# Add an audio source to a layout

*Applies to: Pearl-2, Pearl Mini, Pearl Nexus, Pearl Nano*

You can add multiple audio sources to the layout(s) for a channel using the Admin panel. By default, audio is enabled for the channel on the channel's encoding page.

Each layout can have the same audio sources in them or you can choose different audio sources. An audio source has the same gain no matter how many layouts the audio source is added to, or if you've added just the one audio source or several audio sources to the same layout.

**Important considerations**
- There's no need to manually add the audio sources separately to your channel for supported network input sources (see Device differences below) — when the network stream is connected as an input source, a corresponding audio source is automatically added to the list of audio sources for your channels, even if there is no audio in the stream.
- If a channel is selected as the video source for a layout, the corresponding audio for that channel is added automatically.
- You can add multiple audio sources to the same layout. However, if the two audio sources share all or some of the same audio signals, then the common audio signals are amplified.
- Selecting multiple loud audio sources in the same layout may cause audio clipping on that layout. Before going live, always check the volume levels for the layout and adjust the volumes at audio sources to avoid clipping.
- If audio encoding is not configured for a channel, no audio signal is processed or sent with the video content when recording, streaming, or confidence monitoring.
- If an audio source is added to a layout and then the audio device is disconnected from the input port on the device, some residual noise may be detected in the layout. Remove the audio source from the layout.

**Add an audio source to a layout using the Admin panel**
- Log in to the Admin panel as **admin**.
- From the Channel(s) menu, select the channel and click **Layout(s)**. The custom layout editor opens.
- In the Layout(s) list that appears at the top of the page, click a layout's row to select that layout.
- Check the audio source that you want to use for the layout and click **Save**.

**What's Next**

You can check the audio encoding settings for your channel and ensure that audio is enabled.

**Device differences**
- **Pearl-2:** Supports SRT, NDI, and RTSP network input sources for automatic audio detection. The XLR-B audio inputs and the RCA audio inputs are linked — if you use both at the same time, their audio is mixed; if the two share the same audio signals, the common signals are amplified (to avoid this, disable one or the other audio port).
- **Pearl Mini, Pearl Nexus:** Support SRT, NDI|HX, and RTSP network input sources for automatic audio detection. The audio from the connected HDMI video sources (HDMI-A or HDMI-B) is automatically selected as the audio source for the HDMI-A and HDMI-B channels by default. Both guides also state that the device supports many different audio devices, including dynamic and condenser microphones, passive and active electret microphones, professional line-level audio mixers, and consumer line-level sources like mobile phones and audio players. (Pearl Mini's guide additionally notes that signal-sharing amplification "can happen if two in-phase microphones are placed in close proximity to each other" — this clause is documented only for Pearl Mini in the source, not Pearl Nexus.)
- **Pearl Nano:** Supports only SRT and RTSP network input sources for automatic audio detection — no NDI support of any kind (neither full NDI nor NDI|HX). The XLR L/R audio inputs and the RCA L/R audio inputs are linked — if you use both at the same time, their audio is mixed; if the two share the same audio signals, the common signals are amplified. Pearl Nano is a single-layout device, so the "each layout can have different audio sources" note above does not meaningfully apply. Pearl Nano's Admin panel menus are labeled "Channel" and "Layout" (singular), not "Channel(s)"/"Layout(s)."

> product: pearl-family · topic: layout · source: pearl-family-common.md · updated: Oct 13, 2026