VoiceMeeter Banana can keep PC audio, a conference call, a microphone and other sources on separate mixer strips, but only when they reach different virtual inputs. The app’s playback endpoint decides which strip receives its sound; the strip’s bus buttons decide where that sound goes next.
That distinction matters: Banana does not automatically isolate apps that share one Windows playback endpoint. If several apps send sound to the same endpoint, they arrive together on the same strip. You can route that combined signal, but you cannot use Banana’s strip controls to separate the apps after they have been combined.
What VoiceMeeter Banana does
VoiceMeeter Banana is a Windows virtual audio mixer. It gives you strips for physical inputs, such as a microphone, and virtual software inputs that Windows applications can use as playback devices. You can then direct each strip to listening outputs or to virtual outputs used by other applications.
A common reason to set it up is to keep a conference call out of a recording while still hearing it through your headphones. Another is to send a microphone to a call without also sending desktop music or browser audio. The routing model is useful for either case, but the result depends on assigning the sources to the right strips first.
VB-Audio’s VoiceMeeter Banana product page describes the package as a Windows mixer with a driver and lists five inputs: three physical and two virtual. It also lists five outputs—three physical and two virtual—and buses A1, A2, A3, B1 and B2. Those are the product’s available channels and destinations, not a promise that every app can be independently controlled.
Install the current version from the official product page rather than relying on an old download or tutorial. VB-Audio advises first-time users to follow its manual, particularly “step ZERO”. The manual edition identified in the research is older than the product page’s listed version, so use the current download page for the installer and check documentation against the version you actually have.
The setup is Windows-specific. Do not expect these virtual playback endpoints or the same driver routing on another operating system. If your need is simply to capture one mixed desktop signal, a virtual mixer may be more control than you need; if you need to separate several applications, begin by checking whether each can select a different playback endpoint.
Understand virtual inputs and output buses
Think of an input strip as a source channel and a bus as a destination mix. Banana’s two virtual software input strips are commonly labelled VoiceMeeter Input (VAIO) and VoiceMeeter AUX Input. Physical devices such as microphones use the hardware input strips. Your applications and Windows playback settings determine whether software audio appears on VAIO or AUX.
A1, A2 and A3 are physical output buses. They send sound towards configured devices such as headphones, speakers or an audio interface. A1 is often the main listening output, but it is only audible if you choose a real device for A1 in Hardware Out. An A bus is not another input strip: it is a destination for audio already on a strip.
B1 and B2 are virtual output buses. Windows applications can select a VoiceMeeter virtual output as an input or recording source. For example, a recording application can receive the B1 mix while your headphones receive the A1 mix. The bus names may be unfamiliar at first; verify both the sending strip and the receiving application’s selected device.
The important separation happens in two stages. First, an application or Windows setting sends its playback to VAIO or AUX, which determines the input strip. Second, you enable the appropriate A or B buttons on that strip to send it to one or more buses. Choosing a different bus does not create a new source strip, and choosing a different strip does not automatically decide where its sound goes.
When more than one strip is sent to the same bus, their signals are combined into that bus’s mix. You may send one strip to A1 and B1 at the same time, so you can hear it and include it in a recording mix. Conversely, you can leave a strip’s B1 button off to exclude it from that recording while leaving its A1 button on for monitoring. The official VoiceMeeter manual illustrates the distinction between physical and virtual outputs and explains the mixer’s bus routing.
Choose an app’s Windows playback endpoint
Start by deciding which sources need separate control. For example, you might want browser audio on VAIO and call audio on AUX. The browser can use the ordinary Windows playback device set to VoiceMeeter VAIO, while the conferencing app’s own speaker setting is set to VoiceMeeter AUX Input. Each source then reaches its own virtual input strip.
You can make the same kind of assignment through Windows per-app audio output settings when an app does not offer a device selector of its own. The exact menus can vary by Windows version. Look for the app’s output-device choice, select the intended VoiceMeeter playback endpoint, then play audio and confirm that the corresponding Banana strip’s meter moves.
The limitation is easy to miss. If the browser, music player and game all use the same Windows playback endpoint, they arrive together on that endpoint’s strip. Banana cannot infer which part of the combined signal came from which app. To control them separately, assign one or more of those apps to another available virtual playback endpoint, if Windows and the apps support it.
Banana has two virtual software input strips in its standard arrangement, so it is not an unlimited per-app routing system. A setup needing three independently routed software sources may exceed the two-strip arrangement unless some sources can be combined or a different configuration is appropriate. VB-Audio lists Potato as a separate edition and an optional VAIOs Extension for Banana; consider these only if you have identified a real need for more virtual endpoints, and check their current official pages before choosing.
For a practical starting point, send ordinary PC playback to VAIO and the call application’s speaker output to AUX. This follows the vendor’s documented example for separating conference audio from other PC sounds. If you also need to understand how a stable video loop differs from a local audio-mixing setup, our guide to keeping a YouTube podcast current when adding episodes covers a separate, file-based workflow.
Route each input strip with bus buttons
Once the meters show the intended source on the intended strip, choose that strip’s destinations. Enable A1 on every source you want to hear through the device assigned to A1. Enable A2 or A3 on strips that should also feed other configured physical outputs. If a bus button is not enabled for a strip, that strip is not being sent to that bus.
Next, decide what should be included in a virtual mix. Enable B1 on only the strips that should go to the B1 mix. In the receiving app—perhaps a recorder or audio editor—select VoiceMeeter’s B1 output as its input. If the app needs a different mix, use the other virtual bus where appropriate and select its matching output there. Do not send every strip to B1 simply because a recording app needs audio; that can include sources you meant to leave out.
A simple call-and-recording example makes the choices concrete. Suppose you want to hear both desktop audio and the call, record desktop audio only, and send your microphone to the call. Put desktop audio on VAIO, call speaker audio on AUX, and the microphone on a hardware input strip. Enable A1 on VAIO and AUX for listening; enable B1 on VAIO for the desktop-only recording; leave B1 off on AUX. For the microphone, enable the virtual bus that the call application has selected as its microphone input, and do not route unrelated strips to that bus.
That last step deserves a check in the call application: a playback device and a microphone device are different selections, even when their labels look related. Confirm the application’s speaker/output device is the endpoint feeding the AUX strip, and confirm its microphone/input device is the VoiceMeeter virtual output that receives the microphone strip. The official VB-Audio conference setup guide walks through a similar PC-sounds and conference-audio split.
It can help to rename strips in Banana to match their purpose, such as “PC sounds”, “Call” and “Microphone”. Names do not change signal flow, but they make it easier to see whether the bus buttons match your plan. Write down a small routing table before changing several controls at once:
| Source on strip | Hear on A1 | Include in B1 recording | Send to call input |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC sounds on VAIO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Call audio on AUX | Yes | No | No |
| Microphone on hardware strip | As needed | As needed | Yes |
The table is an example, not a default configuration. If you want a recording that includes the call, enable B1 on AUX as well. If the microphone should not be recorded, leave its B1 button off. Make the bus decisions per strip rather than changing all strips together.
Keep sources separate when endpoints allow
The most reliable way to keep two app sources apart is to give them different input endpoints before they reach Banana. One app can send playback to VAIO and another to AUX. This separation only works if the app has its own output choice or Windows can assign one for it; an app without such a choice may remain on the shared system endpoint.
Test endpoint assignment with one app at a time. Play a short sound in the first app and note which meter moves. Then change that app’s output endpoint and repeat. Keep the other apps quiet during the test, because a meter showing activity only proves that something is reaching a strip, not necessarily which app produced it.
If an app has no endpoint selection and Windows cannot assign one separately, treat its sound as part of the shared strip’s mix. You can still control the combined signal as a whole—send it to A1, B1 or both—but you cannot mute just one of the apps using Banana’s strip buttons. A workaround is only useful if it actually moves the app to a distinct endpoint; renaming a strip or changing its bus buttons does not create that separation.
Do not assume that different application categories imply different strips. A browser, game and music player can all be ordinary desktop playback if they use the same device. Likewise, changing the Windows default playback device may affect more than the one app you had in mind. After changing an endpoint, test the apps that matter and verify the expected meters and outputs before using the arrangement for a long session.
If your broader goal is to keep a YouTube broadcast running after disconnecting from your own computer, audio routing is only one part of the setup. Our guide to keeping a YouTube livestream running after disconnecting from Linode discusses a different operating arrangement; it is not a substitute for checking which audio sources your local apps send to Banana.
Test and troubleshoot signal flow
Set up in stages rather than changing Windows, app and bus settings all at once. First configure A1 with the actual headphones, speakers or interface you intend to use. Then choose one source endpoint and confirm its strip meter moves. Finally, enable A1 on that strip and listen. This tells you whether the source reached Banana and whether the physical monitoring route works.
If no meter moves on the expected strip, check the app’s playback device and Windows playback endpoint. The sound may be going directly to another device, or to a different virtual strip than you expected. Check one source at a time and play audio while watching the meters; do not use the A1 device selection as a remedy for audio that never reached an input strip.
If the meter moves but you hear nothing, check whether the strip’s A1 button is on and whether the right physical device is selected for A1 under Hardware Out. If you hear a source but a recording application does not receive it, check that the intended strip’s B1 or B2 button is enabled and that the receiving app has selected the corresponding VoiceMeeter virtual output as its input.
If a recording contains the call when it should not, inspect the call strip’s B buttons. It is the sending strip’s bus selection that controls whether its signal reaches the recording mix. If the call and PC audio are already together on one strip because they share an endpoint, there is no per-app bus setting to undo that combination; assign them distinct endpoints first if the apps permit it.
VB-Audio says the processing rate is defined by the A1 configuration, so check that the selected hardware device and the applications are using compatible sample-rate settings where possible. Avoid treating one sample-rate change as a guaranteed fix for every crackle or dropout. If installation, driver behaviour, Windows audio or latency is the problem, consult the official VB-Audio support topics for the relevant issue rather than applying an unrelated tweak.
Remember that Windows audio routed through VoiceMeeter depends on VoiceMeeter running to carry that route. If it is stopped, playback through the mixer may stop as well. For a live workflow, test the full route—including the app endpoints, meters, bus buttons and selected listening device—before relying on it. If the broader stream itself is your concern, see our guide to YouTube live settings for a 16:9 video in a 4:3 playlist for a separate video-format issue.
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FAQ
Can Banana separate two apps that use the same Windows playback device?
No. They arrive together on the same virtual input strip, so its bus buttons control their combined signal. Assign an app to another playback endpoint if its own settings or Windows per-app audio settings allow it.
What is the difference between VAIO, AUX and B1?
VAIO and AUX are virtual playback inputs that feed software input strips. B1 is a virtual output bus that applications can select as an audio input or recording source. A1, A2 and A3 are physical output buses for configured listening devices.
Why can I see a meter but hear nothing?
The signal may be reaching its strip without being routed to A1, or A1 may not have a physical device selected under Hardware Out. Check both the strip’s A1 button and the A1 device assignment.
Can I use the same setup on macOS or Linux?
This guide covers VoiceMeeter Banana’s Windows mixer and driver. Do not assume its virtual endpoints or this routing procedure are available on other operating systems.