My setup is based around a desktop PC running Windows 10.
On my desktop I have got a pair of speakers and also one of my monitors has built-in speakers.
I rarely use them because the quality of the sound is very poor. I also have a pair
of headphones that are plugged into the 3.5 mm socket on the front panel of my desktop.
My best quality speakers are connected to my AV amplifier which is behind my desk.
I don't like background music to come out of the same speaker as a voice that I'm trying to listen
to. I like background music to be coming from behind me but a voice to come from in front of me.
I find this much easier to hear the voice clearly and also to concentrate on the voice. This is a
personal preference possibly because of my age and because of a slight loss of hearing.
Also my best quality speakers are connected to my AV amp so
music sounds best played through those speakers. Windows 10 allows me to set up my audio preference
and this video will show you how to set up Windows 10 audio outputs.
First, let's take a quick look at the normal audio setup in Windows 10.
Go to Windows 10 Settings. I find the quickest way to go to settings is Windows+I.
Type Sound and click Sound Settings in the drop down list of suggestions.
At the top of the sound settings screen you can select the sound output. In my
case this is set to my desktop speakers The diagram on my left shows that this
setting means that all the audio outputs from all of my applications and all the system sounds
go to my desktop speakers. You can change the output to another
device simply by selecting a different output device from the drop down list.
All the audio from all the apps is now going to my AV system speakers.
So this allows me to switch all of the audio to a different audio
output but what I want to do is to control the audio output of a specific application. At the
bottom of the screen you will see Advanced Sound Options. Click on App Volume Device Preferences.
These settings give you a lot more control over your audio.
At the top you can select the default audio device. This is the audio output that an app uses
if you do not set another output below. Listed you will have a list of running
applications which require an audio output and also at the top of the list
system sounds which is for Windows 10 generated system sounds, such as the new notification sound
The list of apps only includes apps that are currently running and not all the apps
installed on your PC that have an audio output. My list includes the browser, Google Chrome,
and VLC media player. For your PC your browser or media player will be added to this list
either when the app is started or when the app requires an audio output. So if your browser or
media player isn't in your list then start the app and do something that requires an
audio output from the app and it will be added to this list. This list is dynamically updated.
You will see that for each of the applications in the list there are two drop-down pickers the
upper one allows you to choose the audio output device that will be used by that specific app.
So for each app you can choose the audio output totally independently from the choice of default
audio output and from any other app. The lower drop down picker for each app
is to allow you to select the audio input, the microphone, for each app
If I select the AV speakers as the audio output for Google Chrome
then the audio output from Google Chrome is sent to the AV speakers. The media player
and all other apps and system sounds, however, will still come through the desk speakers.
Google Chrome will send the audio from all tabs in all Chrome windows to the same audio output.
It does not have the ability to send the output from each tab to a different
audio output. If you require this functionality then have a look at some extensions to Chrome.
Let's put Chrome back to the default audio output and have a look at VLC.
VLC has built the audio output selection functionality into the app. This means that
you can select the audio output from within VLC. Click on Audio then Audio Device and you will see
the full list of all the audio output devices and at the top is the default audio device which the
dot shows is the currently selected audio output. You can change to any of the other
audio devices and the audio will now use the selected audio device.
I have now selected the AV speakers as the audio output for VLC so I now have music playing through
good quality speakers that are located behind me. All the other apps including Chrome and all
Windows 10 system sounds will use my desk speakers that are in front of me. My ideal setup.
It is worth noting that the Windows 10 Setting window now includes two instances of VLC,
even though only one of them is running, and they both appear to use the default audio
output. However the app and also my ears know that this is not the case.
VLC is using my AV amp. So ignore the Windows 10
System Settings for an application like VLC that controls its own audio device.
Windows 10 can support multiple audio outputs.
This can be demonstrated by opening four instances of my media player, VLC.
In each of these players I select a different audio output you will have to take my word
for it that I can hear the different music through each of the speakers and headphones.
So Windows 10 can offer you a lot of control over your audio outputs. I'm not sure of the
maximum number of audio outputs that Windows 10 can support simultaneously but I suspect that
most people will run out of loudspeakers and headphones before they hit the limit.
This video has shown you how to control which audio output each app uses either
from within Windows 10 settings or, if the app supports it, from within the app.