How to Make the Mic Sound Better On (Windows 10/11, Discord and OBS)?

The entire point of using a mic to record or live stream something is to get better audio than the one in-built in our phone or computer is capable of providing. What if we could make the audio sound professional though? What if the sound that comes out appears almost studio-level clean and polished? 

We can actually. The right settings, equalizing and noise reduction can make for a clear audio recording. We are happy to teach you how. 

How to make the mic sound better?

It’s not to say the in-built mic in your computer can not produce good quality audio with the right tinkering.

However, we would encourage you to get a standalone microphone with a noise cancellation feature. Connect it to the PC and half of your work is already done. 

Make The Mic Sound Better On Windows 10

Step 1: Click on the Start menu or tap the Start key on your Keyboard. 

Choose the Settings icon from the immediate options. 

You will be greeted with the following:

Source: Tropical Tech

You want to double-click on System

Step 2: You are choosing Sound from the options that appear on the left of the window. 

  • Scroll down until you find Related Settings. On some computers, the options are merely on the right of the screen. 
  • Tap Sound Control Panel

Step 3: In the Sound window, you have to head for Recording

  • You will see the microphone you are using listed. If it does not have a green tick mark on it indicating it is in use, click on the microphone name and then Default
  • If it’s set as the default, then double click on the Microphone. 

Step 4: Once the Microphone Properties window is presented, head to the Advanced tab, which tends to be at the end of the options. 

Source: Tropical Tech

The first thing you will notice is a drop-down box. Look through the options. Generally, the sound quality tends to get better with higher Hertz. 

Choose a Hertz setting you like and then click on Apply button at the bottom of the menu. 

Step 5: Go to the Levels tab, which is to the left of Advanced on most computers. 

A slider would appear with the Microphone as the heading. 

The slider number determines how sensitive the microphone is to background noises. Dragging the slider to the left helps reduce the mic’s ability to pick up external noises. 

We recommend dragging the slider from left to right and testing with your voice what works best. 

There is also the Microphone Boost slider, where it is recommended to keep it at +10.0 dB. 

This is all the in-built feature allows us. You can use external software to improve your mic quality, which we will discuss in a few. 

Make The Mic Sound Better On Discord

Discord seems to gather the bulk of the complaints from users when it comes to the sounds from the microphone. Nothing that isn’t easy to fix though. 

Step 1: We open Discord first of all. 

  • The Settings icon is at the left end of the page. 
  • Once you click on it, go to Voice & Video

Source: DevGambit

Step 2: Do you notice Input Sensitivity on the screen?

  • The slider with one side green and another side yellow? The one under Automatically Determine Input Sensitivity? Turn the button beside it off. 
  • By raising or lowering the decibel of the slider, you can determine how much background noise enters your mic. The more you pull the slider to the left, the less should be the noise level. 

Step 3: Scroll down to Voice Processing. There are a couple of settings you need to turn on and check whether they are already turned on. 

  • Turn on Noise Reduction and Automatic Gain Control. To know they are on, the mini button beside them should be green. 
  • Turn off Echo Cancellation

Source: DevGambit

Step 4: This is mostly a routine check. Make sure the Input Volume is at 100 so your laptop tries to take in as much of the mic as it can. 

Unless you feel it is too loud. Lower it then. 

There is a mic test option on the page you can use to see how well your mic is performing. 

Software To Make Your Mic Sound Better- OBS

OBS is an open-source broadcasting software people use to record and stream. The software captures your voice through the mic, takes screenshots, and records the screen at your command. 

You can see why lots of live streamers on Discord and Twitch use this software. 

If you are planning on beginning your influencer career soon, this will be extremely helpful to you. 

Step 1: Download and Install OBS. A quick search will take you to their website. 

Run the software once the installation is successful. 

Step 2: At the top left corner, you will notice the File tab. 

  • Click on it to choose Settings from the drop-down menu. 
  • From there, look through the menu on the left and select the Audio tab. 

Source: Awall Digital

Step 3: Under General, choose 44 Hertz for the sample rate. This tends to be the most compatible. 

  • For Channel, choose Stereo from the drop-down options. 
  • Under Devices, all options should be set to Disable
  • Tap Apply at the bottom of the screen and then OK

Step 4: Do you see Source at the bottom section of the main panel? 

Hit the + button and from the menu, tap the first one. This one is Audio Input Capture

Source: Awall Digital

On the box that appears, under Create new, you can rename your mic. Hit the OK button. 

Step 5: The Property tab will open. 

Under Device, you will get a list of mics to choose from. Depending on the type you have connected to the PC, choose one. 

Click on OK

On the main panel, you will notice your Mic name under audio mixer. The green and yellow lines indicate the levels. 

Step 6: Besides volume, you will see the Settings icon. 

Tap on it to find Filters

Source: Awall Digital

Step 7: Once the Filters window opens, you have to click on the + icon again. 

If you are recording somewhere with constant outside noise such as the honk of a car, you will choose Noise Gate amongst the options. 

Source: Awall Digital

Click on OK and then Filter would be added. 

After the filter is activated, you will have the Close Threshold and Open Threshold options. 

Source: Awall Digital

Tinker with the dBs to reach a comfortable point where your voice is clear but background nosies are limited. 

Unless it is actually loud in the background, Noise Gate is an unnecessary filter. 

Step 8: As before, click on the + icon under the Filter window. 

Instead of Noise Gate, choose Noise Supression

This is when you have humming kind of background noise but not enough that it interferes directly with the mic sound. 

Source: Awall Digital

Drag the Supression Level slider up and down to find the best sound quality. 

Remember, you either add Noise Gate or Noise suppression. Never both together. 

Step 9: following the same methods for adding Filters as before, we choose Compression this time. 

Source: Awall Digital

Compressor works pretty well at default. If you want to, feel free to play around with the settings. The original settings provide studio quality sound though. 

Step 10: Hitting just before the negative red line on the audio mixer means your audio is at the best quality possible. 

So, this time, we add Gain with the + icon. 

Source: Awall Digital

You can manually add the dBs required to hit the negative. 

Check with your voice to see you don’t end up hitting the red line with the levels. If you do, lower the dBs on Gain. 

Then, you add Limiter from the options. 

Source: Awall Digital

Put up a dB on the Threshold for Limiter. This ensures your voice never reaches the red line, which can cause cracks in the audio. Usually, a negative 3 dB turns out to be ideal. 

Now, close the Filter for Mic. 

You are officially done. Any time you live stream or record with the OBS on, your voice would be clear to an almost studio level. 

Final Thoughts

Before you record, you will want to eliminate as much as noise from the room possible. Your computer settings can only do so much. Even buying a high-quality noise cancelling microphone does not guarantee you will be free from the noise. 

Still, try to make sure your microphone isn’t turned towards the noise source. Bring your mouth as close to the microphone as possible to make sure it chooses you as the primary sound source. 

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