Bug Report: Game Crashes When Changing Audio Output to "Game" Channel or Speakers

Issue Summary:
When attempting to change the audio settings in Path of Exile 2 to the "Game" channel on my Astro A50 headset or switching the audio output to my monitor speakers, the game crashes instantly without any error message.

Steps to Reproduce:

Open Path of Exile 2 on PC.
Go to the audio settings menu.
Change the audio output to "Game" channel on the Astro A50 headset or select speakers as the output device.
The game will crash immediately after making the selection.

Expected Result:
The game should switch the audio output to the selected device (either "Game" channel or speakers) without crashing.

Actual Result:
The game crashes immediately when changing the audio setting to "Game" or speakers.

Additional Information:

The issue appears to occur specifically when switching to the "Game" channel on the Astro A50 headset or speakers connected to the monitor.
The crash happens without displaying any error messages.
The issue is specific to Path of Exile 2 and does not occur in other games or applications.

Environment:

Platform: PC
Audio Setup: Astro A50 headset (with separate Game and Voice channels)
Audio Output Devices: Game channel (Astro A50) or speakers (monitor)

This also happens to me almost every single time i change audio. I have Steel Series Arctis Nova Pro. Game never launches with my selected audio from a previous play session go to change it an it boots me straight to DT with no warning or reason.

I am having similar issues.

I also have Steel Series Arctis Nova Pro and I use the Sonar app. Having the same issue without headset connected.

My settings are persistent between sessions. If I am quick i can change one setting and click save on the gamepad before game crashes. The changed setting is then correct on next launch, but game still crash if i try to change any sound settings.

I can provide logs etc if needed.



..tested some more..

without GG / sonar running i can change all sound settings without crash, except for changing output channel.

Just stumbled upon this issue when i disconnected my headset from the usb slot and then while the game was running i changed audio output from taskbar and got another ctd instantly. headset is razer kraken v3 hypersense.

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I have had a similar issue that has been consistent since early access release. When I swap audio output devices in POE2 settings, the game will crash. I have multiple devices connected to my PC typically, and I swap between headset and desktop speakers that I have connected via Bluetooth. I have tried disconnected all audio devices and just switching between my headset and one Bluetooth speaker but I still had the same issue.

Recently, I have noticed that I was no longer able to adjust the master volume of the game in the settings menu because previously I had attempted switching audio output devices and the game crashed, but when I loaded the game again the audio output was not swapped to the new device (normally it is). When I try to change any of the volume settings the output device will visibly and audibly swap to the device I attempted to swap to before re-launching the game, and the game will immediately crash. Re-launching and trying to change any audio/volume setting will have the same result until I remove the audio device the game is stuck on, from the list of audio devices in my PC system settings.

Something to note, it is possibly an issue with my sound setup. I am using an Elgato Wave 3 USB microphone with the Elgato Wave Link software. I have my headset (Hyper X Cloud 3) plugged into the microphone via auxiliary cable. The Wave Link software allows control of multiple audio inputs that can be linked to specific applications, allowing for different audio settings per input and different audio devices. If I remove all my saved input profiles and just leave the default (Elgato Wave 3 mic headset), the game will still crash when I switch devices. The Wave Link software uses VST3 files for audio effect plugins and I have had some odd issues with those files and my PC audio settings before. I haven't tried uninstalling the software since it is the main setup I use. I will test that soon and update this thread.


Environment:
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Platform: PC (Windows 11)
Audio Software: Elgato Wave Link

Main Audio Output: Elgato Wave 3 USB Microphone (Hyper X Cloud 3 plugged into mic via Auxiliary cable)

Alternate Audio Output: Cheap Bluetooth subwoofer/speaker (ProBox16)

Alternate Audio Output: Cheap Bluetooth speaker bar (Wohome)