Question "Released offload mode resource false" + Audio Issues - Event Viewer

[myne145]

Hello,
I have a problem my audio card, my headphones audio quality drops when I'm doing intense tasks (gaming, screen recording, etc.).
They start outputting in lower volume, stereo/mono mode instead of 5.1 that my headphones support. Basically audio sounds like its coming from low quality integrated chip.
To fix it temporarily I have to reload Windows Audio Service.

When this happens I see this message in Event Viewer repeated exactly 4 times.

Released exclusive mode resource false
Released offload mode resource false

Location: Apps and Services -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Audio -> Playback Manager

I disabled Exclusive Mode and Audio Enchancements in Audio Properties. Also disabled XMP in BIOS as suggested in my older thread about simillar issue.

Any help is very appreciated.

 

[Colif]

Exclusive mode = Some audio applications will take exclusive control of an audio device's drivers so that other apps can't play any sound at the same time. source

Exclusive-mode access to an audio device can block crucial system sounds, prevent interoperability with other applications, and otherwise degrade the user experience.

To mitigate these problems, an application with an exclusive-mode stream typically relinquishes control of the audio device when the application is not the foreground process or is not actively streaming.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/coreaudio/exclusive-mode-streams

Some audio drivers talk straight to the sound card, bypassing the Windows audio engine.

If they do they need exclusive access otherwise you can get very unpredictable results like a second audio stream sending its output to this device using a different sample rate and of course, as the first stream by passes the mixer, the result is garbage as no mixing will take place

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...es-it-do/26922597-f6c8-4080-a675-199e37f37a0b

So what audio devices have you got?

 

[myne145]

Thanks for explanation, I use Sound Blaster X AE-5 for headphones only, also I have Voicemeeter installed for routing audio (I don't use it very often) and Oculus and Virtual Desktop audio devices for streaming to my Quest2 VR headset. Problem started before I even bought them, so I don't think they're the cause of this issue.

Edit: I forgot to say that I have 2 monitors, both with builtin speakers, so when I update my Nvidia driver, I always have to choose Advanced Install and unchech HD Audio. Otherwise massive stutters would appear. Also I have software called SplitCam installed for virtual camera, I just noticed that it also contains audio driver.

I will try recording this low quality audio vs normal audio, if it's even hearable when recorded.