Greetings and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

There are a few situations that may be causing the error you are describing. Please try the following troubleshooting methods in order to resolve the issue:

- Check if your audio is playing to the audio device(s) connected and playing to the audio device(s) that you prefer such as speakers or headphones.
- Change 'Listening Position' to 100. Navigate to the 'System Configuration' in-game, select 'Sound Settings', towards the top select the previously mentioned setting.
- Change the Equalizer Mode to Standard rather than custom.
- If possible, please try using different earphones, headphones, and/or speakers
- Try running FINAL FANTASY XIV as an administrator, if you use Steam this would mean running Steam as admin.
- Please try switching between Fullscreen mode and Borderless Windowed mode, if you are currently using one please try switching to the other.
- Cap FPS, if the FPS in-game is not yet capped please try capping it.
- Disable DirectX 11. In the config section of the FINAL FANTASY XIV launcher there should be a section for DirectX 11 Support, please try disabling this option to switch to DirectX 9 instead.
- Reset System Settings, also in the config section of the FINAL FANTASY XIV launcher, there should be an option for 'Reset System Settings', please try resetting the settings.
- Also if possible, please try using a different console and/or device (this will let you know if it is specifically a settings/hardware issue or just the FINAL FANTASY XIV program issue)
- Remove any mods or injectors from the game or system (Reshade, Nvidia Freestyle, etc.). Also, remove any custom configurations made using driver-level programs (Nvidia Control Panel, Radeon Crimson).
- Perform a clean boot by doing the following: Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. disable everything here and restart the PC.

Please double check the in-game sound settings.
Please double check to see if the preferred or used device for output is the correct one.

Should the issue still persist after attempting all the listed troubleshooting, we advise that you reinstall the game (make sure to remove or rename the 'Final Fantasy XIV' folder in the 'My Documents' > 'My Games' folder). You can re-download the game client via Steam through the Steam library.

We recommend that the game be installed on the C: drive, as installing it on any drive that is not the default may cause more problems.

Thank you once again for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!