Cheapest Option to Monitor a Single Audio Channel?

Hey everyone,

Not sure where to go for help here. If there are other forums that you could recommend I'd appreciate it.

So, basically, I have started live streaming or using google hangouts to discuss music with people, primarily vinyl records. I am using the ATEM Mini so that I can trick my computer into having a single audio and video input, and I'm still able to use Stream Yard and Google Hangout, Zoom etc.

I have my turntable hooked into my ATEM Mini, My Mic Hooked into my Atem Mini, and Multiple Cameras hooked into my Atem Mini - the atem mini is going into my 2017 Macbook Air, so the ATEM processing the signals before they go in is really nice.

I am having to monitor audio via quicktime on my MacBook so that I can hear my turntable, but then I can also hear my voice in a slight delay, and I can hardly speak when this is happening. So, I need to be able to somehow just hear the turntable as well as people talking to me via video call.

If I get a monitor with a headphone jack for the atem mini, then I won't be able to hear my friends, and I'm pretty sure the atem doesn't support single channel monitoring.

If I get a splitter for the turntable's signal and hook up the turntable to an external headphone amp, again I won't be able to hear my friends.

I considered a GO XLR, because it allows me to connect VIA USB from my computer, and then control what goes into my headphones, but I'm not sure that this will work - and I don't want to buy before I'm certain.

I also considered buying a budget streaming computer so that all inputs could be controlled through OBS, but that negates the purpose of being able to trick Stream Yard and Zoom into thinking I have a single output for audio and video because I don't think I can use OBS with StreamYard or Zoom.

I'm SO CLOSE to having the ideal stream for my purposes, I just can't figure out how to hear my computer's out as well as my turntable without hearing my voice.

Does anyone have any solutions? I'm willing to buy more gear, but nothing crazy. If there's a simple solution that I'm not thinking of please let me know.

Thanks!
- Davis

I was thinking in the shower as is the norm, and I was thinking I need an audio mixer that has an audio input for my computer going out (friends voices) via USB, turntable in ( 3.5 jack or analog in via rca), microphone in, and then allow me to turn off my voice and control levels of the turntable in. Then I suppose I could use the atem mini for video production and the mixer as my audio source?

Not sure what products are out there, searching for all of this has been a hard task. Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Also, maybe there is a solution that I haven't thought of at all.

There should be many audio mixers that would accomplish what you're looking for. "Audio interface" is probably a more appropriate term since "interface" usually implies that the mixer connects to your computer (generally via USB or Thunderbolt) and also has various analog and/or digital inputs and outputs. Theoretically you could accomplish what you want with a simple mixer but since what you're doing is computer-centric an interface is probably more appropriate. An interface will also be something you can control completely via software on your computer with relatively few physical knobs and buttons on the interface itself whereas with a mixer everything is controlled via physical knobs and buttons.

With an interface the USB or Thunderbolt connection solves the problem of getting computer audio into your mix and also getting the mix back into the computer to use as your audio source for Google Hangouts, Zoom, etc. The interface will also have microphone and/or line-level inputs that you can plug your microphone and phono preamp into, and it will have a headphone output and line-level outputs that you can use for monitoring. The key feature that solves your problem is typically called a "cue mix" or a "headphone mix" which lets you mix any of your audio sources together however you like independently of how you mix them together for the main mix that goes back into the computer.

In my case I use Universal Audio Apollo interfaces but as I said there should be plenty of others that have similar capabilities.

I should add that this almost certainly isn't the cheapest option as specified in your subject line. The cheapest mixers and interfaces likely won't provide the ability to create independent headphone mixes. There are surely cheaper ways to accomplish what you want, perhaps by using a really small cheap mixer to mix just the computer audio and turntable audio together and monitor that upstream of the ATEM Mini. That mix would go into one of the ATEM Mini inputs and then you can use the other input of the ATEM Mini for your microphone.

Excellent, I appreciate the reply! I will look into various interfaces and mixers. I suppose I was leaning toward a mixer because my computer will overload rather quickly if it has to process much. I will look into cheaper options that might combine audio out from my computer and audio out from my turntable into a single mix for me to monitor. I suppose this would require me to get a splitter for my phono preamp to send the mix to both the interface as well as the atem mini.

Right now I have been looking at the goxlr line simply because I know that I can control the cue or monitor mix for my own listening, but I'm sure there are other products available, it's just a bit daunting as I'm new to all of this.

Again, I appreciate your response! Any other feedback or specific products that I might include with my atem mini setup would be welcome =).

An interface really adds little if any overhead to your computer. There might be an app that you use for configuration, but those are typically low overhead and once everything is configured you can quit the app. The interface does all the work and as far as the computer is concerned the interface is just a standard USB audio device.

If your computer is under such strain, I’d suggest a replacement. Now is a good time.Amazon has everything it seems, including Macs. Same with Bestbuy and B&H.

Wear a mask people, you will save your life and the people around you.