I know what you’re thinking. “Forget the room??? Wait a minute, Will. We can’t forget what’s happening in our worship center during the live stream. That’s like an oxymoron.” Honestly, you can and should forget the room if you want to improve the audio quality on your worship service live stream.
I apologize for sounding harsh, but the worship center live stream audio can no longer be mixed as an afterthought in today’s world. It must be treated as an equal priority alongside the audio mix for the in-person congregation. My reasoning is based on a 2025 study by the Infinite Dial, which is the longest-running survey of digital media consumer behavior in the U.S. This study showed and affirmed the massive and quickly expanding influence of digital audio and video-integrated podcasts and how earbuds and even loudcasting (listening through a smart device with the onboard speaker) are now norms for live and on-demand content. To mix audio for these devices, an audio engineer must start with the end in mind: how most people will be listening. This means improving live-stream audio is about mixing for different types of listening devices and forgetting about the congregation in the worship center.
Midrange matters more than low end online
The starting point for an improved live-stream audio mix is the setup. The standard is to split the stage audio into a front-of-house and a separate live-stream/broadcast mix engineered in another room. This allows each audio engineer operating the different consoles to control the gain structure (or attenuation), effects, and output levels needed for each application. Now, there are ways to achieve an acceptable live stream mix using only a front-of-house console, but the easiest and best way is to separate live and broadcast audio into two consoles.
The second consideration for the broadcast setup is to not only monitor your mix through studio monitors, but through earbuds and even a smart device’s speaker. I’ve had the experience of working with some very talented broadcast audio engineers who will mix on studio monitors (don’t have to be the most expensive), but will still hop over to earbuds and a smartphone to listen to the mix as well.
The reason they do this is that bass and kick that sound powerful in a room can become muddy and dominate the sound through small speakers and earbuds. Mismanaged low frequencies ruin a mix. Listening on consumer-type speakers also allows them to prioritize midrange clarity over everything else. This area of the audio spectrum is where voice and guitars live, and what consumer speakers reproduce best. Finally, this type of monitoring allows the engineer to stay in touch with how people are listening, minimizing distractions for the online congregation and ensuring the life-changing message of the Gospel is clearly heard and understood.
Bass and kick that sound powerful in a room can become muddy through earbuds and small speakers.
A final consideration for your broadcast audio setup is deploying audience mics on the congregation. Our audio engineers at Cottonwood Creek Church have deployed some simple condenser shotgun mics on our stage, pointing toward the congregation to capture their singing and the room ambiance. I’ve been really impressed by how this simple addition has improved our live mix. Hearing people sing, clap, say “amen” and “hallelujah”, laugh, etc., has brought the feeling of the worship center into our broadcast and given it a realistic touch that helps people online connect to what they see and hear.
The next step in improving your audio mix follows this principle: vocals are king and should be treated as such. In today’s worship music, which is mostly the pop-rock genre, the vocalist must sit clearly above the band at virtually all times. For the broadcast, this is critical because the compression from the streaming codec will further reduce dynamic contrast. So, use quick but transparent compression. Channel compression should sit somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1 with a fast attack. De-essers (reduces excessive “s”, “sh”, and “t” consonants) should be applied carefully. Streaming codecs can emphasize harshness between 5-10 kHz, and a de-esser can help control this. Finally, always keep your lead vocal channel instantly accessible on the console and ride it during louder and softer moments.
Understanding the broadcast signal chain and loudness standards is the next step in improving your broadcast audio mix. The output from your broadcast audio console will be combined with video at some point, then moved into a streaming encoder (software or hardware), which will send the broadcast to a viewing and listening platform (YouTube, Facebook, or another private content delivery network). This streaming encoder applies additional loudness normalization and compression. This means that a broadcast engineer should mix the master output levels to -1.0 dBTP (decibels True Peak, which is the digital signal level) or lower. A value higher than -1.0 causes clipping in the sound. Putting a limiter on the master bus at -1.0 helps with this. For broadcast audio engineers mixing on digital consoles without specialized loudness meters on the master bus monitoring LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale – measures perceived audio loudness rather than just volume), mixing the overall mix to -6 dBFS is a good reference. Finally, don’t overcompress the master bus. Too much compression stacked on top of one another (including the streaming codec) creates a lifeless, flat audio mix.
Monitor your mix on earbuds and smartphones—not just studio speakers
A final way to improve your broadcast mix is to manage low-end frequencies effectively. Today’s worship music style uses kick drum and bass as prominent parts of the sound. The frequencies produced by these can cause a lot of problems for a broadcast audio mix. So, put a high-pass filter on everything that doesn’t need low frequencies. Vocals, guitars, and even keyboards should be rolled off in the 80-120 Hz range. If you choose to take your low-end frequency management to another level, create a low-end mono sum in your stereo mix by setting the crossover on the side channel to around 80-120 Hz so that frequencies below this point are processed as mono and centered in the stereo mix. (On the simple side, you can also ensure your kick and bass guitar are centered in the LR pan and everything else has high pass filtering.) This type of processing removes phasing issues with these frequencies and helps you achieve a tight, punchy, and consistent bass. Another next-level management technique with low-end frequencies is side-chaining compression on the bass guitar triggered on the kick drum. This creates punch and additional frequency separation and management.
Implementing these suggestions will put you ahead of the curve in delivering an improved, professional, and engaging live stream mix for your online congregation that will help them stay engaged and connect with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. You might not be able to make all these improvements right away, and that’s OK. My challenge to you as a church technical ministry leader is to honestly evaluate how your live audio mix currently sounds. Continue to learn how to improve it. Identify the improvements you can immediately make. Implement those changes and begin the evaluation process again. Finally, make this a matter of prayer and sincerely ask the Lord to help you improve the audio mix the best way you can. The Lord will honor your effort to glorify Him as you minister to others through the live stream of your worship services.
