How to Configure Elgato Wave Link for OBS Studio

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to configure the Elgato Wave Link software to separate your audio sources for OBS Studio. By routing your system sounds, voice chat, and music into individual virtual channels within Wave Link and importing them separately into OBS, you will gain precise, independent control over each audio source during your live streams or recordings.

To begin, you need to define the virtual channels you want to use within the Elgato Wave Link software. 1. Open the Wave Link application on your computer. 2. Click on an empty channel slot marked with a + icon. 3. Select the input types you want to create (e.g., Wave Link Game, Wave Link Voice Chat, Wave Link Music, or Wave Link Browser).

Next, you must direct your computer’s applications to send their audio to the appropriate Wave Link channels. 1. Right-click the speaker icon in your Windows system tray and select Open Sound settings (or search for Volume mixer in Windows 11). 2. Scroll down and click on App volume and device preferences (or Volume mixer). 3. Find the application you want to route (such as Discord, Spotify, or your game). 4. Change the Output dropdown for that application to the corresponding Wave Link virtual input. For example, set Discord’s output to Wave Link Voice Chat and Spotify’s output to Wave Link Music.

Step 3: Disable Default Desktop Audio in OBS Studio

To prevent audio doubling and ensure complete separation, you must disable the default global audio devices in OBS. 1. Open OBS Studio. 2. Click on Settings in the bottom-right corner, then select the Audio tab on the left. 3. Under the Global Audio Devices section, set Desktop Audio and Desktop Audio 2 to Disabled. 4. Set Mic/Auxiliary Audio to Disabled as well. 5. Click Apply and then OK.

Now you will import each individual Wave Link channel directly into OBS as a separate audio source. 1. Go to the Sources dock in OBS Studio. 2. Click the + (Add) icon and select Audio Input Capture. 3. Name the source clearly (e.g., Wave Link Game) and click OK. 4. In the Device dropdown menu, select the matching Wave Link virtual device (e.g., Wave Link Game (Elgato Wave:3)). 5. Click OK. 6. Repeat this process for every separate channel you created, such as your microphone, voice chat, and music.

Once completed, each audio source will have its own volume slider and green level meter inside the OBS Audio Mixer dock, allowing you to mute, adjust, or apply filters to individual sources independently.