Audio Bitrate OBS Settings for Streaming and Recording

Start at 160 kbps. For a stereo live stream, that setting gives speech and typical game audio enough room without spending bandwidth that the platform may discard or transcode anyway.

Use these starting points:

• 128 kbps: speech-heavy streams or a constrained upload
• 160 kbps: the recommended default for most stereo streams
• 192 kbps: music, rhythm games, or cleaner source audio
• 256 to 320 kbps: only when the service accepts it and music quality justifies the extra data

The useful range is at least 128 kbps and usually no more than 320 kbps. A mono commentary feed can work at 96 to 128 kbps, but stereo music becomes easier to damage at those rates, especially after a streaming service performs another encode.

OBS has separate bitrate settings for video and audio. Audio therefore needs its own bandwidth allowance, even though the video encoder, output resolution, frame rate, rate control, and keyframe interval consume most of the connection.

Do the arithmetic before raising it. A 6,000 kbps video stream plus 160 kbps audio is roughly 6,160 kbps before protocol overhead, so the upload must remain consistently above that total rather than merely touching it in a speed test. The CodecPath bitrate calculator can estimate the combined data rate.

Use the Output tab. In OBS Studio, select Settings > Output, choose the appropriate output mode, and change the audio track bitrate before starting the stream or recording.

1. Open File > Settings on Windows or Linux, or OBS Studio > Settings on macOS.
2. Select Output.
3. Set Output Mode to Simple for one streaming audio control, or Advanced for individual track settings.
4. Under Streaming, choose the audio bitrate available for the selected encoder and service.
5. In Advanced mode, open the Audio subtab and assign a bitrate to each active track.
6. Select Apply, then OK.

Stop the current output first. OBS cannot safely rewrite an active stream's encoder configuration, and a control may be unavailable while streaming, recording, or using the virtual camera.

For one mixed stream track, set Track 1 to 160 kbps. For a local multitrack recording, 192 or 320 kbps per track is reasonable when disk space is not tight, but every enabled track increases file size independently.

The track must also be routed. Open Edit > Advanced Audio Properties, then check the numbered track used by the streaming or recording output; a bitrate assigned to an empty track records silence, while an unchecked microphone never reaches that track. The OBS audio mixer documentation↗ explains how application, desktop, and input sources enter the mixer.

Usually, no. Keep the live stream near 160 or 192 kbit/s, then give local recording tracks 192 to 320 kbps when later editing or archiving makes the added file size worthwhile.

A platform-facing stream has a fixed bandwidth budget and may be transcoded again. A local recording avoids the connection entirely, so its configuration can favor editing quality, separate microphone and game tracks, and a less restricted audio bitrate.

In Settings > Output > Output Mode: Advanced, configure the Streaming and Recording panels separately. Assign the stream mix to Track 1, then use Tracks 2 and 3 for isolated microphone and desktop audio if the recording format and editor support them.

Do not record directly to MP4 if losing power or crashing would matter. OBS recommends MKV because an interrupted MKV recording remains recoverable, after which File > Remux Recordings can produce an MP4 for an application that requires it; this behavior is covered in the official recording settings guide↗.

There is little audible improvement in taking a poor microphone, clipping source, 44.1 kHz resample problem, or heavily compressed music and assigning it 320 kbps. Fix gain, noise, routing, and sample rate first. Bitrate cannot restore information already missing from the source.

Lower it first. If dropped frames or disconnects begin after increasing the setting, restore 160 kbps and verify total bandwidth, service limits, sample rate, and track routing before changing the video encoder.

Audio is rarely the largest load, but an already saturated upload can fail when another 128 or 160 kbps pushes the combined live stream beyond its consistent capacity, particularly on Wi-Fi or mobile connections with variable upstream performance.

Check the failure in this order:

1. Open View > Stats and watch Dropped Frames (Network) while live.
2. If that counter rises, reduce total bitrate or fix the network path.
3. Open Help > Log Files > Upload Current Log File after reproducing the problem.
4. Confirm Settings > Audio > Sample Rate matches the usual 48 kHz streaming configuration.
5. Check Advanced Audio Properties for duplicate monitoring, disabled tracks, or sources routed twice.
6. Make a short local recording and inspect every active track before going live again.

Network dropped frames implicate the connection, not CPU usage or hardware encoding. Encoder overload appears as skipped frames, while rendering lag points toward GPU pressure; changing audio from 192 to 160 kbps will not cure either condition.

Do not chase a larger number. The OBS log analyzer↗ can identify common overload, connection, and configuration faults from an uploaded OBS log without treating every stutter as a bitrate problem.