The Windows audio settings aren't working well.
The Windows audio settings aren't working well.
Windows doesn't currently support seamless integration of multiple device audio outputs. The built-in tools like stereo mixing are limited by hardware constraints, such as Realtek drivers, which don't work universally. While third-party solutions exist, developers haven't prioritized this feature in recent updates like 2022.
Windows follows what your audio drivers provides. That is a feature suggestion for Realtek, not Microsoft. And even if Realtek wants to do it, it has a cost, software or hardware wise (say, to do it properly). Who pays that additional cost? OEMs are motherboard manufacture are interested in 1 price: Free. Already they are having a heart attack paying 0.25$ for each audio chip. It's only there because putting a 'PC Speaker' for beeps and boops, costs the same, and no one would buy their system/motherboard. Now, Microsoft could do what third party software are doing... but, again, what is the business case for feature? I can assure you that between 99 - 99.9% of people don't care about this feature. Windows gives the power for developers to make such software so niche user base. Why complexify and loose focus of the OS, for this feature? (the big issue with many open source projects that don't gain rapid popularity... try and please everyone to get every single user they can, and dev support to continue the project)