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What the Compressor and Limiter each do
Compressor: reduce levels above a threshold
A Compressor reduces audio that rises above its threshold. The ratio controls how much: OBS’s example explains that with a 2:1 ratio, a signal 6 dB above threshold becomes 3 dB above it. Attack is how long the Compressor takes to reach full gain reduction after the signal crosses the threshold; release is how long it takes to return to zero reduction once the level falls below it. Output Gain raises the processed signal, so adding it without checking peaks can use up headroom.
Compression can reduce dynamic variation, but it does not automatically make every track equally loud to the ear. A Limiter, in turn, controls peaks; it does not solve track-to-track loudness differences. OBS’s Compressor documentation defines the controls and gives its defaults, not a tested continuous-playlist preset.
Limiter: cap peaks
OBS describes the Limiter as protection against peaks above 0 dB, using very fast attack and a high ratio. It directs users to place the Limiter last in the filter chain. Its documented default threshold is -6.00 dB and release is 60 ms. Those values are defaults, not a required ceiling for every source or delivery chain. See OBS’s Limiter documentation.
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Set up filters for a playlist in OBS
- Choose the playlist source. Identify the OBS audio source carrying the playlist. Open that source’s filters and apply processing there if you want it to affect only playlist audio. OBS supports filters on sources and scenes; a filter on a combined desktop-audio source affects the combined signal instead. The OBS Filters Guide explains filter placement.
- Listen before changing anything. Play representative quiet and loud passages, including transitions, and watch the source and output meters. First decide whether the actual problem is noticeable loudness variation, occasional peaks, or both.
- Add a Compressor only for distracting variation. Enable it on the playlist source and adjust threshold and ratio in small steps while listening. Tune attack and release to the material, then check whether Output Gain is raising peaks too far. OBS’s documented defaults—ratio 10:1, threshold -18 dB, attack 6 ms, release 60 ms, and output gain 0 dB—are software defaults, not a playlist preset. Avoid copying them blindly.
- Add a Limiter last. Place it after the Compressor and any other dynamics or gain filters. Set a ceiling that leaves appropriate headroom for the delivery chain, then listen to loud sections for audible distortion or unnaturally flattened sound. OBS’s -6.00 dB threshold is its documented default, not a requirement.
- Record and review a short test. Include transitions and the loudest passages, then listen back at more than one playback level if possible. Change one control at a time if the result sounds worse, and make another test recording before relying on the setup live.
When to use OBS’s sidechain settings instead
If a microphone should lower music while someone speaks, that is ducking, a different job from controlling a continuous playlist by itself. OBS’s published sidechain example uses a 32:1 ratio, -36 dB threshold, 100 ms attack, 600 ms release, 0 dB output gain, and the microphone as the sidechain source. OBS advises adjusting the threshold for ducking strength and attack and release for timing. These are starting values for music or game sound ducked under a microphone—not continuous-playlist settings. Details are in the OBS Compressor documentation.
Diagnose common playlist-processing problems
- The music still sounds uneven between tracks: A Limiter caps peaks but does not normalize perceived loudness. A Compressor can reduce some variation above its threshold; listen to the actual tracks and do not expect either filter to make every song equally loud.
- The sound is flattened or pumping: The Compressor may be acting too strongly for the source, or its timing may not suit the music. Reduce the amount of compression and retest with both quieter and louder passages.
- The output peaks after adding the Compressor: Output Gain raises the post-compression level. Reduce it or remove it, then check the output again; a Limiter should be last, but it is not a substitute for sensible gain staging.
- Other computer audio changes too: The filter may be attached to a combined desktop source or scene rather than the playlist alone. Move the processing to the playlist source if you want it scoped there.
- Voice-over does not lower the music: A regular Compressor on the playlist does not by itself perform microphone ducking. Set up the Compressor’s sidechain source as the microphone and use the ducking workflow instead.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is a YouTube channel that keeps a recorded playlist live 24/7, StreamNeo is an alternative to keeping OBS and a computer running at home. Upload your recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud; it does not go live from a camera.
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