15 minutes

Audio setup for studio and online sessions.

From direct speaker output to Zoom routing with VB-Cable — the four common scenarios at a glance.

1 · Pick an audio output device

Open Settings → Audio. Hypnotika has two independent outputs: the main output (what you hear) and the secondary output for online sessions (what your client hears in the call). The main output dropdown shows all currently available Windows audio devices. Pick the device you want to hear the music on:

  • Speakers / headphones — for in-person sessions in your own room
  • Audio interface (e.g. Focusrite Scarlett, SSL 2) — for studio-accurate playback

For online sessions, additionally set the secondary output to CABLE Input (virtual cable, see step 2) — both outputs run in parallel: you hear the music on your headphones while Zoom, Google Meet or MS Teams receives it at the same time.

After selection, the small VU meter to the right of the field shows the level in real time — so you can see immediately whether the right device is chosen. The "Test tone" button plays a short reference click.

The "Off (no direct output)" option

At the very top of the dropdown there's "Off". It means: you yourself hear nothing — the music then only reaches your client via the secondary output (e.g. VB-Cable → Zoom). Useful if you deliberately work without monitoring during online sessions. If you do want to listen in: main output on your headphones + secondary output on "CABLE Input" — both run in parallel.

In the settings, the second control is called "Secondary output (for online sessions)". If you don't run online sessions, leave it on "Off — primary output only".

If one output produces no sound at all: before you start doubting the hardware — the Windows volume mixer keeps volume per application and per device. If Hypnotika sits at 0 % on that one device, the output stays silent while everything else sounds normal. It is the most common cause and almost impossible to spot from outside: step by step in the troubleshooting guide.
Tip: don't change the Windows system default output. Hypnotika remembers the selected device independently of the Windows setting — so YouTube, Spotify etc. stay on your normal speakers.

2 · VB-Cable for Zoom and Google Meet

In online sessions, your client only hears the music if it runs through the call tool. The clean solution: a virtual audio cable that routes Hypnotika's output directly into the Zoom microphone channel.

Step-by-step guide with screenshots

The detailed VB-Cable installation guide walks you through every click — from download to running the setup as administrator to the required restart. About ten minutes, with pictures.

Short version

  1. Go to vb-audio.com/Cable/ and download the "VB-CABLE Driver" (Virtual Audio Device). Free, donationware.
  2. Unzip it, run VBCABLE_Setup_x64.exe as Administrator. Click "Install Driver".
  3. Restart Windows — mandatory, otherwise the driver won't load.
  4. In Hypnotika open Settings → Audio: keep the main output on your headphones and set the secondary output (for online sessions) to CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) — you keep hearing the music, Zoom receives it in parallel.
  5. In Zoom (or Meet / Teams): Settings → Audio → Microphone to CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable).
  6. In Zoom, also enable "Original Sound for Musicians" (Zoom → Settings → Audio → Advanced), otherwise noise suppression will kill your music.
Warning: if you use VB-Cable as the Zoom microphone, your client won't hear you speak any more. Solution: either enable the microphone inside Hypnotika (mixes voice into the CABLE channel), or use VoiceMeeter Banana for parallel routing (step 4).

3 · Alongside OBS Studio

If you use OBS Studio in parallel — e.g. for session recordings with video or live streaming — you don't need a special mode switch. You configure everything directly in the settings:

  • Music only to OBS: set the secondary output to CABLE Input (VB-Cable) and turn off the microphone in Hypnotika. Then only the music (with the anchor sounds and the nature-sounds layer) goes to OBS — you record your voice directly in OBS.
  • Avoid double-recording: if OBS handles the recording, turn off Hypnotika's own recording.

That way you decide what goes to OBS and what Hypnotika does locally — no mode switch needed.

4 · VoiceMeeter Banana for multi-output

"Music on studio speakers and Zoom call at the same time" is already covered by Hypnotika's two parallel outputs. You only need a virtual mixer once you want to feed three or more targets at once (e.g. studio monitors + headphones + Zoom). Recommendation: VoiceMeeter Banana (from the same company as VB-Cable, free).

Basic setup:

  1. Install VoiceMeeter Banana, restart.
  2. Set Hypnotika's output device to VoiceMeeter Input.
  3. In VoiceMeeter: route "A1" to your physical speakers, "B1" to the virtual microphone (that Zoom will then use).
  4. In Zoom, set the microphone to VoiceMeeter Output.

Result: you hear the music on your studio monitors, the client hears the same music plus your voice via Zoom. You'll find detailed VoiceMeeter tutorials at vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/.

Useful next steps