What is the best way to process live audio for streaming?

[chai_all_day_long]

Happy Easter KVR'ers ,

Not sure if this is the best spot to ask but I could use a little mixing advice. I'd like to be able to process (gate, eq, compress) my mic while teaching online workshops and teleconferencing for work to get the best possible sound.

I have my mic running into my Audient ID14 and tried using virtual audio cable out of Ableton but it seems like this introduces a bit too much latency. As such, I was debating getting a compact mixer but also thinking this could potentially introduce some noise.

Is there an ideal way to do this and have any of you had any success running a similar setup?

[DJ Warmonger]

Well, for recording I run my mic through Ableton instance as well, then through mixer and back. But no virtual cables. No latency issues here with 88200 oversampling.

Not sure how that would work with streaming live, though. But OBS studio allows to delay video stream if you wish to.

[BertKoor]

For teleconferencing this is feeding pearls to swines. The room acoustics are far more important, so make sure it doesn't sound like you sit in the bathroom. But effort put in EQ & compression is totally wasted on that audience.

Most mixers I've seen don't introduce tons of background noise. If you find the random one you picked does, then return it within 30 days and double your budget for the replacement.

[imrae]

I have my mic running into my Audient ID14 and tried using virtual audio cable out of Ableton but it seems like this introduces a bit too much latency.

How much latency? How's your buffer size? This should be doable.

Hardware is of course the simple option with a good workflow - something like a DBX 286s provides control over vocals at a reasonable price. But it won't be that great compared to your plugins for recording purposes.

[tehlord]

It's easy to overthink this, and in most respects Bertkoor is spot on. The best solution is to simply use the right mic in the first place, something with supreme side rejection. I use a Rode Procaster for recording video tutorials, and it's a superb budget solution. They also do a USB version (USB mics are generally slightly inferior) called the Podcaster, and being USB would negate the issue of having to virtually route the signal or use a mixer.

Another alternative is to purchase an audio interface that has loopback, and again I have used a small Steinberg UR series interface for the sole purpose of being able to loopback my entire system audio. This means I can use any software to 'pick up' the output from Ableton Live. OBS would see it too.