route audio to both a mixer & a capture card. At least not without a program like VoiceMeeter, which would add noticeable delay to something like a game which you're constantly interacting with, and it would desync the audio with the video via the HDMI connection. That's why I believe an HDMI audio extractor would be the best solution, negligible delay, and high quality stereo output to both the mixer / headphones & the capture card.

Though it'll take more than the HDMI audio extractor to meet all of OP's goals:
1) Route mic independently to both PCs
2) Separate Game audio and Discord audio
3) Improve game audio quality (to headphones)
4) Properly route alert audio

With the diagram I posted OP should be able to achieve all 4 goals:
1) OP's mic is being independently routed to both PCs, meaning he can isolate his mic for OBS & Discord on his capture PC, and for game chat on his gaming PC.
2) OP's capture PC is connected to the USB connection on the MG10XU, which means he has now separated his game and Discord audio. Game audio being on channels 5/6 via the HDMI extractor, and Discord audio being on channels 9/10 via the USB connection.
3) OP's game audio is being split via the HDMI audio extractor to his capture card and soundboard, which allows OBS and his headphones to pick it up in high quality & stereo with negligible delay.
4) OP's alert audio can also be carried via the USB tether between his capture PC and the MG10XU, meaning he & the stream should be able to hear alerts. As he should already routing to his Discord audio (the MG10XU USB output) to the stream.

Will require some additional cabling and equipment, but nothing major like another interface. In-fact, he could sell the Focusrite and the dbx pre to make up the difference in cost, and then some. Dual PC streaming setups can definitely be headache in the audio department, but if you do it "right" it can actually be quite liberating!

[Azp3ct]

thank you guys Both for the insane Help an Input. Iam apologize because i got lost a little.

 

I would love to keep my DBX and Focusrite if possible.

 

@TheNimbleOne

My issues right now Understanding your Image is

1. Where are the cables 2. 3.5 to 6.3 going into ?  Stereo splitter ?
2. Can we do a same config, but with my Focusrite ?
3. Why do i need HDMI splitter from GPU to Capture Card iam not Using Consoles for now ? If its possible i only want the Picture to be send not the Sound. Sorry if i missunderstand.
4. Idont Use Speakers - is that a problem ?

I Could order those things now, but i rly dont want to waste my focusrite because i cant return it and selling here is a kind of a struggle

 

Ty alot

 

[ninbura]

On 3/6/2020 at 5:18 AM, Azp3ct said:

thank you guys Both for the insane Help an Input. Iam apologize because i got lost a little.

 

I would love to keep my DBX and Focusrite if possible.

This is possible, but I'd like you to note that you're simply using the Scarlett for simple input, you're using the GPU for audio out to the HDMI extractor and you won't be plugging your headphones into the Scarlett anymore. That's why I originally suggested you could just sell it, because your PC already has basic input, and you're using HMDI for output. Really just kind of a waste for a Scarlett TBH.

 

On 3/6/2020 at 5:18 AM, Azp3ct said:

1. Where are the cables 2. 3.5 to 6.3 going into ?  Stereo splitter ?
2. Can we do a same config, but with my Focusrite ?
3. Why do i need HDMI splitter from GPU to Capture Card iam not Using Consoles for now ? If its possible i only want the Picture to be send not the Sound. Sorry if i missunderstand.
4. Idont Use Speakers - is that a problem ?

1. Yes those cables are going to the powered stereo splitter, this will be used to duplicate your mic signal and send it to each respective PC.
2. Yes you can use your Focusrite as explained above.
3. I tried to build this diagram in a way that others could use it, as this question get's brought up a lot. If you have no consoles you can simply bypass the HDMI Switch, but you'll still need the audio extractor.
4. You don't need speakers, once again, just a general use example.

[ninbura]

This is what a diagram excluding consoles and using your dbx & Scarlett would look like:

[Azp3ct]

On 3/7/2020 at 6:27 PM, TheNimbleOne said:

This is what a diagram excluding consoles and using your dbx & Scarlett would look like:

Sir i much apriciate your work ! I orderd all this Cables and Spliter /  Extractor - will report here, when they come in the next few days ! I apriciate your help a lot and i hope this will solve my problems.

thank you again man, greetings - its 3 in the morning in germany and i need to go to work now. Talk to you soon !

[Azp3ct]

On 3/7/2020 at 6:27 PM, TheNimbleOne said:

This is what a diagram excluding consoles and using your dbx & Scarlett would look like:

Sir i see something confusing me. This Part - https://gyazo.com/2361879385728fd0055eead3e2dbcdbf

 

1. Cable Point 6 is 1/4 TRS to 1/4 TRS and the Adapter Point 5. is 1/4 TS to 1/4 TRS But the Cable it self is TRS - so do i need that ?

 

 

[ninbura]

14 hours ago, Azp3ct said:

Sir i much apriciate your work ! I orderd all this Cables and Spliter /  Extractor - will report here, when they come in the next few days ! I apriciate your help a lot and i hope this will solve my problems.

thank you again man, greetings - its 3 in the morning in germany and i need to go to work now. Talk to you soon !

 

No problem

Once everything is plugged in, to send the mic channel to the FX Send output you’ll need to turn up the FX knob on the mic channel:


You don’t want to turn this knob up too high as it could introduce noise and possible distortion / clipping. It would be advisable to turn it to level 6, where the fat arrow is, and then you can apply gain as needed from the stereo splitter. My guess is you’ll want the stereo splitter at around 50-60% also, but you won’t know until you have it running into your computers. Generally a good rule of thumb is to never turn an analogue gain knob up passed 85% as the upper end of an amp introduces noise, at least in my experience. Same thing goes for you Scarlett, try and keep the gain below 85% on the XLR input. Some higher end interfaces have clean gain up to 90% but I have yet to test an interface that has clean gain passed that.

You’ll also want to make sure that in Windows on both PCs the input levels are turned all the way up in the sound control panel:

 

6 hours ago, Azp3ct said:

Sir i see something confusing me. This Part - https://gyazo.com/2361879385728fd0055eead3e2dbcdbf

 

1. Cable Point 6 is 1/4 TRS to 1/4 TRS and the Adapter Point 5. is 1/4 TS to 1/4 TRS But the Cable it self is TRS - so do i need that ?

 

 

Yes you’ll want that, basically a TRS cable can either carry a a stereo signal or a balanced mono signal. Balanced just means noise retardant, a balanced connection uses the right channel as ground instead of sending a normal audio signal. So what you’re doing with that cable and adapter is you’re sending a balanced mono signal (your mic) from the mixer to that adapter, which then converts that signal to a stereo signal by mapping the left channel to both the left and right connectors on the TRS end of the adapter. That being said, for a balanced cable to work “properly” the two components it’s connected to need to likewise feature a balanced connection. I don’t believe the MG10XU has balanced connectors, and I’m not sure the adapter does either. However, I’ve never experienced an issue when using a TRS or balanced 1/4 cable in an unbalanced environment. They typically cost the same amount of money in comparison to a TS to TS 1/4 cable, so I usually just advise that people buy TRS 1/4 cables. That being said, I don’t have experience with every mixer / device and every configuration, so if you run into some noise problems it could be worth your time to try a TS to TS 1/4 interconnect cable in place of the TRS one.

It may not seem like it on the surface, but it’s important you get the exact cables I recommended, or at least ones advertised to have the same connectors with the same amount of rings. Else you could run into some issues where the channels aren’t mapped properly and you’re only getting a mic signal, or any other signal, in one ear. Or even a signal that undesirably discards stereo imaging while repeating the left or right signal in both ears.

Update us when you've got it all setup!

[ninbura]

I just realized the TRS to XLR cable I have in the diagram has a female XLR connector instead of a male  

I never linked that cable either, but this is what you'd want to run from the splitter to your Scarlett:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-6-35mm-Inch-Male/dp/B00KO8VY80/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=1%2F4%2Btrs%2Bto%2Bxlr&qid=1583778068&sr=8-11&th=1

Updated diagram:
 

[Azp3ct]

On 3/9/2020 at 7:18 PM, TheNimbleOne said:

 

 

Update us when you've got it all setup!

Hello Sir, i followed ALL your steps except i got a diffrent AUDIO extractor - i got this one https://www.thomann.de/gb/lindy_hdmi_audio_extractor_4k.htm

because in my Country the J-tech is not available. But the Seller Told me its the same ?

 

So i dont know where to start, iam completly Confused, sound is everywhere and now where - for Some Reason my AUDIO is goind through my Mic Channle and everyone in discord can here my audio for what ever reason. And when i open my Game, all my Audio dissapears. No desktop Audio anymore - No Music nothing all gone. I cant even hear the Audio from the Game, i can see the Audio Meeter going up showing that it gets Sound but i cant hear it.

 

I try to Provide everything i think is needed to find a solution. If anything is needed iam more than happy to Provide.

Sorry if i did something wrong here, iam really new to this and apologize for beeing a noob, but i try my best


PS :  Iam not gaming in 4k - i only have the Elgato 4k 60 pro because of the 120Hz passthrough if i decide to Stream some day in 120FPS

Currently Streaming in 900p 60fps - maybe thats an important question. Also if the Lindy audio Extractor is wrong, maybe u could help me find a other one in the German Amazon market. Would be Awsome.


 

[ninbura]

1 hour ago, Azp3ct said:

Hello Sir, i followed ALL your steps except i got a diffrent AUDIO extractor - i got this one https://www.thomann.de/gb/lindy_hdmi_audio_extractor_4k.htm

because in my Country the J-tech is not available. But the Seller Told me its the same ?

 

So i dont know where to start, iam completly Confused, sound is everywhere and now where - for Some Reason my AUDIO is goind through my Mic Channle and everyone in discord can here my audio for what ever reason. And when i open my Game, all my Audio dissapears. No desktop Audio anymore - No Music nothing all gone. I cant even hear the Audio from the Game, i can see the Audio Meeter going up showing that it gets Sound but i cant hear it.

 

I try to Provide everything i think is needed to find a solution. If anything is needed iam more than happy to Provide.

Sorry if i did something wrong here, iam really new to this and apologize for beeing a noob, but i try my best


 

You just have your settings misconfigured for the setup at hand.

First of all, I did not at all take in account that you were using Voice Meter for anything, pretty hard to interpret what you're trying to accomplish with it.

On your desktop PC you need the your Display as the output / playback device, and the Scarlett as the input device. On your capture PC you want the MG10XU Line as the output device, and the standard Line-In (not the line in from the MG10XU) as your input device.

GPU > Audio Extractor > Soundboard & Capture Card, if you're display is not set as the main output device the HDMI audio extractor will get no audio, and thus neither will your soundboard or your Elgato / stream.

Capture PC USB > MG10XU, you need the USB connection of the MG10XU to be the output device, not the input device. You shouldn't be using the USB input of the MG10XU because it combines all sources plugged into the mixer being sent to main mix as input. Meaning at the very least your game and mic would be mixed into the same channel, and your Discord could even loop back into itself if the USB output is being sent to the main mix.

Mic > dbx > mixer > splitter > Scarlett & Line-In (blue jack) on capture PC, right now you're sending the output of your mic to your Scarlett and the Line-In on your capture PC. Looks like you have the Scarlett set as the input device on your gaming PC, which is correct, but you need Line-In to be set as your main input device on your capture PC.

If it were me I would ditch Voicemeeter entirely, most people use Voicemeeter to mitigate the need for a physical mixer, but you have one and you're already isolating your microphone. You can just use the built in Windows mixer to control the volume levels of something like Spotify, Discord, etc... Or you could send Spotify into your physical mixer and use the USB input to capture everything in one input channel (as discussed earlier), then the stream would hear exactly what you hear from the mixer. I personally prefer to have all sources listed separate with the ability to control any individual channel in OBS.

These things can definitely be a bit confusing, not sure how much it would help, but if you need me to hop in a voice call with you to explain / diagnose things I'd be happy to.

[Azp3ct]

29 minutes ago, TheNimbleOne said:

You just have your settings misconfigured for the setup at hand.

First of all, I did not at all take in account that you were using Voice Meter for anything, pretty hard to interpret what you're trying to accomplish with it.

On your desktop PC you need the your Display as the output / playback device, and the Scarlett as the input device. On your capture PC you want the MG10XU Line as the output device, and the standard Line-In (not the line in from the MG10XU) as your input device.

GPU > Audio Extractor > Soundboard & Capture Card, if you're display is not set as the main output device the HDMI audio extractor will get no audio, and thus neither will your soundboard or your Elgato / stream.

Capture PC USB > MG10XU, you need the USB connection of the MG10XU to be the output device, not the input device. You shouldn't be using the USB input of the MG10XU because it combines all sources plugged into the mixer being sent to main mix as input. Meaning at the very least your game and mic would be mixed into the same channel, and your Discord could even loop back into itself if the USB output is being sent to the main mix.

Mic > dbx > mixer > splitter > Scarlett & Line-In (blue jack) on capture PC, right now you're sending the output of your mic to your Scarlett and the Line-In on your capture PC. Looks like you have the Scarlett set as the input device on your gaming PC, which is correct, but you need Line-In to be set as your main input device on your capture PC.

If it were me I would ditch Voicemeeter entirely, most people use Voicemeeter to mitigate the need for a physical mixer, but you have one and you're already isolating your microphone. You can just use the built in Windows mixer to control the volume levels of something like Spotify, Discord, etc... Or you could send Spotify into your physical mixer and use the USB input to capture everything in one input channel (as discussed earlier), then the stream would hear exactly what you hear from the mixer. I personally prefer to have all sources listed separate with the ability to control any individual channel in OBS.

These things can definitely be a bit confusing, not sure how much it would help, but if you need me to hop in a voice call with you to explain / diagnose things I'd be happy to.

Hello Sir, sure i would be more than happy to go in a voice channel with you. my discord is
and my discord link to my discord if you want to join ther

 

Ty a lot, iamn here right now with a lot of time

 

 

[ninbura]

21 minutes ago, Azp3ct said:

Hello Sir, sure i would be more than happy to go in a voice channel with you. my discord is **********
and my discord link to my discord if you want to join there *********

 

Ty a lot, iamn here right now with a lot of time

 

 

I believe this should be deleted and sent to me as a private message.

[Azp3ct]

@TheNimbleOne

 

Ok so its, 5:30 in the Morning right now in Germany. I could not go to sleep before Officially pay my respect and say thank you from the Bottom of my Heart to this Guy!

Not Only he took his private time, to help me Setup my Streaming Pc - He setup everything Guided me to every encounter there was, explained everything, how it works and why IN the most detailed way possible. He showed me what to buy, with pros an cons

 

Because of him, my dual pc workes how it should be and my sound improved a lot ! Sir i was honored to recieve your help and consider you now as a friend ! I wish you the best in Life !

 

Talk to you soon, greetings from Germany - Benjamin
 

 

[sinko44]

I know this is an old thread. However, I am in the same situation as OP. After hours on end of searching the web to get some help, I ran across this absolutely brilliant explanation by you. Going to give this a shot, although I am not using a DBX or a Scarlett. I'm hoping this works and that it's still the recommended setup. Thanks.

[ShearMe]

49 minutes ago, sinko44 said:

I know this is an old thread. However, I am in the same situation as OP. After hours on end of searching the web to get some help, I ran across this absolutely brilliant explanation by you. Going to give this a shot, although I am not using a DBX or a Scarlett. I'm hoping this works and that it's still the recommended setup. Thanks.

I suggest starting a new thread, and listing out all the gear you have at hand. Someone then might be able to piece together a design that makes sense and figure out i you need any more equipment.

[ninbura]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:45 PM, sinko44 said:

I know this is an old thread. However, I am in the same situation as OP. After hours on end of searching the web to get some help, I ran across this absolutely brilliant explanation by you. Going to give this a shot, although I am not using a DBX or a Scarlett. I'm hoping this works and that it's still the recommended setup. Thanks.

I do not recommend this setup anymore, everything worked in theory but in practice noise was a big issue.

I've now worked with over a dozen people on multi-PC audio routing setups and there's 3 proper solutions:

1. Using the Shure MV7 with a Yamaha AG06 (or comparable mixer). This is by far the cheapest solution to properly routing a single mic to two PCs, since the MV7 has a USB and XLR connection that can run simultaneously. 
2. Using a mixer with sub groups / sends, compounded with a balanced line level splitter (Whirlwind or Radial Engineering), and balanced line level interfaces (Scarlett 2i2, Behringer UMC202HD). This is much more expensive than the previous solution and can still result in noise without proper cabling and routing. While it does allow you to use your mic of choice, I almost never recommend this solution. The routing is highly complicated, and completely decoupling monitor and record volume for your mic isn't possible.
3. Using RME interfaces on both computers interfaced with ADAT optical connections. This is by far the most expensive solution, but also the most expandable and highest quality. This allows you to use your choice of mic like the last solution, but without the risk of noise as the connection between the two interfaces is carried digitally.

Send me a direct message if you want more info.