# Sound for creators > Recording, streaming and producing: buffers, OBS, a separate game track, DAWs. Source: https://wolos.org/reference/creators-audio ## What it is What works out of the box for people who record, stream or produce, what one command adds, and the three things to know before a session. A *buffer* is the small batch of sound the computer prepares before it plays it; smaller means less delay, larger means fewer clicks. A *track* is one recording you can edit on its own, such as the game's sound or your voice. ## Why Creators need two things from sound that everyday users do not: tiny buffers while monitoring, and separate tracks for the game and the voice. Both are choices, so they are switches, not defaults. ## How 1. **Install the tools.** Tick Creative Apps in the installer, or install the Creative module in Settings > Modules: it adds OBS Studio, Ardour, Audacity and the piece music apps need. See [Creative apps in one step](/manual/creative-module). 2. **Check the sound:** run `wol audio doctor` in Terminal. You see the default input's level, dropouts, forced buffers and the streaming pieces, each with the fix. 3. **Pick the buffer for the job** in Settings > Sound > Pro Audio: 64 samples for monitoring through a music app, 256 for a stream, automatic for everything else. See [Low-latency sound](/manual/audio-latency). 4. **Give the game and your voice their own tracks:** run `wol audio appmix on`, send the game to *WolOS App Mix* with the game's own output picker, and add both in OBS (details below). 5. **Choose your microphone** in Control Center > Sound, or in Settings > Sound > Input. ![Control Center's Sound page: outputs (AirPods Pro with AAC, MacBook Speakers, HDMI Display) and inputs (Yeti Nano ticked, Built-in Microphone), each with a slider.](/img/manual/controlcenter-sound.png) ## If something goes wrong | What you see | What to do | |---|---| | The microphone clips | Run `wol audio doctor`; it names the input level and the fix. Keep the slider at or below 100% unless you need *Allow Louder*. | | Dropouts while monitoring | Raise the buffer in Settings > Sound > Pro Audio (64 frames for monitoring through a DAW, 256 for a stream). | | OBS does not see the game audio | Run `wol audio appmix on`, send the game to *WolOS App Mix*, and capture it in OBS. `wol audio appmix status` says which pieces exist. | | Flatpak OBS cannot reach sound | `flatpak override --user --filesystem=xdg-run/pipewire-0 com.obsproject.Studio`; the native package is simpler. | ## Related [Low-latency sound](/manual/audio-latency) · [Creative apps in one step](/manual/creative-module) · [Sound](/reference/sound) · [Optional modules](/reference/modules) ## Reference What works out of the box on WolOS, what one command adds, and the three things to know before a session. The rules behind it are in `modules/audio.md`. ### Before you record 1. **100% is 0 dB.** The input slider's top is the microphone's nominal level, not the hardware maximum. If a mic is quiet at 100%, turn on *Allow louder* (Settings > Sound > Output; one switch for both the output and the input slider, which then reach the hardware maximum and mark 0 dB with a tick) and watch the meter in Settings > Sound > Input; red means clipping. 2. **Check the stack:** `wol audio doctor`. It names the default input's level in dB, dropouts, forced buffers and the OBS pieces, each with the fix. 3. **Pick the buffer for the job** in Settings > Sound > Pro Audio: 64 frames (1.3 ms) for monitoring through a DAW, 256 for a stream, automatic for everything else. The choice is written to `~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/50-wolos-pro-audio.conf` and applied live; it survives a reboot and `wol audio reset` removes it. ### OBS Studio Install OBS (`pacman -S obs-studio`) and the PipeWire audio capture plugin (`pacman -S obs-pipewire-audio-capture`, from the [wolos] repo). The plugin adds three sources: **Application Audio Capture** (one app, picked by name), **Desktop Audio Capture** (what the speakers play) and **Audio Input Capture (PipeWire)**. Screen and window capture use the compositor's portal (`xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland`): OBS asks, you pick. **Game audio and voice on separate tracks.** `wol audio appmix on` creates an output called **WolOS App Mix** and a source called **Mic + App Mix**: - send the game or the browser to *WolOS App Mix* with the app's own output picker (Settings > Sound has no per-app list); you still hear it on your speakers or headset; - in OBS add *Application Audio Capture* on *WolOS App Mix* for the game track and *Audio Input Capture* on your microphone for the voice track, or one *Audio Input Capture* on *Mic + App Mix* when a single mixed track is enough. `wol audio appmix off` removes both; `wol audio appmix status` says which exists. They are pipewire-pulse modules, so they go away with a logout too. **Flatpak OBS** needs the PipeWire socket: `flatpak override --user --filesystem=xdg-run/pipewire-0 com.obsproject.Studio`. The native package is simpler. ### Voice: automatic level and noise Settings > Sound > Input has two switches. *Automatic input level* puts WebRTC gain control, noise suppression and echo cancel in front of the microphone; the result is a new input, **WolOS Microphone**, which becomes the default so every app uses it. *Reduce background noise* adds the RNNoise filter (`noise-suppression-for-voice`, on the image) and shows up as **WolOS Microphone (noise reduced)**. Both are loaded only while switched on. For OBS, pick the processed input as your microphone source. ### DAWs and JACK apps `pipewire-jack` is the JACK on the image: Ardour, Reaper, Bitwig, Carla and friends see PipeWire as a JACK server with the buffer you chose in Pro Audio. Realtime scheduling comes from rtkit, and members of the `audio` group have `rtprio 95` / `memlock unlimited` directly (`/etc/security/limits.d/70-wolos-audio.conf`). A USB interface keeps its hardware mixer (preamp gain in the interface's own knob), and its card can be switched to the card profile *Pro Audio*, which exposes every channel raw and bypasses the automatic routing. Settings > Sound > Pro Audio sets only the rate and the buffer; the card profile is a command: `pactl list short cards` names the card, then `pactl set-card-profile pro-audio` (and back to `output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo`, or whatever the card listed before, to return). Sample rate: the graph runs at 48 kHz but follows 44.1, 88.2 and 96 kHz streams instead of resampling them; force one in Pro Audio for a whole session. Dropouts show as *xruns* in Pro Audio and in `wol audio doctor`; the fix is a larger buffer, another USB port, or a powered hub. ### Bluetooth headsets The best codec the headset offers wins (LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, AAC, SBC-XQ). Recording through a Bluetooth headset switches it to the call profile (HFP, lower quality) only while an app records, and back afterwards; the input level meter in Settings does not count as an app recording; turn *Use the headset microphone automatically* off in Settings > Sound (Bluetooth section, shown while a Bluetooth device is connected) if you prefer to keep music quality and use another microphone. The codec can be chosen per device. ### When something is wrong - `wol audio doctor`: the checks and the fixes. - `wol audio reset`: shows what a reset would do; `wol audio reset --yes` forgets stored defaults and volumes, removes the Pro Audio file and restarts PipeWire. Your apps reconnect by themselves. - Settings > Sound > Troubleshooting has the same reset, *Keep device awake* (for amplifiers that click when PipeWire suspends them) and *Ignore hardware volume* (software volume for a device whose mixer lies).