I paired some new headphones with my Windows 11 PC but when I turn them on and confirm they’re paired, I still don’t hear anything. My music still comes out of my PC speakers! How can I switch sound or audio output?
Most of the time our computers tend to work like magic. You plug in a new device and it starts working. Unplug it and the system just rolls back to the previous device you were using. As a result, many of us basically ignore the steps required to switch from one input to another, one output or speaker to another, and so on. Sometimes, however, our devices can get a wee bit confused..,
Depending on your configuration, however, switching audio output (typically known as “sound”) might be as easy as a shortcut directly on your Taskbar. That’s the simplest possibility. If you don’t see a tiny speaker icon there, however, it’s still fairly straightforward, but you will need to delve into your Settings. The good news is that there are also lots of other useful settings and adjustments.
CHOOSING YOUR SOUND OUTPUT
To start out, launch Settings and choose “System” from the options on the left side. On my Gateway PC, here’s what I see:
Hopefully, you’re familiar with this window as it’s the main, um, gateway, to all of your computer settings and preferences. Once you choose “Sound” – click on it – you’ll find that it splits into Output (speaker) and Input (microphone):
I have quite a few output options for sound, ranging from the built-in Reaktek Audio speakers to a USB-connected Panasonic SoundSlayer speaker called “Headset Earphone” and, a bit later on the list, “Speakers”, and a pair of Phiaton 900 Legacy Plus headphones labeled “Headphones”. I’ll choose the latter with a click.
Complete with snazzy picture! I can even rename the headphones if I have a preferred name instead of the default. To get these Bluetooth headphones as an option, I’ve previously paired it with the computer in the “Bluetooth & devices” area. If you’re not familiar with that process, please check out my tutorial How to Pair Bluetooth Headphones with a Windows PC.
I will note that choosing the headphones as “the default sound device” did not actually change the output. To accomplish that I had to go back to the previous Settings > Sound screen and explicitly chose the headphones.
But while we’re here, there’s more you can tweak and change with audio devices on a Windows PC…
ADVANCED WIN11 SOUND OUTPUT SETTINGS
Many people have a dominant ear, so it can be very helpful to be able to adjust the left/right balance. That’s one of the options if you just scroll down a bit further on the individual device view:
It’s also worth clicking on the “Test” button here to ensure that your PC can send an audio signal to the device. You should hear just a few seconds of audio on the left, then right channel.
Scroll down further and if your device supports it, you can try something even more cool; spatial audio.
In this instance, it’s referred to as “Spatial sound” and can be enabled by changing “Off” to “On”. The idea of spatial audio is that of offers a more 3-dimensional musical experience that’s far more compelling. For best results, you also need a spatial music source, but it might well offer better and more engrossing audio with the same material you usually enjoy anyway. Note that instead of saying “On” it also might switch to something like this:
Definitely cool stuff and I’m confident we’re going to have more of this “surround sound” in future releases of games, streaming video content, even phone calls.
WHAT ABOUT CHANGING SOUND INPUT?
When you back up to the previous screen, System > Sound, remember that you can also scroll down and find the input (microphone) options:
Because you’re in control, you can also choose to have a desktop mic as your audio input and the headphones, speaker, earbuds, etc, as the sound or audio output. Whatever combination you prefer, you now know how to set it up for your best experience. Good luck!
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about how to get things done in Windows for a long time. Please check out my extensive Windows help area for lots more tutorials and guides while you’re here!
While reading this, I decided to check to see if my system has Spatial Sound features enabled. It does not, so I enabled it, and Windows informed me that there are additional (related) apps available in the Microsoft Store. I went and checked them out, and installed Dolby Access and DTS Sound Unbound. Now I have Dolby Atmos for Built-in Speakers enabled. I tested the difference with the TuneIn app, and my experience is really enhanced! Thank you for posting this item. Most of what you write about relates to features I already know/understand. Sometimes, your writing fills in gaps in my knowledge/understanding about the topic at hand, or it leads me (directly/indirectly) to more information I did not already have. Either way, you help me learn, and I appreciate what you do.
Ernie (Oldster)