Which practice helps prevent distortion in live audio during streams?

• A. Increasing input levels to peak.
• B. Turning off all monitoring.
• C. Proper gain staging, compression, and limiting.
• D. Reducing microphone use.

Answer: (C)

Preventing distortion in live streams comes from controlling the signal level at every stage of the chain. Proper gain staging means setting input levels so the signal stays strong enough to be clean but never so high that any part of the chain clips, leaving good headroom throughout the mic preamp, interface, and mixer. Compression helps tame sudden loud moments by reducing the dynamic range, which keeps peaks from becoming excessive while preserving the natural feel of the performance. Limiting adds a final safety net that clamps any remaining peaks to a max level, preventing digital clipping in the stream. When these tools are used together, you maintain consistent loudness, avoid the harsh crackle of distortion, and ensure the broadcast sounds clean across varying performances and network conditions.