Realtek Digital Output -

Traditional "Speakers" or "Headphones" outputs use your computer's internal Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) to turn data into sound waves for 3.5mm jacks.

| If you need... | Use this instead | |----------------|------------------| | Lossless stereo | USB DAC (bypasses Realtek) | | Multi-channel lossless | HDMI audio from GPU | | Virtual surround (headphones) | Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos for Headphones | | Loopback/recording | Voicemeeter Banana | realtek digital output

It is not a physical speaker or headphone jack. It is a that sends audio data from your PC to an external device via a digital connection . It is a that sends audio data from

If you select Digital Output but don't have an optical or coaxial cable connected to an external decoder, you will hear nothing. Leo had spent an hour trying to get his new speakers to work

If you are using standard 3.5mm speakers or a USB headset, "Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)" should be your default, not the Digital Output.

Leo had spent an hour trying to get his new speakers to work. He’d updated the Realtek drivers and restarted the PC three times. Every time he played a song, the Windows sound mixer showed activity. The "Digital Output" was definitely sending a signal—it just had nowhere to go.