On Windows 11, the audio enhancements feature is enabled by default. If you don’t want to use it, you can disable audio enhancements on Windows 11 using the Settings app. When enabled, this feature tries to improve the overall audio quality using functionality such as automatic equalization, loudness correction, noise cancellation, voice enhancement, and more. In practicality, however, the overly aggressive processing can distort the audio and make it worse. This is especially true if your speakers or headphones don’t directly support this feature.
Thankfully, Windows 11 allows you to disable these unnecessary sound effects and enjoy unaltered audio. Let’s learn the steps to turn off audio enhancements on Windows 11.
Disable Audio Enhancements on Windows 11
Go to the Settings > System > Sound page, click on your speaker or headphones, and select Off from the Audio Enhancements dropdown to disable.
Here are the detailed steps:
Step 1: On the taskbar, right-click on the Start icon and choose “Settings” to open the Settings window.
Step 2: Select System on the sidebar of the Settings window.
Step 3: Click on the Sound option on the right panel of the Settings window.
Step 4: Click on your headphones or speakers under the Output section.
Note: If your speakers or headphones are not connected, you will not see the option under the Output section.
Step 5: Scroll down and select the Off option from the Audio Enhancements option.
Step 6: Close the Settings app.
With the change you just made, the sound enhancements are fully disabled, if you want, you can also disable the Spatial Audio feature available right under it. Once it is disabled, Windows 11 will not alter the audio and you can enjoy the true sound.
Do keep in mind that some speakers or headphones might benefit from the audio enhancements feature. For instance, if are using a low-end, badly equalized, or specially designed speaker or headphones, you might want to keep this feature enabled. All in all, experiment with both enabled and disabled settings and see which sound is more enjoyable to you, and keep that setting. For example, I prefer to keep it disabled. Your mileage may vary.
I hope this little tutorial helped in configuring sound enhancements on Windows 11.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
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