I can't hear stream audio in my headphones anymore

Because OBS is routing monitoring audio to BlackHole, your headphones are bypassed. To hear the stream output, open Audio MIDI Setup on macOS, click the + button in the bottom left, and create a Multi-Output Device. Check both your headphones (or audio interface) and BlackHole 2ch. Then, in OBS Settings → Audio, select this Multi-Output Device as your Monitoring Device.

Is there a delay between stream audio and Echolume visuals?

Usually it is small enough not to notice, but it is never truly zero. BlackHole itself adds no latency of its own, and the rest of the path does: the audio buffer, Echolume's analysis, the Metal render, and OBS capturing the window. Check the whole path rather than one part. Play something percussive, watch the visuals against the sound, and if the gap bothers you, lower your audio buffer size, close heavy background software, and use OBS's per-source audio sync offset to line them up.

My viewer commands are not affecting the visuals

To enable viewer interaction, make sure you configure your channel username under the Twitch chat tab in Setup and toggle the connection to active. Refer to the Twitch integration guide.

OBS Studio & Stream Setup

Sync your live streaming visuals to your audio feed. Learn how to route your OBS Studio audio mix directly into Echolume on macOS and capture the resulting rendering output.

Requirements

OBS Studio 30 or later, on macOS 14 or later
BlackHole 2ch (free virtual loopback driver)
Echolume application

Source and setting names match OBS Studio 32.2.2, checked October 2026. OBS renames things between versions, so yours may differ slightly.

Step-by-step setup guide

Why use BlackHole? There are two separate paths here. OBS can capture desktop or application audio natively on macOS 13 and later, and that is what carries the music to your stream. Echolume is a different matter: it reads audio inputs only, so it cannot listen to your system output on its own. BlackHole is the virtual bridge that turns that output into an input Echolume can analyse. If your sound comes from a supported DAW, the bundled AUv3 plugin does the same job without a loopback driver.

1. Set up audio monitoring in OBS

Open OBS Studio and navigate to Settings → Audio.
Under the Advanced section, find the Monitoring Device dropdown.
Select BlackHole 2ch as the monitoring device and click Apply.

2. Enable monitoring on your target audio tracks

In the OBS main interface, right-click anywhere in the Audio Mixer card.
Select Advanced Audio Properties.
Locate the audio sources that carry your music. If OBS does not have it yet, add a macOS Audio Capture source first, set to Desktop Audio Capture for everything the Mac plays or Application Audio Capture for one app.
Change their Audio Monitoring from Monitor Off to Monitoring Enabled.

OBS then sends that audio to your stream and copies it to BlackHole, which is where Echolume listens.

3. Select BlackHole inside Echolume

Launch Echolume.
In the Audio input settings, select BlackHole 2ch from the dropdown menu.
Play audio in OBS and check that Echolume's visual level meter registers signals.
Adjust presets or abstraction parameters, and click Ready.

Capturing Echolume inside OBS

Once Echolume is rendering visuals, bring its picture back into OBS with a macOS Screen Capture source. OBS still lists the older Window Capture and Display Capture sources, but marks them as deprecated. The first time, macOS asks you to give OBS screen recording permission in Privacy & Security.

Echolume in a window (one display)

In OBS, click the + icon in the Sources dock and choose macOS Screen Capture.
Name the source, for example "Echolume Visualizer".
Set Method to Window Capture and pick the Echolume window.
Press OK, then crop or resize it to fit your layout.

Echolume fullscreen (external display or projector)

Connect the external display to your Mac.
In Echolume's Setup panel, select it in the Output Display list.
Click Ready so Echolume runs fullscreen there.
In OBS, add a macOS Screen Capture source, set Method to Display Capture, and choose that display.

Avoid hearing the music twice. A macOS Screen Capture source records audio as well as the picture. In Window Capture mode that is only Echolume's own audio, and Echolume makes no sound. In Display Capture mode it picks up everything the Mac is playing, including your music, so mute that source in the Audio Mixer.

Frequently Asked Questions

I can't hear stream audio in my headphones anymore: Because OBS is routing monitoring audio to BlackHole, your headphones are bypassed. To hear the stream output, open Audio MIDI Setup on macOS, click the + button in the bottom left, and create a Multi-Output Device. Check both your headphones (or audio interface) and BlackHole 2ch. Then, in OBS Settings → Audio, select this Multi-Output Device as your Monitoring Device.
Is there a delay between stream audio and Echolume visuals?: Usually it is small enough not to notice, but it is never truly zero. BlackHole itself adds no latency of its own, and the rest of the path does: the audio buffer, Echolume's analysis, the Metal render, and OBS capturing the window. Check the whole path rather than one part. Play something percussive, watch the visuals against the sound, and if the gap bothers you, lower your audio buffer size, close heavy background software, and use OBS's per-source audio sync offset to line them up.
My viewer commands are not affecting the visuals: To enable viewer interaction, make sure you configure your channel username under the Twitch chat tab in Setup and toggle the connection to active. Refer to the Twitch integration guide.