Easier switching of sound devices in Windows with Soundswitch 3.0dev1.

I’ve got a beta-quality release of Soundswitch available now.

You can also peruse the source code.

The big changes for 3.0 are as follows:

  • Configure Source1 and Source2 via tray icon.
  • Select current active sound device from tray icon.
  • Single left click of tray icon switches between Source1 and Source2
  • Rewrites of core parts to reduce bugs and increase speed.

Please let me know about bugs.

Leave a comment ?

113 Comments.

  1. Hey dustin GREAT APP I have been using it for quite some time.. only thing I wish for is a tooltip for speaker selection so I know what speakers it just selected(stereo or 5.1) as currently I periodically forget what the last selection was and have to check in the control panel

  2. This is an awesome program since about 3 hours ago I was getting insane swapping over and over for the last 1 year but now, just key shortcuts 😀
    Two things I’d like to point out though.
    1. The display a tray tip thing displays the previous default device, so if I swap from Logitech G930 to Speakers, the popup will say “Default Device : Logitech G930” knowing the default now is Speakers
    2. Is it possible to improve when I’m switching between devices, soundswitch opens the “System Sounds” window and closes it instantly, is it possible to make the program do it invisibly ?

  3. @Olafur:

    1. Known bug.
    2. Not with the current version. I’m heavily into writing a new application that switches devices in a different manner which won’t pop up the system Sounds window.

    I’d expect the new version within a few weeks.

  4. You are the absolute man for making this. So helpful!

    Is there any way to make it have the ability to switch between recording devices as well as speakers? As I use use a USB mic and speakers when using loud speakers and my headset and built in mic when using my headphones.

  5. @Andy: That functionality is in the upcoming version.

  6. Excellent news. Thanks for the quick response.

  7. Dustin, I bought a top-of-the-line $300 headset (Astro A40) and their forums recommended your program. It’s great! However, I completely agree with Ryan’s post that there needs to be some way to tell if we’re on 5.1 mode or speaker mode (ie/ via tooltip or some other way) because sometimes after several hours, the user may forget which mode they’re on. Also, there are times when pressing the hotkey doesn’t toggle it right away (sometimes it requires 2 presses instead of 1) so I find myself going into Control Panel and manually checking anyway (which defeats the purpose of this time-saving program you have). If I have to manually check in Control Panel, then I’d likely make changes there instead of your program since I am already there.

    Note: this is signficant for certain sound cards where the default device is the same for both speakers and headphones so it is necessary to toggle the “speakers” when listening to the 2 pc speakers and “5.1 surround” when listening to the headset.

  8. @Peter: All great suggestions, and I added them to my upcoming feature lists.

    I’m putting a lot of work into working on Soundswitch right now, so expect some big announcements soon-ish.

  9. Nice app, well done. I need the Mic functionality like Andy. I see your replies to others about an upcoming version. Just wanted to say thanks for such a useful app.

  10. For those that have this issue,

    “Also, there are times when pressing the hotkey doesn’t toggle it right away (sometimes it requires 2 presses instead of 1)”

    Not saying this solves this problem for everybody, but i noticed this issue too and realized that i was using the scrolling shortcut and not the switch. The switching shortcut has worked consistently for me.

  11. What about hotkey support?

  12. Alex,

    If you’re asking me, i don’t completely understand your question. Hotkeys work fine for me in the latest beta version. I like the feature.

  13. @Alex: Hotkeys is what this app does. If it didn’t support hotkeys it wouldn’t exist.

  14. Forget it, I figured it out 🙂
    I have 2 outputs with the same name:
    “Digital Audio SP/DIF HD device”
    And If I select one of them (as config#1 for example), tool will show both of them as selected.

  15. Amazing! No more Windows clicking mania just to switch between headset and speakers.
    Thanks!

  16. Thank you so much, been looking for something like this for a while!

  17. well done! let us know when the new version drops! switching without the pop-up will be tight.

  18. @truckirwin: The new version is still getting a couple hours of work per day outta me!

    This will be a new product rather than a new version of Soundswitch. It will also cost something like 3 to 5 US dollars.

    You can read about some of the new features here: https://plus.google.com/117177689300294532641/posts/L6XJ8NFSF1a

  19. Exactly what I needed – thank you!

  20. Brilliant. Super little app, which I really like. With a USB headset for Dragon dictation and a new Benq with intergral speakers this makes it so easy to swap.

    Many thanks

    Alan

  21. My motherboard has 4 speaker outputs at the back, is there any way Soundswitch will work if I have both devices plugged in there? Only one device shows up in Playback Devices though. (The front ports are on top of the case, and look hideous with anything plugged in, so I’m trying to avoid them.)
    Thanks

  22. This web site is really fascinating i am yearning for is there the other examples? however anyway thank you abundantly because I found that i was yearning for.

  23. This website is basically interesting i’m craving for is there the other examples? but anyway thank you substantially as a result of I found that i was looking for.

  24. Very nice program. Thank you. I have only one problem with it. I cannot get Skype to switch devices. It plays in both my headset and through the speakers no matter how I configure it.

  25. Just installed the 3.0 version on a win7-64 system.

    works great!

    Thanks

  26. 😆
    Genius

  27. Fanfrickintastic. This is exactly what I was looking for, even includes support for switching comm device vs regular devices. I always want my headset the com device, but want to switch my regular output (for games) in the evening to my headset.

  28. Hi , love the program so far.
    Question now is there only 2 to switch through? I see only 2 but maybe I could add one more?

  29. @Thomass: Use the scrolling hot keys instead of the switching hot keys.

  30. This program look great, but I’m using a german windows. Please make a version with more language support!

  31. So happy right now!
    Beta 3 Dev 2 does *exactly* what I’ve been searching for!

    One click on the taskbar switches between two sources!

    My life is now 2.75% less frustrating!

  32. Is the new version out yet? Where do I get it from?

  33. Awesome – able to switch easy when i get a skype call coming through.
    Thanks big chief.

  34. Thanks. When I stumbled upon this page I was looking for a solution to why my laptop speakers would not work after I installed my G35s. And then to find you made a program to easily switch between the two. Thanks a tonne. You made my day 😛

    I haven’t figured out how to set a specific hot key. It would be cool to be able to hold the mute button on the headset as a switching hot key.

  35. Love the app, just what I was looking for, does the 3.0 hav a keyboard hotkey and im just missing it? if so is it editable?

  36. It’s a bit hard to tell what features are in what releases at this point (and what is upcoming too). Do you have any sort of release notes with this info?

  37. It’s getting a bit difficult to determine what features are in what releases at this point (and what is upcoming too). Do you have webpage for this application and maybe some sort of release notes?

  38. Hello Dustin,

    Whatever I try, I cant get the program to work.
    When I run it, it opens the sound control panel with the list of devices. I dont know if Im supposted to now pick the devices or what but I dont see how is that possible. There are no settings available when right clicking the tray icon.

    So I tried manually changing the sources in the .ini file, no luck. Whenever I use any hotkey, it just opens the same sound control panel but nothing happens. I tried previous version and still no luck.

    I am not using English version of Windows, do you think that might be the cause? Because I read few comments regarding that. Id really like to use this program, Thanks 🙂

  39. Howdy! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Many thanks

  40. Switch audio device on the fly - pingback on April 26, 2013 at 9:13 pm
  41. Thanks so much for this, totally awesome!

  42. What link takes me to the download?

  43. @spencer: The one that says “available now”.

  44. Great app. I’m not colorblind, but that “available now” link color is very hard to see.

  45. Hi Dustin,

    Just wanted to say thanks for making this app. Makes the task of switching devices so much easier and now I can use both speakers and headphones with ease. I would avoid having both hooked up as I was so lazy before 😛

  46. Switch Audio Between Speakers and a Headset | Andrew's Blog - pingback on June 22, 2013 at 10:27 pm
  47. A powerful share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit of evaluation on this.
    And he in actual fact purchased me breakfast as a result of I found it for him..
    smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! However yeah Thnkx for spending the
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    on this topic. If possible, as you change into experience, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra details?
    It is extremely helpful for me. Massive thumb up for this blog post!

  48. I’m using your program since I found it, but I recently ran into a problem with it.

    Since some time, nVidia drivers seem to add a second “5.1 Surround” to the Audio Channels in Speaker Setup. I’m using the second one, but when using Sound Switch I can not specify which one of the two to use and it seems to always use the first one (which has a wrong speaker setup for me).

    Is there any solution for this when you have 2 audio channels that are equally named but function differently?

  49. Please disregard the previous message:
    I’ve downloaded the sourcecode from Github and made the necessary changes for my system. Soundswitch now does what it always did: work perfectly!

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