How to Fix Zoom ‘Original Sound’ Problem (Windows 11)

Cliff Smith

How to fix sound problem in Zoom music lessons Windows 11

How to Fix Zoom ‘Original Sound’ Audio Problem On Windows 11

My pupils who use computers with Windows 11 installed are having an annoying audio problem during their music lessons on Zoom, maybe you are too. It’s time to fix it.

If you know me, you probably know that I’m a Mac guy, but I borrowed a Windows 11 laptop, recreated the problem and solved it.

You can watch a video on how to solve the problem below, and hear a ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparison. Or read on if you prefer written steps.

The best Zoom audio settings for music lessons

Firstly, let’s check that you have all the basic settings correct…

Log into the Zoom app (don’t use the web browser version) and click on the small arrow next to the microphone icon (bottom left), then select ‘Audio settings’:

Select the correct speaker (this will vary depending on your setup):

Set the output volume appropriately (this will vary depending on your setup):

Select the correct microphone (this will vary depending on your setup):

Set the input volume appropriately (if you are not sure then start at 75% and take it from there):

Depending on your particular setup, you may need to adjust this from the Windows volume bar:

Uncheck ‘Automatically adjust microphone volume’:

Select ‘Original sound for musicians’ audio profile and make sure ‘High fidelity music mode’, ‘Echo cancellation’ and ‘Stereo audio’ are all checked:

Click on the ‘Advanced’ button at the bottom of the Zoom ‘Audio settings’ window:

In the ‘Advanced’ section, set ‘Signal processing by Windows audio device drivers’ to ‘Off’:

In the ‘Advanced’ section, set ‘Echo cancellation’ to ‘Auto’

Back in the Zoom meeting window, turn on ‘Original sound for musicians’. Unlike all of the other settings I mentioned, ‘Original sound for musicians’ needs to be turned on each time you start a Zoom meeting, as it will be off by default.

Zoom’s official support guidelines for Windows 11 audio issue

BUT… Even with all this set correctly, the person on the other side of the call can hear you speaking… but cannot hear your instrument or backing track.

This problem appears to be specific to Windows 11, and Zoom are aware of the problem. Here is the advice from the Zoom support article on their website:

“Issue:

Some users may experience issues while playing an instrument or singing in a meeting, even though Original Sound for Musicians is enabled in their Zoom app client’s settings. They might experience the following issues:

Participants can hear each other while they speak, but cannot hear the instruments’ audio being played.
If quiet or high-frequency sounds such as meditation music are being played, the audio cannot be heard.
While sharing their screen, the background audio is lost or distorted.

Environment:

Windows 11
MaxxAudio on Dell
Bang & Olufsen on HP
LG Smart Assistant on LG
Realtek Audio Console
Dolby Atmos

Resolution:

Disable the audio control maxxAudio, Bang & Olufsen, LG Smart Assistant software, or any similar software on your computer or uninstall it then restart the computer.
Update any audio drivers on your computer.
Disable audio enhancements on your computer.”

***DO NOT UNINSTALL ANYTHING!*** I WILL SAY THAT AGAIN ***DO NOT UNINSTALL ANYTHING!***

How I fixed the Zoom ‘Original sound for musicians’ audio problem on Windows 11

That is a lot of information, and you may not know what any of it means. So how do we actually fix the problem? I ran through all of the options suggested by Zoom support, and only one thing worked for me. Here it is:

Click on start:

Click on settings:

Click on system:

Click on sound:

Select your microphone from the ‘Input’ section to reveal another small arrow:

Click on that arrow to get into the microphone properties:

From the ‘Audio enhancements’ dropdown, select ‘Off’. Depending on your manufacturer, the setting to disable audio enhancements may be in another tab called ‘Advanced’, but that is not showing on this computer.