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If your YouTube music stream sounds doubled, first check whether OBS is capturing the same audio device twice: once in Settings > Audio and again through an Audio Input/Output Capture source in a scene. Keep one capture path for that device, then verify the stream with a short recording and a YouTube playback check. Monitoring is for listening; what you hear through the monitor is not, by itself, proof of what viewers hear.

Find out where the echo is happening

Before changing settings, identify whether the doubled sound is in the OBS mix, only in your headphones, in a recording, or in YouTube playback. Those clues separate a duplicated stream signal from a local monitoring problem.

  • Two active mixer sources represent the same audio device: suspect overlapping global and scene-level capture.
  • A test recording sounds doubled: the duplication is reaching the OBS output; inspect its capture sources and global device selections.
  • The recording is clean but your headphones sound doubled: investigate local monitoring or device playback. The monitor may be playing audio through a device that another source captures again.
  • The recording is clean but YouTube playback sounds doubled: check playback with local monitoring muted, so the monitor signal is not mixing with the stream in your listening setup.

In OBS, watch the audio mixer while the music plays and note which sources show activity. Look for the same output represented by both a global Desktop Audio device and a scene-level Audio Output Capture source.

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Remove duplicate capture in OBS

  1. Inspect global devices: open Settings > Audio and note which desktop or microphone devices are selected.
  2. Inspect scene sources: select the scene used for the stream and check for an Audio Input/Output Capture source that points to the same device.
  3. Keep one deliberate capture path: if you capture the device directly in a scene, disable its global selection; alternatively, remove the redundant scene source and retain the global device. OBS warns that selecting the same device in both places can cause echo, and advises disabling global devices when adding those devices directly to scenes (OBS Audio Sources).
  4. Play the music and recheck the mixer: confirm the same device is no longer represented by two active capture paths. Avoid changing unrelated stream settings while diagnosing this specific problem.

Source names and available options vary by operating system. OBS documents Audio Input/Output Capture for Windows and macOS; Linux uses ALSA/PulseAudio sources. The exact controls therefore depend on your OS and setup (OBS Audio Sources).

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Check monitoring separately from the stream mix

The mixer’s monitor control plays a source through the monitoring device configured in OBS. That is a listening route, not the same thing as checking the encoded stream viewers receive (OBS Audio Mixer Guide).

  1. Open Advanced Audio Properties from the audio mixer.
  2. For a source that does not need to be monitored during operation, turn monitoring off while testing.
  3. If you do need monitoring, select the intended monitoring device and check that its playback is not being captured back into OBS through another source. The routing details depend on your devices and operating system.
  4. When checking YouTube playback, mute local monitoring or use a separate listening path so you do not mistake the local monitor signal for stream echo.

Verify the fix before leaving the stream unattended

  1. Record a short test using the same scene and source arrangement you plan to use live. OBS recommends recording and listening before going live (OBS Audio Mixer Guide).
  2. Listen to the recording and compare it with your local monitored audio. A clean recording with doubled headphones points toward local monitoring or playback; a doubled recording points back toward the OBS mix and capture paths.
  3. Check the YouTube stream playback, ideally with headphones and local monitoring muted. Confirm that the audience-facing audio is clean before relying on a continuous stream.

Keep the YouTube 24/7 context in mind

YouTube’s encoder workflow uses a Live server URL and stream key in the encoder. Its help says to stop sending content to end the stream and that streams under 12 hours are automatically archived after ending (YouTube encoder guide). That stated archive threshold does not establish that a continuous 24/7 broadcast will be stored as one replay, so plan separately for any replay or archive you need.

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YouTube’s latency setting concerns the delay between capture or encoding and viewer playback; lower latency can mean more buffering. DVR controls whether viewers can pause or rewind. Neither setting is identified as a fix for duplicated OBS capture (YouTube live settings).

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