Q's about Win10 settings (device manager, sound settings) & Foobar2000 devices

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Hi everyone,

I’m having some trouble with my setup and could use some guidance. Everything is working fine, but I’m a bit confused about the potential settings in Windows 10 and foobar2000. I’ve got a few questions, but first the screenshot:

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  1. Device Manager: These four devices are currently active when I check Device Manager (screenshot below). Should I uninstall, disable, or tweak any of them?

  2. Windows Sound Settings: Here’s a screenshot of what shows up under Windows Settings > System > Sound > Manage Sound Devices. Which devices should be enabled or disabled?

  3. Foobar2000 Settings: This is where I’m most confused. Switching between different devices in foobar2000 changes the audio quality noticeably. I mainly use foobar2000 for playing music, so I want it to sound right.

  • When I select “Primary Sound Driver” in foobar2000, the audio plays fine.
  • However, when I switch to my actual headphones (Headphones [2- Arctic 7 Game]), the volume and gain seem to increase drastically, and the sound becomes overly compressed, like low-quality mp3s from the early 2000s.
  • If I choose “FxSound Speakers (FxSound Audio Enhancer)” in foobar2000, the sound is similar to “Primary Sound Driver,” but with a slightly lower volume.

So, which device should I select in foobar2000 for the best sound quality?

Thanks in advance.

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“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” is still great advice. In that case, as a rule of thumb, while disabling devices inside Windows Sound is generally harmless, it’s best not to uninstall anything inside Device Manager.
You can consult the standard troubleshooting list bannered and pinned to the top of the forum for the tweaking that needs to be done in order to optimally make use of FxSound.

As for Foobar, I’ve never installed it or used it myself. Let me tag @Thelucifer1978 for help, he knows his way around the app.
Either way, “low-quality mp3s from the early 2000s” doesn’t sound like a way I’d want to describe my listening experience.
And if the difference between the remaining two devices is minimal, and the results are more-or-less the same, then I’m guessing it probably doesn’t matter all that much, from a practical perspective?

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Primary Sound Driver is what it says but what sound card do you have is it realtek or any other sound card ?

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