Many people have their computer sounds as well as voice played by default with Skype and they hate it to death, but it can be very useful for other people. While effective during Skype voice communication, your computer’s microphone makes an ineffective broadcasting source when it’s held up against another speaker. To share the playback of sound during a Skype call, it’s more effective to reconfigure your system’s sound input settings so your Skype friends end up hearing what you hear over your computer speakers.
To play audio through Skype can be surprisingly simple as long as you follow the right tutorials. In the following article, we will show you how to play computer audio through Skype.
By default sound devices don’t bridge system audio into the mic feed. This can be accomplished with either software or hardware. If you want to do it via software you will have to use the stereo mix option or it’s equivalent if your sound device supports it. If not you will need to find 3rd party virtual audio software that will allow you to do the same thing.
- Part 1. Enable “Stereo Mix” in Windows and record audio through Skype
- Part 2: Share audio through Skype call with VoiceMeeter
Enable “Stereo Mix” in Windows and record audio through Skype
Assuming a Windows environment, you’ll first need to enable “Stereo Mix” in Windows.
1. Go down to the audio icon in your system tray, right-click it, and go to “Recording Devices” to open up the proper settings pane.
2. In the pane, right-click on a blank area, and make sure both “View Disabled Devices” and “View Disconnected Devices” options are checked. You should see a “Stereo Mix” option appear.
3. Right-click on “Stereo Mix” and click “Enable” to be able to use it.
Once you’ve done that, go to the Skype audio settings (Tools/Options), and set the Microphone to be Stereo Mix.
Then, call up the other Skype party and start the audio playing on the local PC. The other end of the Skype call will hear the music down the line.
Share audio through Skype call with VoiceMeeter
Other than the hardware solution, you can also turn to a helpful application called VoiceMeeter. Donationware audio app VoiceMeeter is the tool you will need to play computer through Skype, the app is a virtual audio mixer with three inputs (two hardware, one software) and three outputs and mixes these through two buses.
To start sharing audio through a Skype call, you’ll need to configure VoiceMeeter correctly. After installation, load the app and connect any headphones and microphones. Launch Skype too, and make sure you have a media player ready for testing an audio track to share. Then select your monitoring device, add your microphone, and make voice meter your default playback device.
To proceed Skype meeting VoiceMeeter, you’ll need an extra app installed to help VoiceMeeter put the audio where you want it to go. Head to www.vb-cable.com and download the VB-AUDIO Virtual Cable, another donationware tool. VoiceMeeter’s basic configuration is now in place, so it’s time to bring Skype into the mix.
With all of that done, you’re now ready to begin making Skype calls to single or multiple contacts. While you talk, you’ll be able to play audio clips on your computer that will be sent through VoiceMeeter and mixed into your microphone audio, and then into the virtual input you set up in Skype.
November 06, 2017 15:19 / Updated by Jenny Ryan to Audio Follow @Jenny Ryan