Use Echolume with OBS Studio

Route your OBS audio mix into Echolume with BlackHole to get audio-reactive visuals synced to your stream or recording.

What you need

1. Install BlackHole

Download and install BlackHole 2ch from the official site. BlackHole creates a virtual audio device that routes audio between apps — with zero latency.

2. Set up Audio Monitoring in OBS

  1. Open OBS Studio.
  2. Go to Settings → Audio.
  3. Under Advanced, set Monitoring Device to BlackHole 2ch.
  4. Click OK.

This tells OBS to send monitor audio to BlackHole instead of your speakers.

3. Enable monitoring on your audio sources

  1. In OBS, right-click your audio source in the Audio Mixer (e.g. "Desktop Audio" or "Mic/Aux").
  2. Select Advanced Audio Properties.
  3. Set Audio Monitoring to Monitor and Output for the sources you want to send to Echolume.

Monitor and Output sends audio to both BlackHole (for Echolume) and your stream/recording. If you only select Monitor Only, the audio will not be included in your stream.

4. Select BlackHole in Echolume

  1. Open Echolume.
  2. Select BlackHole 2ch as Audio Input Device.
  3. Verify the level meter moves when OBS plays audio.
  4. Press Ready.

Echolume now reacts to your full OBS audio mix in real time.

Live streaming tips

  • Window Capture: Add Echolume's window as a source in OBS via Window Capture to include visuals in your stream.
  • External display: Run Echolume fullscreen on an external display, and use Display Capture in OBS to capture it.
  • Multiple sources: Enable monitoring on all OBS audio sources you want Echolume to react to.
  • Twitch chat: Add Twitch chat control so viewers can change visuals with commands.

Troubleshooting

The level meter in Echolume doesn't move.
Check that Monitoring Device is set to BlackHole 2ch in OBS Settings → Audio, and that your audio sources have Audio Monitoring set to "Monitor and Output".
I can't hear my own audio while streaming.
BlackHole replaces your monitor output. To hear the audio yourself, create a Multi-Output Device in macOS Audio MIDI Setup that combines BlackHole 2ch and your speakers/headphones.
BlackHole 2ch doesn't appear in Echolume.
Restart Echolume after installing BlackHole. Make sure Echolume has Microphone permission in macOS Settings → Privacy & Security.
Visuals react with a delay.
BlackHole has zero latency. Delay is typically caused by high CPU load. Close other GPU-heavy apps, or lower your OBS encoding settings.