Perfect Audio for Dual PC Streaming Setup using VoiceMeeter Banana with VBAN

Follow this step-by-step guide to take the trouble out of dual pc streaming audio

With streaming as popular as it is today, people are moving to a dual PC setup to get the most out of streaming. One of the challenges that come with this is the audio. Audio, in general, is a very tricky technology for even some of the most versed people in the field. While there is some really expensive hardware you could buy, there is also a free solution out there as well that uses networking to transfer audio. That solution is VoiceMeeter Banana VBan. I will walk you through how to set it up.

Download Voicemeeter Banana. This comes with almost everything you need. https://www.vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/banana.htm

While you’re on VoiceMeeter’s page, go ahead and download the only other thing you will need Virtual Audio Cable.  https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/index.htm
These need to be installed on both the Gaming and Streaming PC. Ensure you install both programs as an Administrator. To do this, extract the files and then right-click the installer and run as administrator.

Network Settings

Some of the audio is going to be shared between your Gaming PC and your Streaming PC. The way to do this is by using VBAN, which sends audio over your network using IP addresses. For this to work, you need to have static IP addresses. If not, every time your PC restarts, you run the chance of VBAN no longer working properly.

  1. Go to Control Panel and open Network and Internet. YOU WILL NEED TO DO THIS ON THE GAMING AND STREAMING PC’s!

    Windows Network Settings

    Network and Sharing Center

  2. Now open up Network and Sharing Center.

    Control Panel Network and Internet

    Network and Internet

  3. Next, you will open, “Change adapter settings”.

    Network and Sharing Center Change Adapter Settings

    Change Adapter Settings

  4. Next step you will right Click your main networking device and select Properties.

    Ethernet Settings Properties

    Network Connections Ethernet

  5. Once your Ethernet Properties open up you will click the words, “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then click the Properties button

    Internet Protocol Version 4 Ethernet Properties

    Ethernet Properties IPv4

  6. When the Internet Protocols window opens up you will select “Use the following IP address:” For this part, you need to know your default gateway address. If you don’t know what your gateway is, press the windows key + R and then type cmd. This opens your command prompt.
    ipconfig

    Command Prompt Windows IP Configuration

    When the command prompt opens up, type, “ipconfig”, without the quotes. You will see your default gateway address there. In my case, it is 192.168.0.1

    1. IP Address – I’m setting mine to 192.168.0.114 on my Gaming PC and 192.168.0.112 on my Streaming PC.
      This much match the pattern of your Default Gateway. If the default gateway is something like 192.168.0.1, you’ll want to set the IP Address to something like 192.168.0.114.
      The last 3 numbers can be anything other than 1 and lower than 200 unless your router specifies otherwise.
    2. Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0 (This usually fills automatically)
    3. Default Gateway – This address is the entry point of your router. Set this number to whatever command prompt had shown you. (refer to step 7)

    Select “Use the following DNS server addresses”You can use any DNS service you like. Googles DNS and OpenDNS are 2 of the most popular. Personally, I use Googles DNS.

    1. Preferred DNS server – (Google) 8.8.8.8
    2. Alternate DNS server – (Google) 8.8.4.4

      Check Use The Following IP Address

      Internet Protocol Version 4 Properties

Click OK and then Close the Ethernet Properties. You now have static IP addresses on both your Gaming and Streaming PC’s.

Set your default Audio Devices

Since we are using VoiceMeeter we need to set our default playback and recording devices to be VoiceMeeter Input and Output. This will allow Voicemeeter to properly route audio between both the Gaming and Streaming PC’s as well as the Stream.

  1. The first thing we need to do is set Voicemeeter to be your default audio program for both, your speakers, and your recording devices. The way we do this is by going to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound

    Configure Your Audio Device

    Hardware and Sound

  2. First, click the playback tab and then right-click VoiceMeeter Input, select as your Default Device select ok and then select Properties.

    VoiceMeeter Input

    Sound Playback

  3. Click on the Advanced Tab and select 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality). This seems to be the best quality for transferring audio to streams.

    Advanced Speakers Properties

    Speakers Properties

  4. Now, select the Spatial sound tab and turn on Windows Sonic for Headphones (included with Windows) or Dolby Atmos (paid). This allows a virtual surround environment to be applied to your soundcard. Leave 7.1 virtual surround sound unchecked or checked. There was no differenced in my testing results either way. I just leave it unchecked. Click Apply and OK.

    Windows Sonic For Headphones

    Spatial Sound Speakers Properties

  5. Now select the Recording Tab then right-click VoiceMeeter Output and then select as your Default Device. Click Apply and OK

    VoiceMeeter Output

    Sound Recording

That’s it for setting our default playback and recording devices on both our Gaming PC and Streaming PC. Voicemeeter will now be recognized by Windows as your audio device. Now it’s time to actually setup VoiceMeeter Banana and VBAN.

VoiceMeeter settings for your Streaming PC

We are going to be setting up all of your audio on your Streaming PC. The only thing that should run on your Gaming PC is your headphones and of course, your game. Music, Discord, Skype, Alerts and everything else will run on your Streaming PC. Make sure you have all your audio devices, except for your headphones, plugged into your Streaming PC.

 

  1. Voicemeeter Banana Settings – The following will set up your VoiceMeeter Banana on your Streaming PC. First, open Voicemeeter Banana on your Streaming PC by clicking Start in Windows > VB Audio > VoiceMeeter Banana. When you open VoiceMeeter Banana, it should look like this.
    Audio Settings For VoiceMeeter Banana

    VoiceMeeter Banana Settings

    1. Next, let’s change our audio to 48000 Hz to match the rest of our audio. Click the Menu button at the top right of VoiceMeeter then open System Settings / Options. Change Preferred Main SampleRate from 44100 Hz to 48000 Hz and then close the System settings / Options window.

      VoiceMeeter Banana System Settings 48000Hz

      48000Hz in VoiceMeeter Banana

    2. In the first channel, right-click Hardware Input, rename to MIC and press Enter.
      Click Select Input Device and choose your microphone.
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our microphone audio out to the Streaming PC.

      Change Your Audio Output To MIC in VoiceMeeter Banana

      MIC VoiceMeeter Banana

    3. In the second channel, right-click Hardware Input 2, rename to DISCORD and press Enter.
      Click Select Input Device and choose WDM: CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Audio Cable).
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our microphone audio out to the Streaming PC.

      Change Hardware Input 2 to Discord

      Hardware Input 2 Discord

    4. Under VIRTUAL INPUTS right-click the first channel and rename to StreamOut
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our microphone audio out to the Streaming PC.
      After that, turn on B1. This will send our microphone audio to our Gaming PC so we can hear ourselves talking and others can hear us in game.

      Virtual Inputs To StreamOut In VoiceMeeter Banana

      Virtual Inputs To StreamOut

    5. Now select your Hardware Out Devices.
      A1 – CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) This is going to output our Mic and Discord to our Streaming PC.
      A2 – Select this if you have any external loudspeakers like the Razer Nommo Chromas.

      Hardware Out Devices Cable Input in VoiceMeeter Banana

      Hardware Out Devices Cable Input

  2. VBAN Settings – VBAN is going to allow us to share our audio with our Gaming PC. Click the VBAN button next to the Menu Button.
    For our Streaming PC, we are only going to need to work with our Outgoing Streams. This sends the audio to our Gaming PC. We can either send all audio from the Stream PC or individually send our Mic, Discord and then Stream Audio to the Gaming PC.

    1. MIC
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Next Select BUS A1 as the source. (A1 is the channel we set our Mic to in VoiceMeeter)
      • Now, under Stream Name call it Mic. You will also use the SAME EXACT name in VBAN on the Gaming PC.
      • For the IP Address To, enter the IP Address of your Gaming PC. For me, it’s 192.168.0.114
      • Under Net Quality, change it to slow. This will delay the audio a little to sync with your voice.
    2. DISCORD 
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Next Select BUS A2 as the source. (A2 is the channel we set our Discord to in VoiceMeeter)
      • Now, under Stream Name call it Discord. You will also use the SAME EXACT name in VBAN on the Gaming PC.
      • For the IP Address To, enter the IP Address of your Gaming PC. For me, it’s 192.168.0.114
      • Under Net Quality, change it to Optimal.
    3. STREAM AUDIO (Alerts, Music, PC sounds)
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Next Select BUS B1 as the source. (B1 is our Main Output)
      • Now, under Stream Name call it Stream Audio. You will also use the SAME EXACT name in VBAN on the Gaming PC.
      • For the IP Address To, enter the IP Address of your Gaming PC. For me, it’s 192.168.0.114
      • Under Net Quality, change it to Optimal.
    4. Close the VBAN window. (YOUR VBAN SHOULD LOOK LIKE BELOW! CHANGE THE IP ADDRESS TO MATCH YOUR GAMING PC’s IP ADDRESS)

      VBan Window Look

      Close VBan Window

VoiceMeeter settings for your Gaming PC

We are going to be setting up all of your audio on your Gaming PC. The only thing that should run on your Gaming PC is your headphones and of course, your game. Music, Discord, Skype, Alerts and everything else will run on your Streaming PC. Make sure you have all your audio devices, except for your headphones, plugged into your Streaming PC.

 

  1. Voicemeeter Banana Settings – The following will set up your VoiceMeeter Banana on your Streaming PC. First, open Voicemeeter Banana on your Streaming PC by clicking Start in Windows > VB Audio > VoiceMeeter Banana. When you open VoiceMeeter Banana, it should look like this.
    Since we already setup VoiceMeeter on our Streaming PC, I have put an image what your final VoiceMeeter should look like when done below.

    1. Next, let’s change our audio to 48000 Hz to match the rest of our audio. Click the Menu button at the top right of VoiceMeeter then open System Settings / Options. Change Preferred Main SampleRate from 44100 Hz to 48000 Hz and then close the System settings / Options window.
    2. In the first channel, right-click Hardware Input, rename to MIC and press Enter.
      Click Select Input Device and choose your microphone.
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our microphone audio out to the Headphones.
      After that, turn on B1. This will send our microphone audio to VoiceMeeter Output (our default recording device we set earlier) so others can hear us in game.
    3. In the second channel, right-click Hardware Input 2, rename to DISCORD and press Enter.
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our Discord audio out to the Headphones.
    4. In the third channel, right-click Hardware Input 2, rename to StreamPC AUDIO and press Enter.
      Next, turn on A1. This will send all of the alerts, music or any other audio from our Stream PC to our Headphones.
    5. Under VIRTUAL INPUTS right-click the first channel and rename to Gaming PC Out
      Next, turn on A1. This will send our Game audio out to our Headphones.
      After that, turn on A2. This will send our gaming PC audio to our Streaming PC. Don’t worry, our Discord, Mic or Alerts will not be doubled because we only enabled them to our headphones.
    6. Now select your Hardware Out Devices.
      A1 – Select your Headphones. In my case, my headphones are: Speakers (2- EVGA NU Audio)
      A2 – Select your capture card. I have an Elgato HD60 Pro so I chose: Elgato (NVIDIA High Definition Audio)
      BELOW IS WHAT YOUR FINAL VOICEMEETER SETTINGS SHOULD LOOK LIKE ON YOUR GAMING PC. CHANGE HARDWARE OUT TO MATCH YOUR HEADSET (A1) AND THEN YOUR CAPTURE CARD (A2)

      Change Hardware Out To Match Your Headset and Capture Card

      Final VoiceMeeter Settings

  2. VBAN Settings – This is how we are going to call in our Audio from our Streaming PC. We will be able to get our Mic, Discord, and Streaming PC volume in all separate channels.
    Open VBAN just like you did on your Streaming PC. This time we are going enter our settings in the INCOMING STREAMS section.

    1. MIC (default Stream Name is Stream1)
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Now, under Stream Name, rename Stream1 to Mic. You must use the SAME EXACT name from VBAN on the Streaming PC.
      • Under Net Quality, change it to Fast. This will speed up the audio a little to sync with your voice.
      • For the IP Address To, enter the IP Address of your Streaming PC. For me, it’s 192.168.0.112
      • Next, under Destination, select #1
    2. DISCORD 
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Next Select BUS A2 as the source. (A2 is the channel we set our Discord to in VoiceMeeter)
      • Now, under Stream Name call it Discord. You will also use the SAME EXACT name in VBAN on the Gaming PC.
      • Under Net Quality, change it to Optimal.
    3. STREAM AUDIO (Alerts, Music, PC sounds)
      • First, click the button On to enable.
      • Next Select BUS B1 as the source. (B1 is our Main Output)
      • Now, under Stream Name call it Stream Audio. You will also use the SAME EXACT name in VBAN on the Gaming PC.
      • Under Net Quality, change it to Optimal.
        pic
    4. Close the VBAN window.
      The following VBAN settings are what your Gaming PC VBAN should look like!

      Final Gaming PC VBan

      Fully Functional VoiceMeeter Settings

That’s it! Your audio should be fully functional across both PCs. Just make sure you run VoiceMeeter every time you restart your PC.


One Comment

  1. How would I be able to use an audio interface? I specifically have a Tascam US-32 Ministudio. I would like to run discord on my gaming pc because sometimes when I play Escape from Tarkov with friends it’s a lot easier to stream gameplay with discord.

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