Back to Documentation

The Virtual Microphone: How the Other Side Hears You

Overview

In Me and Both modes, the other side hears your translation because Sokuji sends its translated voice to a virtual microphone, and you choose that virtual microphone as the microphone in your meeting app. Your real microphone stays selected in Sokuji. How the virtual microphone is set up depends on your system. Face-to-face (Both, beside me) uses no virtual microphone: the translation plays in the other person’s earbud.

1Windows: VB-CABLE

Sokuji uses VB-CABLE, a free virtual audio driver. While it is missing, Sokuji asks to install it when it starts (Install Now or Download Manually); allow the installation and restart Windows if asked. Sokuji then sends its voice to CABLE Input by itself. In the meeting app, choose CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) as the microphone.

Windows: VB-CABLE

2macOS

The Sokuji installer adds a virtual audio driver. In the meeting app, choose SokujiVirtualAudio as the microphone. If the driver is installed but macOS has not loaded it, Sokuji says so and offers Repair: enter your administrator password and Sokuji restarts Core Audio to load it. If Repair does not help, restart the Mac or run the installer again.

3Linux

Sokuji creates Sokuji_Virtual_Mic through PulseAudio or PipeWire. Choose it as the microphone in the meeting app. If Sokuji reports that pactl is missing, install it (for example sudo apt install pulseaudio-utils) and click Retry.

4Browser extension

On supported meeting sites, the extension adds Sokuji Virtual Microphone to the site’s microphone list. Choose it there. See the supported sites.

Tips

  • Select the virtual microphone in the meeting app, never as Sokuji’s own microphone. Sokuji warns you if you try.
  • In the desktop app, the Translation the other side hears row of the Speech block names the virtual microphone to pick in your meeting app.
  • With Translation the other side hears off, nothing is spoken, so nothing reaches the virtual microphone.
  • Make a short test call and check that the other side hears the translated voice.

Frequently Asked Questions

The other side hears nothing. What should I check?

That the meeting app’s microphone is the virtual microphone for your system, that Translation the other side hears is on, that Sokuji is in Me or Both mode, and that a session is running.

Does the other side hear my original voice?

Not by default: only the translation goes to the virtual microphone. Passthrough can mix your own voice in quietly.

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Send us feedback from the account menu, or write to support@kizuna.ai. You can also ask in GitHub Discussions.