Can I Change Bitrate in SteelSeries Sonar?

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TL;DR: Sonar currently doesn't allow a change in bitrate or sample rate directly. These settings have to be adjusted through Windows Sound Settings.
 
Sonar works as a virtual mixer for your PC audio. It controls your game, chat, and mic channels, but it relies on whatever audio format Windows is using. That means the bitrate and sample rate are handled by Windows, not Sonar.
 

How to Adjust Bitrate or Sample Rate

To tweak your audio quality:
 
  1. Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Sound
  2. Select your Output Device (the one Sonar uses)
  3. Click Properties → Advanced
  4. Under Default Format, choose the sample rate you want (for example, 2 channel, 16-bit, 44100 Hz or 48000 Hz)
Once set, Sonar automatically uses those Windows audio settings.
 

Why It Matters

Changing your audio format can help fix crackling, distortion, or sync issues in games and voice chat. Some games sound cleaner at 48 kHz, while others expect 44.1 kHz.
Pro Tips
 
  • Keep Windows, SteelSeries GG, and your audio drivers updated.
  • Make sure your game, streaming software, and Sonar are all using the same sample rate to avoid weird audio desyncs.
  • If your audio sounds off after changing settings, restart GG or your PC to refresh the audio chain.
     
GLHF!

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