FAQ

Quick answers to the questions that come up most. For total silence, start with No sound?.

Getting started

Do I need virtual audio cables? Often not. To hand a mix to OBS (or any app with Application Audio Capture), use a 🎥 Application (capture) output bus — OBS grabs it directly, no cable needed. You only need a virtual cable — a 🎧 PHYS bus pointed at the cable's playback endpoint — when an app must see your mix as a microphone input — most commonly Discord voice. Capturing applications (🎯 APP channels), capturing a whole device (🔄 LOOP) and playing to real speakers/headphones never need a cable. (Output buses.)

Is it really free? Yes. The Free version is a complete mixer — multiple channels, the full gate / EQ / compressor chain, output EQ/limiter/delay, routing, scenes and presets. Premium lifts the channel limits and adds the FX rack, advanced spatial audio and LUFS loudness tools. (Free vs Premium.)

How many channels and buses can I have? Free: up to 4 input channels, plus Main L+R and 2 more output buses. Premium: effectively unlimited (technical caps are 32 inputs, 15 buses + Main L+R, 8 VCA groups). The counter in the Channel Manager always shows your exact ceiling.

Does it need special drivers? No. Any WASAPI device works — that's every built-in, USB and Bluetooth audio device on a modern PC.

Buying, updates & refunds

How do I activate Premium — do I need an account? No account needed — the app has no sign-in. After buying, click Account (far right of the menu bar), paste the AURA-… key from your purchase and click Activate license. It binds to this PC and re-checks online every couple of weeks, working offline in between. Your account on the website is optional — it just lets you manage the license across several computers. (Accounts & Premium.)

Do I get free updates? Yes — every update within your major version is free. Buy v1.x and all 1.x updates are included at no extra cost. A future major version (e.g. v2.0) may be a separate purchase, offered to existing owners at a loyalty discount. Your license is perpetual: you pay once and keep the version you bought. The app re-checks it online every so often and works offline in between.

Can I get a refund? Yes — Premium has a 14-day, no-questions-asked refund. Email us within 14 days of buying and we'll refund you; no forms, no interrogation. The Free tier keeps working regardless.

Capture quirks

I can capture my browser and games, but Spotify goes silent — why? Some DRM-protected players (Spotify is the well-known one) refuse to play when they detect their audio is being captured, especially in WASAPI Exclusive mode. It's their anti-piracy behaviour, not an Aura Mixer fault. Capture that music with a 🔄 LOOP channel on your output device instead, or play it through a browser. (Capture a single app.)

App capture isn't available / my app isn't in the list. Per-application capture needs Windows 10 build 20348+ or Windows 11. Also make sure the app is running and actively playing sound, then click ↺ to refresh, and enable Include child processes for browsers and games.

Everyday use

Where are my settings saved? Automatically, to %LOCALAPPDATA%\AuraMixer\session.ngsa — there's no Save button and nothing to lose. (File formats.)

Does closing the window stop my audio? No — by default the ✕ minimizes Aura Mixer to the system tray and the audio keeps flowing. Right-click the tray icon → Quit to actually exit. You can change this in Settings → General (with the option off, ✕ asks "Close Aura Mixer?" instead).

How do I start over? Settings → General → Factory Reset, or delete the whole AuraMixer folder. Both return you to a clean first-run state (and re-run the setup wizard). Export any scenes/presets you want to keep first — they're files and survive a reset.

How do I move my setup to another PC? Export a scene (.ngss) and import it on the other machine. The live session file is tied to your devices, so it isn't meant for sharing — scenes are.

What latency can I expect? About 10 ms by default, down to 2.7 ms in WASAPI Exclusive mode with a small buffer. (Crackling and latency.)

Windows and Aura Mixer

Why did my Windows volume jump to 100% when I started the engine? While the engine runs, Aura Mixer sets the Windows volume of the devices it uses to 100% so Windows can't quietly lower the mix — your faders in Aura are the only level control. Your own Windows levels come back when you stop the engine or close the app. Details.

The Windows default output keeps going back to my virtual cable — why? With the system-audio-through-a-cable setup, the cable is the default only while the engine plays, and Aura Mixer puts it back if Windows moves it (plugging in headphones does that). Choose the new headphones as the output in Aura Mixer instead. Details.

Aura Mixer's window is bigger than my screen after I changed the resolution or plugged in a monitor. It should fit itself to the screen it is on a moment after the change. If it doesn't, restart the app and tell us your display setup on Discord.

Features and limits

Can I send a 5.1 / 7.1 signal to my surround speakers? No — 5.1 / 7.1 output to multichannel hardware is not available in this version (the buttons are greyed out). You can fold a surround source down to headphones with HRTF. (Virtual surround.)

Is there ASIO support? ASIO appears in the driver list but is not available in this version — use WASAPI Shared (most compatible) or WASAPI Exclusive (lowest latency).

Still stuck? Ask on Discord — describe what each meter did, and someone can usually pinpoint it fast.