Music suppressed in Zoom on Windows 11

I had this exact same issue and it drove me bonkers for ages but I finally managed to fix it.

For me the issue was being caused by the Dell in built audio software which is "MaxxAudio Pro (Waves)" when I opened the software I got the following screen:

What i had to do to fix this is:

1. Connect your external microphone
2. The microphone icon in the screen then becomes "selectable"
3. Click the microphone icon

You then get presented with the screen above (this screen is NOT selectable until you connect an external mic (or it wasn't for me))

1. Then click on the "Remove Noise" toggle switch to turn it OFF
2. Then click on the speakers icon and do the same

These steps prevent MaxxPro software from automatically removing the resonant background sounds you get from instruments, bells, ringing etc and allows other software packages to process the audio signal "as is".

The issue for me was that this is automatically turned ON by default in MaxxPro and you must first connect an external mic to even be able to interact with the buttons to turn it OFF. It was driving me mad because people were suggesting this could be the problem but I couldn't figure out how to disable the signal processing done in MaxxPro.

This 100% solved my issue and allowed conferencing software such as Zoom etc to use the "original sound for musicians option" in it's intended way. The issue is that MaxxPro etc. seems to take priority and you must disable the automatic sound removal there to allow Zoom or Teams to do it's thing.

Your laptop may have different sound processing software but the process should be the same - i hope that fixes it for you!

Thanks, this looks promising! I will try it and see what happens!

If you have a windows 11 laptop and you have muffled sound, 99% of the problem is AI noise reduction. AI can do 2 way noise reduction (reducing noise from your friend's side as well). They are not in the usual places like realtek audio console so nobody can find them to turn it off.

For Dell computers,

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000215376/distorted-multimedia-audio-in-voip-conference-applications?lwp=rt

For acer computers,

https://support.zspace.com/s/article/Acer-Purified-Voice-Console-How-to-Disable?language=en_US

For asus computers,

https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1046946/

For lenovo computers,

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Gaming-Laptops/Lenovo-Smart-Noise-Cancellation-App/m-p/5169055

Thanks Joseph, unfortunately, I have a Dell XPS 8960 desktop, which is not on the list. I have MyDell, but it doesn't have an audio option nor that particular function. I appreciate you finding that KB though. Maybe there's another sneaky noise suppression function on my computer. I'll try to find it.

I found the setting you described, thanks! I will try this at our church service on Sunday and see if it solves the problem.