HOST AUDIO SETUP
Connect your microphone or sound desk to live translation.
ListenAcross uses an audio input exposed to the browser. Start with a working microphone or an audio interface that your computer recognises. The important test is whether clean spoken audio reaches the studio and a separate listening phone.
Choose an input route
- USB microphone: connect it to the host computer and select it as the studio input.
- Mixer with a compatible USB audio interface: connect the USB audio output to the computer and check the mixer’s routing instructions.
- Mixer without USB audio: use a compatible audio interface between an appropriate mixer output and the computer. Match signal levels and connections using the equipment manuals.
A USB socket does not necessarily provide an audio interface. Check the device specifications before buying cables or adapters. Never connect a powered loudspeaker output directly to a computer microphone input. Ask the venue’s audio technician if the output or level is uncertain.
Prefer a speech-focused feed
Where your mixer allows it, send the speaker’s microphone through a suitable output with minimal music and room noise. Keep translated playback out of that feed to avoid sending it back into recognition. A laptop microphone across the room may capture echo, music and audience noise instead of clear speech.
Test locally before starting the paid broadcast
- Connect the audio device and allow browser microphone access.
- Open the studio and select the input you intend to use.
- Run the local microphone test and speak at normal volume.
- Confirm that the level responds to speech, rather than just to room noise.
- If the device does not appear, check the operating system’s input settings, cable and permissions, then reload the studio.
The local microphone test does not use translation allowance. It checks input only. Start a short live session to verify the complete translation and listener playback path.
Finish with a separate listening device
Open the room link on a phone, select a different output language and enable sound with headphones. Check captions and spoken output. A successful local test or browser playback indicator alone cannot confirm that the listener hears the expected translation.
Troubleshooting by symptom
- No input level: check the selected microphone, browser permission and mixer routing.
- Distorted or noisy input: check the source level and the signal at the mixer or interface before changing translation settings.
- Captions arrive but no sound: check Mute, playback permission, media volume and the selected headphone or Bluetooth output.
- Everything stops: check the host’s connection, session state, remaining allowance and session budget.
Audio and network behaviour vary by device and venue. Rehearse on the actual equipment. ListenAcross support is asynchronous; it does not include an onsite audio operator.
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Product information reviewed 7 November 2026.