Setting up Zoom Audio for Musicians

Revised: September 20, 2024 Based on Zoom version 6.2.0(46690))

If you want people to hear your music please follow these guidelines. Make sure you have the latest version of Zoom installed.

For Zoom on Windows or MacOS:

Before the meeting:

1. Open Zoom and click the “Settings” icon (the “gear” in the upper right corner).

2. Click “Audio.”

3. Under “Speaker,” select your audio listening device (headphones are recommended), then click “Test Speaker” to verify it’s working. As a starting point, set the volume about mid-way. 

4. Under “Microphone,” select your microphone or audio input device, then click “Test Mic” to test. As a starting point, set the volume about mid-way. 

5. Uncheck “Automatically adjust microphone volume.”

6. Under Audio Profile:

   1. Select Zoom background noise removal and select Low.

   2. Select Original Sound for Musicians

      1. Check “High fidelity music mode.”

      2. If you are not using headphones, check “Echo cancellation”*.

      3. If you are using a stereo sound source, check “Stereo audio.” This does require a bit more network bandwidth than mono audio, so if you have a marginal Internet connection you may want to leave it unchecked.

   3. Under the “Advanced” button:

      1. “Signal processing by Windows audio device drivers” should be set to ”Off (Windows raw)”

      2. Windows system audio enhancements should be set to “Off.”

      3. “Echo cancellation” should both be left at “Auto.”

7. Close the Settings window.

These are persistent settings, so you don’t need to set them each time. If you forget to do this beforehand you can change the settings during a Zoom meeting. Settings not mentioned here are optional.

When you start the meeting: Gp to the upper right corner of the screen and click the button that says “Original Sound for Musicians Off.” It should now say “Original Sound for Musicians On.” The button may not appear until you move your mouse within the Zoom screen.

* Echo cancellation can affect audio quality, so leave it off if you can. However, if you are using speakers (instead of headphones), you may want to turn echo cancellation on, otherwise you will need to turn Original Sound off while you and others are unmuted at the same time.

For Zoom on iPhone, iPad, and Android:

1. Go to “Settings,” Then “Meetings.”

2. Scroll down and enable “Use Original Audio.”

Recommendation 

Use an external mic. Even an inexpensive USB condenser mic, such as the FiFine 669B (about $35 on Amazon), positioned properly, can make a big improvement in sound.