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audio routing

How to Split Audio Sources with VoiceMeeter Banana

Route game and desktop audio to separate VoiceMeeter Banana strips, monitor them independently, and send only selected sources to a recording or call.

By VGSources Team 7 min read
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To split audio sources with VoiceMeeter Banana, send each app to a different VoiceMeeter playback endpoint, then choose which output buses receive each input strip. For example, keep ordinary Windows audio on VoiceMeeter VAIO and set a game or conference app to VoiceMeeter AUX Input. In Banana, route the VAIO strip and AUX strip separately to your headphones, a recording mix, or both.

Banana cannot separate apps that all arrive through the same Windows playback endpoint: they appear together on one strip. The setup below shows how to route desktop and game audio independently, monitor them, and send only selected sources to a recording or voice chat.

Understand Banana’s inputs and buses

VoiceMeeter Banana is a Windows virtual audio mixer with a driver. VB-Audio’s product page lists five input strips—three physical and two virtual—and five output buses: A1, A2, A3, B1, and B2. The virtual software input strips are commonly named VoiceMeeter Input (VAIO) and VoiceMeeter AUX Input. The A buses send audio to physical listening devices; B buses provide virtual outputs that Windows applications can select as recording or input devices. VB-Audio’s Banana product page and December 2025 manual, version 2.1.2.2 describe the routing model. The product page lists version 2.1.3.0 dated September 2026, so use the current download page for the installer rather than relying on the older manual’s version number.

Each input strip has bus buttons. Turn on an A button to send that strip to a physical output bus, or a B button to include it in a virtual output mix. Multiple strips sent to the same bus are mixed together. A strip can be sent to a physical bus for listening and separately to a virtual bus for recording or another application.

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  • VAIO and AUX: separate software playback inputs, useful for assigning different applications to different strips.
  • A1, A2, A3: physical output buses. A1 is commonly the primary headphones, speakers, or interface; A2 and A3 can serve additional devices.
  • B1, B2: virtual output buses that receiving applications can select as their microphone or recording input.

Install and prepare VoiceMeeter Banana

  1. Download Banana from the official VB-Audio product page. Check the version shown there; the page currently lists version 2.1.3.0, dated September 2026.
  2. Run the installer as administrator, then reboot as directed by the installer and product page. VB-Audio recommends first-time users follow the manual setup sequence, especially “step ZERO.”
  3. Open Banana and, under Hardware Out, choose your actual headphones, speakers, or audio interface for A1. Audio routed to A1 will not be audible until a physical output device is configured there.
  4. Check the meters on the input strips while audio is playing. A moving meter confirms that source is reaching that strip before you adjust its bus buttons.

For stable operation, use a compatible sample-rate setup across the A1 hardware device and the applications where possible. VB-Audio says the processing rate is defined by the A1 configuration, so an incompatible device or rate can prevent the expected result. The product page also lists MME, DirectX, KS, WDM, and ASIO interfaces; the best choice depends on your device and application.

Separate game audio from other PC audio

Use VAIO for general Windows playback and assign the game to AUX. This gives you separate strips so, for example, you can record desktop sounds without the game, or monitor both while routing only the game to a recording mix.

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  1. In Windows, open Settings → System → Sound and set the default output device to VoiceMeeter Input (VB-Audio VoiceMeeter VAIO). Ordinary apps using the default playback device will arrive on Banana’s VAIO strip.
  2. Assign the game to AUX. If the game has its own audio-device setting, select VoiceMeeter AUX Input there. Otherwise, in Windows open Settings → System → Sound → Volume mixer, find the game in the app list while it is running, and set its output device to VoiceMeeter AUX Input. Windows labels may vary slightly by version.
  3. Play audio in both the game and another app. Confirm that the game meter moves on the AUX strip and the other app’s meter moves on VAIO. If both land on the same strip, the game is still using the shared/default endpoint.
  4. Enable A1 on both strips if you want to hear both sources through the A1 device. Enable A1 only on one strip if you want to monitor that source alone.
  5. For additional listening devices, configure A2 or A3 under Hardware Out, then enable the matching A button on the strips to send there.

Windows per-app output routing is available only when the app is present in the Volume mixer and supports the relevant output path. If it does not, use the app’s own audio output selector if available. Banana’s standard setup has two virtual software input strips, not an unlimited strip for every application.

Send selected sources to a recording or voice chat

To pass a mix into Audacity, Reaper, a conferencing app, or another receiver, route only the intended strips to a virtual output bus. For example, send VAIO to B1 and leave AUX’s B1 button off to record ordinary PC audio but exclude the game. The receiving app then selects the corresponding VoiceMeeter B1 output as its input.

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  1. Choose the virtual bus, such as B1, for the mix you want the receiving app to capture.
  2. On each source strip that belongs in that mix, enable B1. Leave B1 off on sources to exclude. The bus combines all strips routed to it.
  3. In the recording or receiving application, choose the matching VoiceMeeter B1 output as the recording/input device. Verify its input meter responds.
  4. If a voice chat needs your microphone, choose the appropriate VoiceMeeter virtual output as the chat app’s microphone input and route the microphone strip to that bus. Do not turn on that bus indiscriminately for every strip unless you intend to send the full mix to the call.

Device names can be confusing: the app’s speaker/output setting selects where incoming audio goes, while its microphone/input setting selects what it receives. Check both. VB-Audio’s conference setup guide demonstrates keeping general PC playback on VAIO and sending conference output to AUX before selecting the desired strips for monitoring and a virtual mix.

Route a conference call separately from desktop audio

The same routing works for a browser meeting or conference application. Keep Windows playback on VAIO, then set the meeting app’s speaker/output device to VoiceMeeter AUX Input. Incoming call audio appears on AUX instead of being combined with ordinary desktop playback.

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  • Enable A1 on VAIO and AUX if you want both the desktop and callers in your headphones.
  • For a recording that excludes callers, enable B1 on VAIO and leave B1 off on AUX.
  • To send only your microphone to the call, select the chosen VoiceMeeter virtual output as the meeting app’s microphone/input device and route the microphone strip—not every source—to that bus.

VB-Audio’s guide uses Skype and Zoom as examples and also mentions browser, YouTube, and Spotify audio. The same principle applies to a game: the source must be assigned to its own playback endpoint before Banana can route it independently.

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What to do when two apps still share one strip

If two apps use the same playback endpoint, Banana receives their combined audio on that one strip. It cannot infer which sound came from which app after they are mixed together. Change one app’s output to the other virtual endpoint—usually AUX—or use Windows per-app audio output settings when available. With only VAIO and AUX as virtual software inputs in the standard Banana configuration, a workflow requiring more than two independently routed software sources may need a different arrangement; consult VB-Audio’s product information for its other editions or optional extension rather than assuming Banana adds more strips automatically.

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Troubleshoot missing, crackling, or misrouted audio

  • No meter movement on the expected strip: the app may still be using another output device. Check its audio settings and Windows’ per-app output assignment, then confirm the meter again.
  • Meters move but you hear nothing: check that the correct physical device is selected under Hardware Out for A1 and that A1 is enabled on the source strip. For A2 or A3, configure the corresponding hardware output and bus button.
  • Recording app gets no audio: confirm B1 or B2 is enabled on the intended strips, then select the matching VoiceMeeter virtual output in the receiving app. Check that the receiving app’s input meter reacts.
  • The call hears desktop or game audio unexpectedly: a source strip is probably routed to the same B bus used as the call’s microphone input. Turn that B button off on sources that should not go to the call; leave it on for the microphone strip.
  • PC audio stops when Banana closes: if Windows playback is routed through VoiceMeeter, the mixer must be running to carry that audio. Reopen Banana, or change Windows playback back to a physical device when you do not want to use the mixer.
  • Audio disappears or crackles: check that the A1 device and applications use compatible sample-rate settings. If the issue continues, consult VB-Audio’s support topics for installation or update problems, Windows 10/11 audio issues, driver installation, and latency: VB-Audio Support.

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