Audio self-monitoring for Windows

Question

One of my kids gets very loud when gaming with friends on Windows 11. He has a desktop microphone and wears over-ear headphones. He explains that he has a hard time telling how loud he's yelling because of the headphones.

The obvious solution is audio "monitoring:" We want to get the sound picked up on his microphone played back through his headphones.

Please recommend audio monitoring apps that will run on Windows 11 while gaming that allow us to change the monitoring volume.

Answer 1

Windows 11 can do this natively, although presently it is not possible to adjust the monitoring volume via this method:

1. Go to Control Panel >> Hardware and Sound >> Sound >> Recording tab
2. Double-click the microphone you are using
3. Listen tab
4. Select Listen to this device

Alternatively, either of the following free Windows apps will allow you to monitor the microphone and change the monitoring volume:

• VoiceMeeter
• OBS Studio
  1. Click on the 3 dots by your mic in the "Audio Mixer" section
  2. Click on "Advanced Audio Properties"
  3. Set the "Audio Monitoring" drop-down to "Monitor and Output"