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Start by checking the OBS audio meter while the radio stream is silent. If the meter is flat, audio is not reaching OBS: check the source, device, system or app volume, and filters. If the meter still moves, check OBS mute and output routing, then compare a local recording with the YouTube playback. That sequence helps locate whether the silence begins before OBS, inside its output, or after the stream leaves your encoder.
1. Check whether the radio source is still playing
When the sound disappears, first verify playback at its origin: the media player, browser, audio device, or other source feeding OBS. Confirm that the expected source is present in the active OBS scene. If audio comes from a physical device, check its connection and controls.
Then check the operating system’s volume mixer and the individual application’s volume. OBS recommends tracing audio from the device through system and application levels before moving on to the mixer. The exact controls vary by operating system and by how your radio audio enters OBS; see the OBS Audio Mixer Guide.
2. Use the OBS meter to locate the break
If the meter is flat
A flat meter for the relevant source means audio is not reaching OBS. Check that playback is active, the correct input or capture source is selected, the device is connected, and neither system nor application volume is muted or too low. Disable source filters temporarily while diagnosing: filters can affect the signal, and the input indicator is located before them in OBS’s signal path. OBS’s Audio Mixer Technical Details explains the distinction between the incoming signal and processing that follows.
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If the meter moves
A moving meter shows that OBS is receiving audio, so look downstream. Check that the source is not muted, its fader is not lowered, and it is assigned to the audio track used by the stream output. OBS’s mixer layout and labels can vary by release; check the installed version’s track and output controls rather than relying on a menu path from another version. OBS’s English interface includes a warning for outputs with no tracks selected; the wording is visible in the OBS Studio English locale file.
Do not treat monitoring as proof that sound is reaching YouTube. Monitoring lets you listen through a configured monitoring device; stream output determines whether audio is included in the encoded program. A source may be audible in monitoring but absent from the stream output.
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3. Compare an OBS recording with YouTube playback
Make or inspect a local recording that covers the time the sound failed, then listen to it and compare it with the YouTube stream. This separates problems in OBS’s capture or output from problems that occur after the encoder produces its output.
- The recording is silent too: Return to the source, device, filters, mute, fader, and stream-track checks. The fault is likely within the audio path captured or produced by OBS.
- The recording has sound, but YouTube does not: Check YouTube Live Control Room for reported encoder errors and compare what the encoder shows with the local archive. YouTube advises that if the stream looks and sounds healthy at the encoder, the outbound internet connection may be involved. See Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream.
If the issue affects only one viewer, ask another viewer on a different network to check the stream before changing OBS. If multiple viewers hear silence while the local recording remains audible, delivery or connection is more plausible than a missing source signal; confirm with the encoder and YouTube’s diagnostics rather than assuming the cause.
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4. Use the timing and scope as clues
If audio stops only after the stream has been running for a while, check the meter and make a recording while the fault is happening. Note whether the source itself has stopped or continues playing, and whether OBS still receives its signal. A delayed failure alone does not establish that a media source restarted, a device slept, or the network failed; investigate those possibilities only if they fit your setup and the observations.
These four observations help narrow the fault:
- Meter state: flat points toward playback, capture, device, volume, or filter issues; moving points toward OBS output or later in the chain.
- Local recording: silent means the failure is present in the recording path; audible while YouTube is silent points to delivery or platform-side investigation.
- Who hears it: one viewer suggests checking that viewer’s playback or connection; reports from viewers on different networks make an encoder or delivery issue more plausible.
- Source state: if the source stopped, investigate playback or the device; if it continues while the output loses sound, check OBS routing and downstream delivery.
5. Check channel format only when the symptoms point to it
Channel configuration is not the first assumption for sudden silence in an ordinary radio stream. YouTube’s live-ingestion guidance supports mono, stereo, and 5.1; other channel configurations may convert unreliably to stereo. Check the actual output format if you have evidence of a channel-layout or conversion problem.
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For 5.1 live audio specifically, YouTube documents a 48 kHz sample rate and 384 Kbps audio bitrate, along with compatible encoder and protocol settings. These are 5.1 requirements, not general settings to apply to a stereo radio stream. See YouTube’s 5.1 surround sound streaming guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.6. Validate each fix before relying on it
- Change one relevant setting at a time so you can identify what resolved the silence.
- Record a normal test session and listen to the resulting file. OBS recommends testing a recording before going live.
- Verify the actual YouTube stream as well as the local recording; one does not confirm the other.
- Keep final output levels below 0 dBFS to avoid clipping. Do not raise every level indiscriminately: louder settings do not repair a broken signal path.
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