What is Stereo Mix supposed to be used for in Windows?

I have added Stereo Mix to my recording devices on my laptop running Windows 7 after I have installed the driver for my soundcard (the sound was working until then with the driver from Microsoft, but there was no Stereo Mix).

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Trying to record Skype calls I found that some people recommend Stereo Mix in combination with Audacity.

The present question is more limited, (and in fact I do not want to know how to record Skype) I just want to know here a few things about this device:

What is it meant for? What is its main use?

I can record sounds that are played on the computer - and they are captured it looks like from the soundcard, as if by a virtual microphone. So, is this what Stereo Mix is meant as? A virtual microphone? Does it have settings of some kind? - can other inputs be added to it (similar to the aggregate device in Mac) so that, for example, when it is set as input device for an application, to capture both the "internal" sounds and the real mic?

user162573

Posted 2014-05-13T17:29:46.897

Reputation:

Answers

"Stereo Mix" is the name given to the output stream (presented as a virtual audio device) after all channels have been combined.

It's a mix of all the channels, and is sometimes referred to (in the past anyway) as "What you hear".

There's usually very little/nothing you can configure about it because it's only job is to present the mixed channels. How much you can configure depends on what was included in the sound adapter driver you're using (as drivers are different, just like sound cards).

If you turn on a Mic's monitor in the recording devices panel (usually by unmuting it, or by enabling "Listen to this device" - again, depends on the driver being used), so that your voice comes out of the speakers, then it will be included in the Stereo Mix stream.

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007

Posted 2014-05-13T17:29:46.897

Reputation: 103 763

Not sure if this is appropriate here, but can you use listen to this device to mix your voice with whatever you're doing on your computer and record it in a DAW rather than just get an expensive sound card or audio interface even though they might be of lower fidelity? – HeavenlyHarmony – 2019-04-14T22:12:12.480

does this mean that it should capture all enabled microphones? all sound in and out should appear as output in it? that is: audacity listening to it should hear my external mic? because it does not... – None – 2014-05-13T17:41:01.730

1@cipricus Updated my answer to address mics. – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2014-05-13T17:46:35.107

please tell me a bit more about the part:"so that your voice comes out of the speakers" - Should I hear myself in my speakers when I talk into my enabled mics so that Stereo Mix get my voice? How exactly I make the voice come out of the speakers without recording it first? – None – 2014-05-13T17:53:26.063

1"Should I hear myself in my speakers when I talk into my enabled mics so that Stereo Mix get my voice?" Yes, that's what I mean. "How exactly I make the voice come out of the speakers without recording it first?" That is explained in the answer; to get started, right-click your task bar volume icon and select "recording devices", and then look in the properties of your Mic. How to enable this exactly depends on the device manufacturer's choices when making the driver, so I can't say exactly how you'd do it for your hardware/driver. :) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2014-05-13T18:11:52.303

1yes, to get the mic into the Stereo Mix, in the properties of the microphone, under 'Listen' tab, "Listen to this device" – None – 2014-05-13T18:24:03.797

"Stereo Mix" allows you to make a recording of everything coming out of your computer's audio. So if you were listening to music on your headphones and you were talking into your mic at the same time, you could record both of those at once by utilizing "Stereo Mix".

In a recording application such as Audacity, you would set your source to be Stereo Mix instead of just your microphone.

Arindrew

Posted 2014-05-13T17:29:46.897

Reputation: 21

-1

Stereo Mix is believed to take all the microphones and when you talk you will hear yourself back from the stereo mix.

gallpa

Posted 2014-05-13T17:29:46.897

Reputation: 1