Route a soundboard into Phasmophobia without confusing player chat and ghost recognition
Phasmophobia has local player transmission, push-to-talk global radio, and a separate voice-recognition system used by tools such as the Spirit Box, Ouija Board, and Monkey Paw. BordQ combines your physical microphone and selected clips before the signal reaches the game, so nearby players hear one intentional voice-chat feed instead of audio leaking from speakers into an open mic.
Teammates can hear a perfectly routed clip while voice recognition listens to a different Windows microphone—or correctly ignores a recording it cannot interpret as your live command. This guide keeps the route useful and predictable: headphones stay on the real playback device, CABLE Output becomes the game microphone, and every effect is triggered deliberately.
Proximity is part of Phasmophobia gameplay—not just a call channel.
Phasmophobia has local player transmission, push-to-talk global radio, and a separate voice-recognition system used by tools such as the Spirit Box, Ouija Board, and Monkey Paw. That makes distance, channel choice, and microphone mode part of the setup. A clip that works in a private lobby can reach the wrong people—or no one—when the selected voice channel changes.
Teammates can hear a perfectly routed clip while voice recognition listens to a different Windows microphone—or correctly ignores a recording it cannot interpret as your live command. Keep incoming game sound out of VB-Cable. Only the mic-and-clip mix should enter CABLE Input; otherwise teammates, strangers, or the game itself may hear an echoing copy of their own audio.
Phasmophobia is the hybrid case: choose CABLE Output in Options → Audio → Microphone / Current Microphone Input, then make the Windows recording and communications defaults match. The in-game picker feeds player chat; the matching system default keeps the separate voice-recognition path on the same live BordQ mix.
- Virtual Cable (Output): VB-Cable Input
- Phasmophobia voice input: CABLE Output · Microphone / Current Microphone Input + Windows defaults · local or global transmission
Three ways to use audio in Phasmophobia
These routes solve different needs. The dedicated cable is the only one that mixes live speech and triggered clips without relying on acoustic speaker pickup.
- BordQ → local player voice
Nearby team cues and short atmosphere clips that should follow your investigator.
Distance and local transmission mode control who hears it.
Use this as the normal clip path. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
- BordQ → global walkie-talkie
A short cue for teammates elsewhere in the location.
Global voice uses its own push-to-talk control and can obscure urgent evidence calls.
Reserve it for concise, agreed signals. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
- Ghost voice recognition
Live spoken phrases for supported cursed possessions and investigation tools.
It is a recognition input, not a guaranteed soundboard destination.
Test recognition with your own voice and the correct Windows default mic. Use this route when that behavior matches the lobby and the people in it.
Route BordQ into Phasmophobia in five steps
Configure the devices from source to destination, then test with one short clip before joining a live session.
- Install BordQ and expose VB-Cable
Install BordQ on Windows and allow its audio-driver setup to finish. Restart Windows if CABLE Input and CABLE Output do not appear immediately.
CABLE Input is a playback device; CABLE Output is the recording device the game must listen to.
- Build the BordQ mix
In BordQ Audio Setup, select your physical microphone and set Virtual Cable (Output) to VB-Cable Input. Play a short, normalized clip and confirm the output meter moves.
Keep your headset or speakers as the Windows playback device. Do not send incoming game audio into the cable.
- Match Phasmophobia and Windows to CABLE Output
In Options → Audio, set Microphone / Current Microphone Input to CABLE Output. Then open Windows Settings → System → Sound → Input and choose CABLE Output; under More sound settings → Recording, set it as both Default Device and Default Communication Device. Player chat uses the selected game input, while current PC voice-recognition troubleshooting also requires the Windows default to match.
The Windows change affects every default-following app. Keep BordQ running with your physical microphone selected and mixed into the cable, or other apps—and voice recognition—may receive silence or clips without your live voice. Test recognition with speech, not a prerecorded clip.
- Choose the correct channel and mic mode
Choose Voice Activation, Push to Talk, or Toggle for local voice according to your group. Global walkie-talkie transmission remains push-to-talk. Then confirm the microphone specified in game matches the Windows default microphone expected by voice recognition.
Use push-to-talk for precise timing when possible. Open mic can broadcast accidental clips, keyboard noise, or a feedback path.
- Test at real distance with another player
Use the lobby microphone test and a private contract. Have a teammate confirm local voice at short and longer distance, then test the global radio separately. Validate Spirit Box or other recognition with your live voice; do not use a canned clip as the proof.
A moving Windows meter proves the cable works; another player hearing the clip through the intended channel proves the complete route works.
Player chat and ghost voice recognition are two separate tests
Phasmophobia applies its own channel, distance, and gameplay rules after Windows delivers the signal.
- Local voice — Nearby investigators
Can use voice activation, push-to-talk, or toggle according to current settings.
- Global voice — Walkie-talkie transmission
Always uses push-to-talk and should be kept clear for remote callouts.
- Voice recognition — Supported ghost interactions
May rely on the matching Windows default mic and does not promise to understand clips.
Treat a soundboard like speech: short, readable, and appropriate for the current lobby. A working audio route does not override mute, privacy, distance, server, or moderation rules.
Fix a Phasmophobia soundboard that is silent, doubled, or in the wrong channel
Follow the meters in order. Change one device or voice setting at a time so the actual break remains visible.
- CABLE Output has no meter activity — Return to BordQ and confirm Virtual Cable (Output) is VB-Cable Input. Check Windows microphone privacy and restart after installing the driver.
- The meter moves, but nobody hears the clip — Confirm Microphone / Current Microphone Input says CABLE Output in Options → Audio, then confirm Windows Recording marks CABLE Output as both defaults. Test player chat with a teammate and voice recognition separately with your live voice.
- Other players hear themselves or a delayed echo — Incoming game audio is entering the cable or speaker sound is reaching an open physical mic. Keep game playback on headphones, remove loopback routes, and monitor only once.
- Teammates hear BordQ, but the Spirit Box never recognizes you — The player-chat route and recognition route are different. Match the in-game microphone to the Windows default, choose the current recognition mode, test your live voice, and close third-party audio tools that may be holding the wrong device.
The questions worth checking before a live lobby
Do I set the microphone in Phasmophobia or in Windows?
Both. Choose CABLE Output in Options → Audio → Microphone / Current Microphone Input, then set CABLE Output as the Windows Default Device and Default Communication Device. Because that system change also affects other apps, BordQ must keep your physical microphone in its mix.
Can I keep talking while using the soundboard?
Yes. Select your physical microphone inside BordQ, then BordQ mixes speech and clips into CABLE Output. Set levels so speech remains understandable when an effect plays.
Why can I hear the clip but other players cannot?
Local monitoring only proves your listening path. Check the CABLE Output recording meter, the game input device, the selected voice channel, microphone mode, distance, and mute state with another player.
Should I use open mic or push-to-talk?
Push-to-talk gives the cleanest control for clips and reduces accidental noise. Open mic can work, but it makes feedback, repeated effects, and unintended broadcasts easier.
Is using a soundboard allowed?
Keep clips short and avoid covering evidence, hunt, or safety callouts. Use them with a consenting group, and do not claim a prerecorded phrase will control or reliably trigger ghost recognition. Current recognition behavior should be tested with live speech after updates.
Official Phasmophobia references
Game settings and voice behavior can change with patches. These first-party pages support the mechanics described here.
Give Phasmophobia one clean mic-and-clip feed.
Download BordQ, send its mix to VB-Cable Input, choose CABLE Output in Phasmophobia, and make the Windows recording and communications defaults match before testing player chat and live voice recognition separately. Pro unlocks the full soundboard workspace without a subscription.
Use the same clean route without repeating the same mistakes
- Understand VB-Cable — Learn why Input is the sending end, Output is the recording end, and how to fix missing devices.
- Lethal Company soundboard — See how Lethal Company changes the same virtual-microphone route with its own proximity rules.
- R.E.P.O. soundboard — See how R.E.P.O. changes the same virtual-microphone route with its own proximity rules.
- Build the BordQ soundboard — Import clips, normalize levels, assign global hotkeys, and organize game-specific profiles.