USB Output Volume on QU-16 main LR output... any workarounds?

[mooseherman]

I work for a podcast production company and we’ve been using the QU-16 recently and there’s a lot to love about it! One thing that has proven to be a bit frustrating though is the low output on the Main LR mix going to USB.

I record everything on the board at 0 (meaning the level averages out around 0 for each source on the board). And then I use the faders to balance it out.

But the USB outputs are so quiet that I really have to crank the hell out of the main LR fader and use the compressor to add a bunch of gain, and this is all just to get the main LR up loud enough in our DAW. We sync to video and we’re basically having to boost the volume unusually high on our faders, our MAIN LR fader, the Main LR compressor output gain, and then even in our DAW or in OBS for the video.

Any tips on how to get that USB output to be louder, especially for the main LR mix? We’d be able to mix on the fly and have our video be perfectly mixed in real time if we could just fix this one issue, otherwise I’m mixing again in post which was something I’d hoped to avoid by purchasing the QU-16.

Thanks everyone!

[SQuser]

First of all, these level ratios are not a mistake, but completely normal (see also picture).
I don’t have a QU, so only theoretically:
Your console has 3 additional stereo mixes.
Use one of them (e.g. 9-10) for your mix to the USB and set it up so that all channels are Post Fader.
By setting the faders (in this mix) of all channels required for the stream to +10 dB, you already have 10 dB more.
If you now set the master fader of this mix to +10 dB, you would have even 20 dB more - but much less or no headroom.