I’ve been using Cubase since V11 and I never had this problem till I upgraded to V14 month ago. Now on my laptop it randomly switches from headphone output to speakers in Studio Setup. I have to keep switching it back to headphones and then at random it switches back to speakers.
Does anyone know why this happens and how I can prevent it?
Since Cubase itself does not have an option to chose between phones and speakers in Studio Setup I assume you are looking at a control panel of your selected ASIO driver.
Which ASIO device are you using?
Yes that’s where I’m looking and its in here that it switches from headphones to speakers randomly. I’m using the “built in audio” ASIO driver.
Is this Mac or Windows?
On Windows, depending on the audio chip that handles your audio output jack, it could be that the audio chip has its own little software that tries to detect whether a pair of headphones are attached or not. The problem could lie outside of Cubase.
I’m on mac. All I can say is that it never happened before I upgraded to V14. It doesn’t happen with any other app that uses the audio outs, quick time, youtube etc… etc… they are all totally solid in terms of audio outputs.
Sorry, I don’t know my way around the Mac too much. Hopefully some Mac user might be able to shed some light on this.
Hi - what you mean “built-in audio” ASIO driver on Mac? There is no ASIO driver on MacOS, it would the audio device enumerated by core audio.
For “build-in audio” you mean you’re using the build-in audio hardware on whatever Mac you’ve got?
EDIT: Maybe a screen shot of what you’re describing would help.
Ah, the text label, yeah. Not sure why they use that term on MacOS when it doesn’t exist. But good, when you said “built-in audio ASIO driver” I thought were saying your actual driver was “ASIO.”
So where is this “speaker” vs “headphone” you’re talking bout in Studio Setup? MacOS supports both an “external headphones” audio device distinct from “built-in speakers” at the OS level but only when headphones are plugged in does that separate audio channel option appear. In a DAW, the “build-in audio” automatically switches between speaker and headphones when you plug in headphones. That’s a hardware feature, not a DAW feature.
Can you give a screenshot of what you’re talking about with “randomly switches from headphone output to speakers in Studio Setup?”
Here the control panel. You can see I have selected headphones. Usually it selects headphones automatically when I have them plugged in. Sometimes it doesn’t and I have to do it manually. But either way, once headphones are selected, it plays through the headphones. The problem is that it randomly switches back to speakers while I’m working in Cubase. This never happened once in Cubase 11, 12 or 13, but it started happening as soon as I upgraded to Cubase 14.
OK, thanks - sorry for all the questions but it wasn’t clear where you were selecting what. The “control panel” for the associated device is different than “Studio Setup” but I get why it was phrased like that.
So when it randomly switches back to speakers, does Control Panel then show that the device connected is “MacBook Pro Speakers” in that box? I’m wondering if the fact you have Build-in Audio Input and Output at 48k but the external headphones at 96k has something to do with it base on what your project sample rate is.
Not that it’s related, but is there a reason your buffer is set to 2k? Just curious as that’s rather large.
I had this issue at some point, more than once. The reason was just Mac being Mac aka random issues with USB. It was just disconnecting my audio interface and connecting it again what was reflected in Cubase.
I don’t remember how and if I even fixed it. It seems to come for a day or two every several months and then go away again.
Addendum: I had to think to make sure this is accurate, and I’m pretty confident that I travelled or used built-in audio on C12, C13, and C14 over 2 MBPs. I’m not positive about 12 though. Both M model, though. I’m certain in all cases my sample rate always matched with built-in inputs and both speaker/headphone. I never experienced a random swap, so I never had cause to see what the OS was doing (or in Control Panel applet via Setup).
My built-in use was sporadic, though. I never used the built-in speakers for any real work, for what that’s worth. I’m presuming you’re at least on Ventura; that may make a difference here as well.
No problem, I appreciate you trying to help. Yes the control panel does show the devices is “MacBook Pro Speakers” in the box. I switch it back to headphones in that same box. Then at random it switches back to speakers and that will appear as such in the box.
I have my buffer set to 2k because I use Cubase for creating soundscapes during live performances and that means lots of parallel processing with CPU hungry effects. Hence the large buffer. I tend to switch it back to a lower setting when I’m using Cubase for mixing or composing.
Yes I am on ventura on an M2 laptop.
Got it on the 2k buffer - more curiosity than anything else 
If you set the sample rate on all built-in devices to the same (to match your project) does it still switch?
If going back into Control Panel still shows the “external headphones” as an option, then that doesn’t sound like a “hardware” issue where your cans or the jack is just loose or malfunctioning.
If you keep the headphones plugged in all the time, I’m also wondering if unchecking the “automatic” selection would help. I’d try both things, but I’m equally interested in each outcome
t
