SteelSeries Sonar setup: ClearCast for any headset, no purchase
Sonar is the free mixer that happens to suppress noise — in both directions, on any headset, no SteelSeries gear required. Here’s the clean install-and-route, and the trades the marketing skips.
How to set up SteelSeries Sonar, chip by chip
The facts up front: Sonar is free, part of the SteelSeries GG app, and works with any headset and any mic, no SteelSeries hardware required. It runs on Windows 10 (RS5+) only. ClearCast AI noise cancellation cleans your mic going out and your team’s audio coming in.
- Download SteelSeries GG from SteelSeries’ site and sign in or create an account. Sonar is a tab inside GG, not a separate download, and ClearCast lives inside Sonar, so there’s no ClearCast installer to hunt for either.
- Open Sonar from the GG bar on the left. The first launch walks you through assigning devices to Game, Chat and Microphone: pick your real headphones and mic by name. Any brand works, USB or analog.
- Turn on ClearCast for the mic. Open the Microphone tab, scroll past the 10-band EQ and switch on ClearCast AI Noise Cancellation. Strength runs Minimal, Medium and Maximum, and SteelSeries keeps Maximum for genuinely noisy rooms, so start lower. While ClearCast is on, Sonar’s own Noise Reduction and Noise Gate are disabled, because ClearCast already covers them.
- Turn it on for Chat too. The Chat tab has its own ClearCast switch and strength, and that one cleans your teammates’ incoming audio.
- Point the apps at Sonar’s virtual devices:
The third chip matters. SteelSeries’ own Discord guide says to set Discord’s noise suppression to None, because it interferes with ClearCast. One suppressor per path.
Then use the mixer for what it’s actually great at: Game, Chat and Media on separate lanes, so the squad gets louder without the game getting quieter.
- GameStays where you set it when the squad gets loud.
- ChatUp on its own lane — ClearCast cleans this one both ways.
- MediaMusic and browser audio, separate from both.
No figures in this one: SteelSeries publishes no suppression numbers and we have measured none.
Sonar’s virtual audio devices: which app gets which
When it’s on, Sonar creates one Windows virtual audio device per mixer channel, each listed as SteelSeries Sonar Virtual Audio Device. That’s why Windows suddenly shows a stack of new outputs. It also makes Game the Windows default output, and Chat the default for communication apps such as Discord and Teams.
| Device: SteelSeries Sonar - | What it carries | Where to pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Game | Games, and anything you haven’t routed elsewhere | Windows default output: leave it there |
| Chat | Voices from your call | Discord’s Output Device |
| Media | Music and browser audio | Off by default: add the channel in the Sonar mixer first |
| Aux | A spare lane | Off by default, same as Media |
| Microphone | Your mic, after ClearCast | Input Device in Discord, OBS and game chat |
| Stream | Streamer mode only: what your audience hears | OBS, as below |
Source: SteelSeries support and SteelSeries’ Sonar-with-Discord guide.
Two rules from SteelSeries’ support pages. The virtual devices can’t be picked inside the mixer, which only takes physical devices. And don’t disable them in Windows Device Manager, because that can break the app. To drop Media or Aux, turn the channel off in the mixer, and its Windows device goes with it.
Virtual devices missing? SteelSeries’ fix order is: restart the PC, run GG as administrator, reinstall GG, then update the audio driver in Device Manager. If they still don’t appear, contact SteelSeries support. If Discord lost your mic after the install, check its Input Device first: it should read SteelSeries Sonar - Microphone. The mic triage covers the rest.
Streaming with Sonar: the stream mix
Streamer mode splits the mixer into two outputs: a personal mix, which is what you hear, and a stream mix, which is what your audience hears. The mixer shows which channels feed each mix, and one click adds a channel to either mix or takes it out.
SteelSeries’ OBS guide then has you turn off OBS’s own global audio sources under Settings → Audio and set Mic/Auxiliary to SteelSeries Sonar - Stream. The stream mix carries over into OBS as one source, with its levels and your mic settings. It replaces the Mic/Auxiliary chip above: one slot, one device.
The honest trades
- The GG suite tags along — launcher, updates, tray icon. That’s the price of free here; decide if the mixer earns it.
- ClearCast is good, not class-leading — on raw suppression the Broadcast lane wins when hardware allows.
- Windows only; nothing for Mac or console streamers.
- One suppressor per path still applies: with ClearCast on, set Discord’s noise suppression to None.
Lobby questions
- Is SteelSeries Sonar free without SteelSeries hardware?
- Both: free, and it works with any headset and any mic — no SteelSeries purchase required. It installs inside the SteelSeries GG companion app on Windows 10 (RS5+) and newer; no Mac, no consoles.
- What does ClearCast AI noise cancellation cover?
- Both directions: your mic out, and your incoming teammates’ audio — the second half is the underrated feature, because your squad’s mechanical keyboards become Sonar’s problem instead of yours.
- Sonar or NVIDIA Broadcast?
- Router logic: RTX card → Broadcast for raw suppression quality. No RTX, or you want the per-app mixer anyway → Sonar. Both free; running both mixers-of-mixers is how audio chains become archaeology.
- Is there a separate ClearCast AI noise cancellation download?
- No. ClearCast is a switch inside Sonar, and Sonar is part of the free SteelSeries GG app. Download GG from SteelSeries, open the Sonar tab, then turn ClearCast on in the Microphone tab, and in the Chat tab for incoming audio.
- What is the SteelSeries Sonar Virtual Audio Device?
- It's the name on the extra Windows devices Sonar creates, one per mixer channel: Game, Chat, Media and Aux, plus Microphone and, in streamer mode, Stream. Apps play into or record from those devices, and Sonar mixes and cleans the audio before it reaches your real headset or leaves your mic.