When OBS audio goes silent during an overnight sleep-sounds stream, first check the source’s meter in the OBS Audio Mixer while the sound should be playing. If the meter is still, troubleshoot playback or capture; if it moves, check mute, fader, track assignment, output, and monitoring. A silent headset does not by itself mean viewers have lost audio: local monitoring and stream output are separate paths.
There is no single established “overnight OBS audio” fault that explains every setup. The source type, operating system, OBS version, and whether the silence affects the meter, recording, stream, or only monitoring all matter.
Start with the OBS mixer meter
Open the scene used for the sleep sounds and watch the relevant source’s meter in the Audio Mixer when playback should be audible. OBS documents the meter as an indicator of source level; use it to locate the failure before changing devices or drivers. See the OBS Mixer Guide.
- No meter activity: the problem is likely upstream of OBS output—check whether the sound is playing and whether OBS is capturing the intended source or device.
- Meter activity continues: investigate OBS routing, track assignment, output, and monitoring. The source is reaching the mixer, but that does not alone prove that the live stream has audio.
If the source meter is not moving
Check the playback source
Confirm the sleep-sounds source is still active in the current scene and that its playback has not stopped. For a Media Source, check whether the file is playing and whether a scene change, stop/start action, or loop transition coincided with the silence. If the audio comes from a browser, app, or desktop capture, confirm that application is still producing sound.
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Check the capture route
Verify that OBS is listening to the intended input or output device and that the operating system or playback application is sending audio to it. OBS supports scene-specific Audio Input Capture and Audio Output Capture sources. Its audio sources guide also warns that capturing the same device both as a scene source and under Settings → Audio can create echo. Choose one deliberate route for each device, then recheck the meter.
If the meter moves but the audio seems silent
Check mute, fader, and track assignment
In the Audio Mixer, confirm the source is not muted and its fader is not turned down. Check that the source is assigned to the audio track used by the stream or recording. Then test the actual output rather than relying only on what you hear locally. The OBS Mixer Guide describes the mixer’s fader, mute, and monitoring controls.
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Separate monitoring from stream audio
If viewers or a test recording can hear the sound but your headphones or speakers cannot, focus on monitoring. In OBS, check the selected monitoring device under Settings → Audio and the source’s monitoring mode in the Advanced Audio Properties. The mixer’s monitor control can also help verify the route. If available, make a short recording or check the stream output before concluding that viewers are hearing silence.
An OBS project issue report describes monitoring loss in one macOS 14 and OBS 30.2.3 setup after device reconnection, locking the Mac, or restarting; the reporter recovered monitoring by toggling it. That is a setup-specific report, not a universal diagnosis or guaranteed lasting fix. See the OBS issue report.
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When silence follows a loop or scene change
A separate report about an audio-only Media Source describes monitoring loss around scene transitions and playback stop/start or looping. It does not establish that stream output also failed, or that all looping Media Sources share the problem. If the meter still moves, verify a recording or stream output independently before changing the source or concluding viewers lost audio. See the OBS issue report.
Make the failure easier to diagnose
Before replacing hardware or making several changes at once, note what failed and the setup in which it happened. These details help distinguish a source problem from an output or monitoring problem:
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- Operating system and OBS version.
- Sleep-sounds source type: Media Source, browser or app, capture device, or desktop audio.
- The selected capture or monitoring device and whether it is set globally, in a scene, or both.
- Whether the mixer meter stopped, local monitoring stopped, a recording was silent, or the live stream was silent.
- Whether the issue followed a scene transition, playback change, device reconnect, lock, or restart.
Common symptoms and next checks
| What you observe | What to check next |
|---|---|
| The meter is still when playback should be active | Confirm the source is playing, the scene and source are active, and OBS is capturing the intended device or application. |
| The meter moves, but the stream or recording has no audio | Check mute, fader, audio track assignment, and the actual output path. |
| The stream or recording has audio, but headphones do not | Check the source’s monitoring mode and OBS’s selected monitoring device. |
| Silence seems to follow a scene or playback change | Check source playback and meter activity; test stream or recording output separately from monitoring. |
| Silence follows a device reconnect or host interruption | Recheck the selected device and monitoring route. Toggling monitoring helped one reported setup, but is not a proven general repair. |
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