I think it is about time the sound bug with USB headsets gets sorted.

[martin447]

I have this same issue; but also a little extra thing.
In Windows 10 you can now quite conveniently change your default output device by just left clicking once on the speaker icon in the tray.

So. I have a pair of headphones (purely USB - there's no 3.5mm jack) - and so I sometimes change between my headphones as the output device, and the speakers (that are on another soundcard). ... Whatever was set to default when the game started, is what the game will stick to even when I change default audio device.*

So I don't personally need an in-game device selector, as I just change it in Windows (though of course it would be handy) - but FFXIV doesn't play well with the changing of default output devices currently.



*Note here... I think that Windows 7 and 8(.1) aren't able to change output device in the same manner as Windows 10 - hence the issue isn't exactly the same here, maybe.... With Windows 7 and 8 - you have to stop all sound (or programs that have made the device 'busy' or 'standby'), before it will change to whatever other sound device you set as default. Whereas Windows 10 just takes the 'flow of data' and slaps it towards the new default sound device even if something's playing at the same time. (Usually)

But with FFXIV; it isn't able to just cut to the other device (though other games are able (well, I haven't tested all games in existence)), so still making me have to quit the game, and start it up again, before it will go on the new default device.


Oh and a little extra thing; if your sound in FFXIV just suddenly disappears... I had an issue maybe a year ago, where I found out that the audiodg.exe process would apparently bug (or FFXIV, not really sure), and there'd be no sound until I would kill the process (it restarts by itself) or restart the game... but restarting the process is faster... Though I guess it's quite likely your issue is not the same, Fynlar. (Either way I forgot since when it stopped doing that, so no idea what a real solution would be)