Forum Discussion
Headset option missing from desktop
When I look at audio device options in the taskbar config popup and 'select a sound input' I only see speakers. Both my speakers and headset are plugged in. I have an MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk Wifi - it has 5 audio jacks - 3 for speakers and 2 for headset (output + mic). Audio is coming out of both speakers and headset, so I can turn the speakers on or turn them off and put the headset on. That's great, except the audio is not being channeled correctly by Windows, if I put a movie on with 5.1 sound, I can't hear some of the channels in the headset. And there is no way to select headset because Windows doesn't have a headset option.
When I go into device manager, here's what I see...
Those headset options are for my old headset, which was a USB headset, I now have a twin-jack headset. I've removed the usb dongle, I've even removed the devices in device manager and checked for changes. The Razer USB Sound Card just gets added back in by Windows. I'm not sure what to do here.
It's useful to have both speakers and headset running at the same time because sometimes I will have both the headset on and the speakers running. But how do i know if audio is working correctly when some sources don't play correctly. And why was there a Headset option with my old headset and not my new one?
2 Replies
If your new headset uses the motherboard's analog jacks instead of USB, Windows probly won't show it as a separate playback device. It usually just treats it as the Realtek audio output, unlike a USB headset which appears as its own device. I'd check the Realtek Audio Console.. There's often an option asking what device was plugged into the fron or rear audio jack. If the jack is detected as Speakrs instead of Headphns, you can usually change it there. I'd also make sure Speaker Configuration isn't still set to 5.1, because stereo headphones can miss channels if surround audio isn't being downmixed seperately. If none of that helps, it sounds more like a Realtek driver/jack detection issue than a Windows one.
Your new headset uses separate 3.5 mm headphone and microphone jacks, so Windows treats the headphones as part of the Realtek Speakers device, not as a separate "Headset" playback device. The Headset (USB) / Headset (Mic) (Razer USB Sound Card) entries are from your old USB headset (or its USB sound card). If you no longer use it, unplug it and remove the device from Device Manager. If it keeps reinstalling, check for leftover Razer Synapse software or drivers. The reason you're hearing missing channels in some 5.1 content is likely because the Realtek output is configured for surround sound instead of stereo/headphones. Since a standard analog headset only has two speakers, Windows should be configured for Stereo with headphone virtualization (Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos, if desired).
I'd recommend checking:
- Control Panel → Sound → Playback → Speakers (Realtek Audio) → Configure and make sure it's set to Stereo, not 5.1.
- Install the latest Realtek audio driver from MSI's support page for the MAG X570 Tomahawk WiFi, rather than relying on the generic Windows driver.
- If your case has separate front-panel headphone and speaker jacks, open Realtek Audio Console and enable "Make front and rear output devices play two different audio streams simultaneously" (if available). This lets you independently use speakers and headphones.
With an analog twin-jack headset, it's normal that Windows doesn't show a separate "Headphones" playback device unless the Realtek driver exposes one. The playback device remains Speakers (Realtek Audio).
MSI Driver Downloads: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-X570-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/support
Microsoft - Change speaker configuration: https://support.microsoft.com/windows/fix-sound-or-audio-problems-in-windows
