---
title: "Audio architecture and engine choice"
slug: /workflows/audio-architecture/
markdown: /workflows/audio-architecture.md
section: audio
tier: 2
summary: "Choose built-in Unity audio, FMOD or Wwise, then run the polish pass in a fixed order."
sources: ['https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/AudioMixer.html', 'https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-AudioManager.html', 'https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.03/unity/integration-tutorial.html', 'https://www.audiokinetic.com/en/public-library/2024.1.0_8669/?source=Unity&id=index.html']
canonical: https://unityworkflowlibrary.dev/workflows/audio-architecture/
read_first: /read-first.md
---

> Read first, on every prompt: [non-destructive rules](/read-first.md).

# Audio architecture and engine choice

> Choose built-in Unity audio, FMOD or Wwise, then run the polish pass in a fixed order.

This topic holds the reusable part of a full sound polish pass: engine choice, imports, mixing, 3D settings, voices,
music, timing and mobile behaviour. Each rule sits on the page for its stage.

## The three engines

| Engine | What it is | Where the sound designer works |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in Unity audio | AudioSource, AudioListener and Audio Mixer assets inside the Editor | The Unity Inspector and the Audio Mixer window |
| FMOD for Unity | The FMOD Engine plus a Unity integration package; events are built in FMOD Studio into banks | FMOD Studio, with Live Update to a running game |
| Wwise Unity Integration | A Unity plug-in library, C# bindings of the Wwise SDK, components and Editor windows | The Wwise authoring application; SoundBanks are loaded in Unity |

- **Built-in.** An [Audio Mixer](https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/AudioMixer.html) is an asset holding a tree of groups with effects,
  sends, snapshots and ducking. The Manual notes the Web platform only partially supports Audio Mixers.
- **FMOD.** The [FMOD for Unity tutorial](https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.03/unity/integration-tutorial.html) describes an
  event as a unit of sound content controlled from game code that can contain both audio files and playback logic,
  played in Unity by a Studio Event Emitter, with parameters set from code (`SetParameter`). Its setup wizard replaces
  the Unity listener with the FMOD listener and can disable Unity's built-in audio. Live Update connects FMOD Studio
  to the running game so mix changes are heard immediately; changes are kept only after the banks are rebuilt.
- **Wwise.** The [Wwise Unity Integration](https://www.audiokinetic.com/en/public-library/2024.1.0_8669/?source=Unity&id=index.html)
  documentation lists SoundBank management, a Timeline integration, Spatial Audio (rooms, portals, reflectors,
  obstruction and occlusion) and an Addressables package.

## Choosing

- **The engine is the user's call.** The agent asks in the CLI before adding middleware, the same way it asks about
  the other stack choices on the [Project setup](/workflows/new-unity-project/) page. Switching later means
  re-authoring every event and mixer.
- **Built-in is the default** when the game's audio is clip playback with a mixer, and nobody on the team works in
  FMOD Studio or Wwise.
- **Middleware is worth it** when a sound designer will own adaptive behaviour (parameters, transitions, randomisation)
  in a dedicated tool and wants to tune it live against the running game. Check each vendor's licensing terms before
  committing; the agent does not decide that.
- Either way, the authored data rules of the [Authored content](/topics/authored/) topic apply: sound settings live in
  assets or banks a human can open, not in code.

## The polish pass, in order

1. Census before any edit: every bank row and clip, measured loudness of each imported clip (`AudioClip.GetData`,
   loudest 100 ms RMS; compressed or streamed clips per GETDATA-NEEDS-A-DECOMPRESSED-CLIP), clip lengths on frequent
   rows, and a Play census (voice starts, steals, pool-full share, master peak) with the listener where the game camera
   puts it.
2. Imports (AUDIO-IMPORT-PER-PLATFORM), then gains from the imported clips (SET-GAIN-FROM-THE-IMPORTED-CLIP), on the
   [import and memory](/workflows/audio-import-memory/) page.
3. Rows: fill silent families from clips already in the project, short clips on frequent rows, per-topic cooldown,
   pitch and volume jitter, priority (LONG-CLIP-ON-A-FREQUENT-ROW-IS-CUT on the
   [voices](/workflows/audio-voices/) page, NEW-GAIN-FIELD-IS-DB on the [mixing](/workflows/audio-mixing/) page).
4. Voices and 3D: per-device-class voice budget, priority stealing, rolloff from the listener distance
   (LISTENER-DISTANCE-SETS-THE-ROLLOFF on the [spatial](/workflows/audio-spatial/) page).
5. Mixer: limiter on master, ducking by routing (MIXER-GRAPH-FROM-CODE); end-of-run ring-out (END-OF-RUN-RINGS-OUT).
6. Play census again against step 1, then a developer listen list: every clip choice and the mix are
   developer-listen-pending until a human hears them, and device memory and voice counts need a device measure.

## Related

- [Audio topic](/topics/audio/): every audio page in reading order.
- Next: [Import settings and memory](/workflows/audio-import-memory/).