Field note · Windows 10 / 11 · October 2026
Equalizer APO cannot attach to Voicemeeter Input on 24H2, 25H2, or 26H2. Loudness Equalization on that same virtual device still runs. Voicemeeter and APO only share the chain on 23H2 Tiny11, with Windows updates stopped.
01 · Path
02 · Voicemeeter Input
This is the only Windows enhancement in the chain. Short release brings quiet passages up fast and lets loud hits recover instead of sitting ducked. It still runs on 24H2 and later, which is why it replaces APO here.
02 · Setup
Every Windows 10 and 11 build
One compressor, on Voicemeeter Input. Your Sound Device stays 24-bit 48 kHz PCM. Nothing in this profile asks Windows to attach Equalizer APO to the virtual cable.
Tested A1 value. About 5.3 ms at 48 kHz.
0 / 10
03 · 23H2
Windows 11 23H2, installed as Tiny11, plus the Chris Titus Tech tweak that stops Windows updates, is the setup that lets Voicemeeter and Equalizer APO work together. 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2 are the builds that block APO on Voicemeeter Input. Stopping updates is what keeps 23H2 from turning into that block overnight.
Confirm the ISO is 23H2 before you install. The Internet Archive item linked here is NTDEV’s Tiny11, and that page describes a 22H2 base. Do not take a feature update after it is in.
04 · Block
Voicemeeter Input is a virtual WDM endpoint, not a render device. On Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2, Equalizer APO’s Device Selector can show a yellow mark on it in every install mode. The box looks ticked. The preamp test is silent. Reinstalling does not put the APO in that stream.
25H2 is the same audio engine as 24H2. The block is still there on 26H2. Windows 10 and 23H2 still accept the virtual device — that is the 23H2 setup above, and it only lasts if updates are stopped.
LFX/GFX
Old pre-mix slot. 24H2 ignores it on this virtual device.
SFX/EFX
Normal Windows 10 and 11 slot. The preamp test still does nothing.
SFX/MFX
Post-mix. This is the mode people label SFX/MDF. The yellow mark stays.
05 · If you still want EQ
On 24H2 and later, install Equalizer APO on Your Sound Device, not on Voicemeeter Input. Try SFX/EFX, then SFX/MFX. Format must be 24-bit 48000 Hz. DTS:X steals the slot. Uncheck both exclusive boxes while you run the preamp test, then decide if games may bypass the curve.
On 24H2 and later, use this with the Loudness profile, not with DTS:X.
A plug-in on the Voicemeeter strip sits in the mixer, after Windows has already handed off the stream. 24H2 cannot unregister it. It keeps working when Your Sound Device’s format is DTS:X and when an app takes exclusive mode on that device.
This is the EQ that survives both profiles, on every build.
2026.txt · 23H2
Equalizer APO 1.4.2, instant mode, device Voicemeeter Input, 7.1 surround. Two ReaXcomp stages (Base Compression, then Additional), then three filters. This arms only when Windows still accepts APO on the VAIO, which is the 23H2 setup. ReaPlugs has to be at C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins\ReaPlugs\reaxcomp-standalone.dll.
Save it as C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config\2026.txt. The two name lines are comments so the editor does not reject them. Open that tab, or add Include: 2026.txt to config.txt.
06 · Known issues
If Voicemeeter Input is the Windows default playback device, Your Sound Device reverts to its default format at startup. The DTS decoder has to be enabled again every boot. Unbound will not stay on “Good to go” by itself.
Switch the playback device to Your Sound Device instead of Voicemeeter Input. The decoder stays armed across restarts. Apps follow Your Sound Device directly, so point a program at the VAIO only when that program should pass through Banana.
Leave the LG ULTRAGEAR+ as Ready. If the monitor becomes default, Your Sound Device goes quiet.