Beta Setup Guide
Aura Mixer is in beta, and during the beta the gaming path takes a few one-time steps: two virtual audio cables route your game's surround into Aura. It's a temporary bridge — Aura's own audio driver is on the way, and when it ships this whole setup collapses into a single click. (While you're here: Premium is free during the beta — details.)
The built-in Setup wizard runs on first launch and walks through every step below, checking each one as you go. Crucially, it resumes exactly where you left off after the Windows restart. Reopen it any time from Help ▸ Setup wizard. This page is the companion reference — read it alongside the wizard, or when something doesn't line up.
Gaming — hear enemies in 3D
Four steps, in the same order the wizard runs them.
1 · Choose your headphones
Pick the headphones you actually wear — this is where the final 3D mix plays (the Main L+R bus). Optionally add a correction profile for your exact model to polish the tone: from squig.link, an imported .txt, or the built-in community profile browser. It's optional — the 3D works without it; a profile just evens out your headphones' frequency response.
2 · Install the two cables
| Cable | Carries | Role (set in the next steps) |
|---|---|---|
| VB-Audio Virtual Cable (free) | Your desktop sound — music, browser, Discord | Becomes your Windows default output (step 3). |
| VB-Audio Hi-Fi Cable (free) | Your game's full 7.1 surround | Becomes your game's audio output (step 4); Aura listens to it. |
Why two? A game only sends surround when its output device supports multichannel — the Hi-Fi Cable does; your desktop audio is just stereo. Keeping them separate lets Aura fold only your game into 3D while still carrying everything else.
- Download VB-Audio Virtual Cable from vb-audio.com/Cable. Unzip it, then right-click the setup and Run as administrator.
- Download VB-Audio Hi-Fi Cable (free) from the Hi-Fi Cable & ASIO Bridge section on the same page, and install it the same way.
- Restart Windows when the installer asks. This is normal for audio drivers.
Both installers may prompt you to reboot — go ahead. When you reopen Aura Mixer afterwards, the Setup wizard reappears on this exact step with the cables already detected (they show a green ✓). Nothing is lost across the restart.
3 · Route your desktop sound
Make the Virtual Cable your Windows default output, so everything except your game flows through Aura and out to your headphones as one processed mix.
- In the wizard: pick CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) from the dropdown, then click Make it my default output.
- By hand: Windows Sound settings ▸ Output ▸ CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable).
Aura hands your real output back automatically whenever it closes — quitting the app never mutes your PC. Voice apps like Discord keep talking straight to your headset (they're left untouched on purpose). Only want game audio in 3D? You can skip this step; your desktop sound just won't run through Aura.
4 · Connect your game
- Open your game's audio settings.
- Set the audio output device to the Hi-Fi Cable.
- Set the audio format to 7.1 surround (the game's highest surround option) — that's the surround Aura turns into 3D.
- Back in the wizard, pick your game. If a creator has published a community config for it, that config is applied; otherwise Aura's built-in 3D profile is used.
Some games only expose 7.1 once the selected output device supports it — the Hi-Fi Cable does, so pick it first, then choose 7.1. If it's still stereo, set the cable itself to 7.1 in Windows Sound ▸ the Hi-Fi Cable ▸ Properties ▸ Advanced.
Finish, and the wizard plays an A/B “hear the difference” so you can confirm it's working. From there you land in the Simple view — your game (and desktop) already set up.
Streaming — a clean, processed mic
The streaming path is simpler and, in the common case, needs no cable.
- On the first screen, choose 🎙️ Streaming (or 🎮🎙️ Gaming + Streaming to set up both).
- Pick your microphone, then your output (where you monitor).
- Choose how OBS captures Aura — the “How should OBS get your audio?” step. Aura puts your mic on a dedicated Streaming bus; pick how your app grabs it:
- Application capture (recommended — no cable): in OBS, add an Application Audio Capture source and pick Aura Mixer — Streaming.
- Virtual cable: Aura sends the Streaming bus to a VB-Audio cable; capture that cable in OBS instead.
Step-by-step with screenshots: Stream with OBS.
Gaming + Streaming
Choose 🎮🎙️ Gaming + Streaming and Aura runs the gaming setup above, then adds a single mic step on top. Your spatialized game stays on your headphones, while viewers get normal game audio (from OBS's own capture) plus your processed voice — the game is never doubled and your binaural 3D isn't sent to the stream.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| No desktop sound after step 3 | Make sure Aura Mixer is running — it's the bridge that carries the cable to your headphones. Check the engine is started in the status bar. |
| No sound at all after closing Aura | Shouldn't happen — Aura restores your default on exit. If it does: Sound settings ▸ Output ▸ your headphones. |
| Game still sounds like stereo (no direction) | Set the Hi-Fi Cable to 7.1 in Windows Sound and pick 7.1 in the game. See the tip in step 4. |
| The routing step listed the wrong cable | Use the dropdown to pick CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) — the free one, not a paid A/B variant. |
Still stuck? Ask on Discord — during the beta it genuinely helps us smooth this out.
Why the extra steps?
Windows has no built-in way to route one app's surround into another — the cables bridge that gap. It's temporary: Aura's own audio driver will replace both cables with a single built-in device, and this page will shrink to one button. Thanks for bearing with the beta plumbing.