How to get Win 11 to permanently remember a sound output source (even when it's powered off)

Windows 11 Home, version 25H2 (OS build 26200.7623)

I use a variety of sound output devices:
1. Built-in laptop speakers (when that's all I have available)
2. Harmon Kardon Studio II with a Cambridge Audio DacMagic (for general computer sounds)
3. For hi-res music, a Schiit Bifrost 2 Unison DAC, feeding a Schiit Lokius Eq, feeding an iCAN Signature Amp, which outputs to HEDD Type 20 Mk II Studio Monitors, and a BASS 08 Subwoofer.

If the Schiit Bifrost is not powered on when I boot up the laptop, then it will never appear on the list of devices, even if I power it on. That means I have to reboot, ensuring that the Schiit Bifrost is on during that process. That's a real pain if I decide I want to use the big system for YouTube, or the main music application, which is JRiver (Media Centre 35)

This does not happen with the Cambridge Audio DacMagic (for the Studio II). It is always there. This is probably because it runs off USB power, and so is always plugged in (it has no switch). It also has a dedicated driver installed.

The Bifrost uses UAC2 compliance, and does not need a specialised driver.

I tried the following solution (provided by a Google Ai search):
In the Device Manager:

• Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers
• Right-click on the USB Root Hub, select Properties, then the Power Management tab.
• Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
• Repeat this for all USB Root Hubs listed (I had 2)

That only worked once.

There must be many other people who intermittently use a different sound output that has to be powered on (to save electricity, stop components heating up etc).

How do I get Windows to remember the DAC?

I noticed Schiit recommends using a powered USB hub, to get around problems like this. Presumably because low USB power during sleep, or initial Windows boot causes the DAC to stop communicating. Windows can't have an "offline" audio device at boot time, so it will switch to the next available device.

Schiit Audio: Audio Products Made in USA

DAC Not Recognized/Disconnecting

1. You may have a low-power USB port. In their quest to save us from excess USB power consumption, Windows and MacOS can cause problems by selectively suspending operation and/or having only low power available from the USB port.

2. On PCs and Macs, you may be able to eliminate it by disabling port power management. See here:
How to disable Windows 10's 'USB selective suspend' setting and Mac User Guide

3. For all devices, a definitive solution is to use an externally powered USB 2.0 hub and insert it between your computer and your DAC. This provides power that an underpowered USB port cannot.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply Garlin. I guess that also fits with:
Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

I should probably also note that this used to happen on my now 10-year-old Toshiba laptop, which had Windows 10.

If I used an externally powered USB hub, I imagine it would have to be powered on all the time? I have an old HOOTOO USB-A hub that I can experiment with.

What it sounds like (no pun intended) is there's a race condition. Sometimes your DAC device doesn't finish initializing in time, after waking up from a low power state. I'd imagine it should work if you unplugged it, waited and plugged it back in. But that's very annoying for anyone.

The powered hub means the DAC would never find an excuse to shutdown on its own because the hub's own USB controller is always talking to it.

But hang on, I do want the DAC to shut down: if I'm finished using the high quality sound I power it all off.

Ok, a couple of tests with the DAC USB cable going into the powered USB hub:
First, I powered off the DAC and put the laptop to sleep, then woke it up. The DAC was still on the list (expected).
Second, I powered off the DAC and then restarted the laptop. The DAC was still on the list (and has previously always been missing after a laptop restart).

So using a powered USB hub appears to have solved the problem (I'll be convinced in a week though, because I thought I had it licked once before).

Thanks very much for your assistance garlin!