5 Best Audio Mixers for Streaming & Podcasting

The RODECaster Pro II is an incredibly versatile audio mixer for streaming. It has nine assignable channels – six physical faders and three virtual ones, allowing users to assign any audio source to any fader, offering complete control over your audio output.

Its four combo jacks allow you to connect your XLR mic or instruments, and there are even presets of popular microphones, like the Rode NT1A and Shure SM7B.

The device also has Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to take a call or play background music from your phone directly through the mixer.

There are also features eight programmable smart pads. These pads can trigger sound effects, apply voice effects, mixer actions or send MIDI commands to a DAW, providing a level of versatility similar to having a sound effects board.

The RODECaster Pro II audio mixer offers more granular controls for audio processing functions such as equalizer, compressor, de-esser, and noise gate than other similar audio mixers like the Zoom PodTrak P8 or the Tascam Mixcast 4. This is thanks to its quad-core digital signal processor, which provides 16 times more processing power than the original RODECaster Pro.

The preamps are exceptionally clean, with a high gain of 76dB, eliminating the need for signal amplifiers like a Cloudlifter or Fethead for quiet mics like the Shure SM7B. The headphone preamps are also very clean, providing a clear and detailed sound for monitoring.

While most audio mixers have only one USB port, the RODECaster Pro II has two USB-C ports for connecting multiple devices, making it a versatile choice for dual-computer setups.

The RODECaster Pro II audio mixer has a mix-minus function for the USB outputs that prevents echo on your calls, as your callers will hear everything but their own voice being piped back to them, which can be very distracting.

Another great feature is its multitrack recording capability to your DAW, USB storage, or microSD card. You can even bypass the audio processing effects of the audio mixer using the pre-fader option. Musicians looking to record, mix and master up to four input sources no longer need a USB audio interface with multiple audio inputs like the Scarlett 18i8.

There is also a unique feature to link two inputs, such as an XLR mic and guitar, to become one stereo pair.

One great thing is that RODE regularly updates the firmware with new features. For example, the Firmware update 1.1.1 released in January 2023 introduced advanced sub-mixing similar to the Elgato Wave Link. This feature allows you to customize mixes to different audio destinations like a stream, chat applications, or headphones.

One limitation is that it can only have two audio sources from a computer to USB 1 port (like gameplay and Discord audio), and a third audio source (like Spotify) must be connected to the USB 2 port from the same or a different computer. This is unlike the Elgato Wave Link, which allows up to 8 audio sources from a computer.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the RODECaster Pro II!

Suppose you have read the review of the RODECaster Pro II audio mixer above. In that case, you’ll find that almost all the features are similar to those of the RODECaster Duo audio mixer.

It performs on par with the RODECaster Pro II as an audio mixer for streaming. It boasts the same high-performance preamps that provide high gain and low noise, a quad-core DSP with equally impressive audio processing effects, and extensive customizability with its audio channels, sub-mixes, and smart pads.

Additionally, it offers incredible dual USB-C interfaces with mix-minus capability and multi-track recording, just to name a few features.

The primary differences lie in its physical features. The RODECaster Duo audio mixer has four physical faders instead of six but maintains three virtual channels. Additionally, it has two fewer smart pads, two fewer combo-jack inputs, and two fewer headphone jacks.

Given that the RODECaster Duo audio mixer shares the same robust metallic and sturdy plastic construction as its larger counterpart, its compactness makes it ideal for on-the-go use.

The centerpiece of the DLZ Creator digital mixer is its gigantic 10.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen, almost the size of an iPad and double the size of the RODECaster Pro II’s screen. This provides an exceptionally clear and vibrant interface for managing audio controls. The screen is designed to be glare-resistant, ensuring optimal visibility from any angle.

The device has a robust plastic build and weighs 4.9kg, giving it a more solid feel than the RODECaster Pro II audio mixer.

The DLZ Creator audio mixer is equipped with four professional-quality XLR mic preamps, borrowed from Mackie’s Onyx series of professional-sounding audio mixers. These preamps offer up to 80 dB of headroom, providing the capacity to effectively capture a wide range of audio inputs.

The DLZ Creator audio mixer offers three Control Modes: Easy, Enhanced, and Pro, allowing the mixer to adapt to the user’s level of experience. It has a guided virtual assistant, the DLZ Mix Agent, which takes beginners through channel configuration, providing popular microphone presets and a unique Automatic Gain feature that takes care of the gain staging.

One of the standout features of the DLZ Creator audio mixer is the Automix function. This feature enables you to prioritize specific microphones, automatically reducing levels for unselected microphones when they are not in use. This intelligent functionality ensures that the sound from the prioritized microphone doesn’t bleed into the low-priority mics, thus guaranteeing a pristine audio session while minimizing the potential for feedback within the mix.

The graphics for the audio processing controls for EQ, noise gate, compressor, and de-esser are incredibly clear in the Pro Mode, and you can make very fine adjustments that can’t be done on other audio mixers.

The DLZ Creator audio mixer also features six backlit touch pads that can be assigned different sound and voice effects from a sample bank. You can even record and upload your own samples to use. It also offers many other interesting vocal effects, such as delay and reverb, and an output delay function to the computer of up to 250ms for syncing the output mix with a video camera.

However, the DLZ Creator audio mixer does have some limitations. It lacks internal memory, necessitating an SD Card or USB flash drive for recording.

While the Mackie DLZ Creator audio mixer has customizable sub-mixes, the sub-mix can only be sent to individual headphones, but the other outputs to your computer, studio monitors, and microSD will share the same main mix.

It also does not have a 3.5mm stereo output to send audio to consumer-level cameras; hence syncing the mixer audio with the video has to be done using the delay output function.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the Mackie DLZ Creator!

The Gigcaster 8 audio mixer is a fantastic audio mixer for streaming musicians that features high-grade mic preamps that provide phantom power, a wide gain range of 70+ dB, and low noise.

While there are four combo jacks at the back of the mixer for microphones or instruments, musicians will appreciate the dedicated high-impedance guitar input jack on the front for easy connection.

If you want to take a call or play background music from your phone, the Gigcaster 8 audio mixer can connect your phone through the phone jack at the front or Bluetooth.

Not many audio mixers offer this, but the Gigcaster 8 boasts a 32-bit floating point bit depth that can record extremely loud sounds without distorting the audio. While most users will hardly need anything beyond 24-bits, having 32-bits is a significant advantage. It also has a 48kHz sampling rate will give professional-grade audio quality.

The user interface of the Gigcaster 8 audio mixer is intuitive and straightforward, with 8 color-coded input channels and easily adjustable controls. The LCD screen offers real-time feedback on input levels, effects settings, and streaming status, providing users with a comprehensive overview of their audio setup.

The Gigcaster 8 audio mixer is USB bus-powered, eliminating the need for a separate power supply cable. It also functions as a USB class-compliant audio interface that can connect to a smart device. You can connect it to your mobile device via USB-C and conduct a live stream on Instagram.

In addition, the Gigcaster 8 audio mixer offers multitrack or stereo output to your computer or microSD card. A unique feature is the flag button, which allows you to mark key moments or highlights in the audio for easy reference later in your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

Besides the standard audio processing effects like an equalizer, noise-gate, compressor, and de-esser, the Gigcaster 8 audio mixer is like a multi-effects pedalboard with 100 guitar effect patches (not 100 guitar effects, an effect patch is a SET of guitar effects), 30 singing effect patches, 30 voice effect patches, and 200 user effect patches that can be customized for each input channel. You can have the option for pre-fader or post-fader, allowing you to choose whether you want to bypass any effects processing.

The guitar and bass effects like overdrive, distortion, tremolo, delay, reverb, etc., are created with Boss’ flagship-level GT-1000 guitar effects processor. It even has a guitar tuner for tuning your guitar on the fly during your live streams or gigs.

Besides having guitar effects, the Gigcaster 8 also uses the VE series vocal processor that has effects like harmonizers, radio effects, Lo-Fi, etc., making it an exceptional tool for creating vocal cover songs or performing at live singing gigs with a high-quality vocal mic.

The Gigcaster 8 audio mixer features eight sound pads that can trigger audio, vocal, or guitar effects, or trigger playback samples like an air horn or clapping sounds from eight audio banks. These sound pads can also send MIDI to streaming software like OBS Studios to perform streaming controls like changing the camera just like a Stream Deck.

If you prefer, you can even connect something like a GA-FC foot controller to trigger the effects instead of using the sound pads.

To further enhance its usability, there is a dedicated Gigcaster 8 App for parameter editing, backup, and audio file conversion. You can create a liveset with pre-chosen effects with the app so that you can choose that particular liveset to use during a gig.

However, if you are doing music recording at home, you will need more than just the right audio mixer and your instrument. You will need the other equipment for setting up a home studio, like studio monitors, acoustic panels, studio headphones, and even a MIDI keyboard.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the BOSS Gigcaster 8!

Technically, the Elgato Wave:3 is not an audio mixer per se, but a plug-and-play USB microphone with a virtual audio mixer software called Wave Link.

At $150, the Elgato Wave:3 offers insane value as it does the job of a microphone, a USB audio interface, an audio mixer, and an effects processor. You can only imagine how much you’ll spend on all that gear.

The audio quality of the Elgato Wave:3 alone is sufficient to justify its price tag. It is a condenser microphone with a flat frequency range, delivering a crisp and natural sound quality. And the best part is, it does not require phantom power because it is a USB microphone.

You won’t experience an overly boosted bass, yet the upper frequencies maintain a glistening shine. The natural and balanced sound quality of the Wave:3 is pleasing to the ears, making it ideal for viewers tuning in for lengthy gaming streams.

The Elgato Wave:3 has simple but helpful microphone controls, such as a multi-functional dial that allows you to adjust your microphone gain, the monitoring volume of plugged-in headphones, and the headphones and PC mix. There is also a very handy capacitative mute button that barely makes any sound when you activate it.

One of the unique features of the Elgato Wave:3 is its anti-clipping Clipguard Technology that automatically re-routes your signal to a channel with a lower gain whenever the audio is peaking. You will get amazingly clean audio even when you’re shouting hysterically at your Discord friends!

While the Wave:3 is a fantastic USB mic, you’re here mainly for the audio mixer, not the microphone. It comes with an easy-to-use but powerful virtual audio mixer, the Wave Link audio mixer software.

Wave Link is one of the best audio mixer software options, comparable to Voicemeeter Banana. However, audio mixing on Wave Link is considerably easier than Voicemeeter Banana.

It features a user-friendly panel that allows mixing up to nine audio sources from your computer (including the Wave:3), such as gameplay audio, Discord chat, audio from your browser, Spotify app, and more. It even includes a straightforward sub-mixing function that allows you to customize the mix for your headphones and your stream output.

On top of seamless audio mixing, the Wave Link app has thousands of VST plugins you can install for audio processing and effects such as EQ, noise gate, reverb, etc., that you can add to the different input channels.

If you’re keen to learn more, you can check out our review of the Elgato Wave:3.