@Spork , could you please give me hints why can’t get / hear output on headphone:
my settings are below, can you try it with your machine and help me with? 
THXTHX
… we’ll check. Bluetooth or 3.5 mm headphone jack?
Thank you,
Michael.
wired one into the 3.5 jack socket on the left side
Oh, I think I found the problem. To recognize the External Headphone port, headphones have to be plugged in before running VSTLive. If you don’t do that macOS won’t show that port in the first place and in consequence VL cannot see it. The remedy for this: do a rescan of your audio devices. The External Headphones should show up afterwards (if plugged in) - at least that’s happening here. 
@Kai_Schwirzke ! Thaaaank you! (shame on me) you’re right that solved.
However @Spork , @musicullum and I have history with that despite of all my previous and current computers could have done such. Is that “zzzzz”… now I clicked “reset audio” (just a laptop, and a 3.5headphone)…
One of my outputs got saturated “zzzzzzz” at the moment of reseted audio:
That problem has a 3yr history and caused me fatal and loud “zzzzz” 's any any case of device loss/interruptions in the last 3 yrs
Oh sh… I have an idea @musicullum … it’s just a thought…
what if… what if… at fallback/reset/whatever… something internal loopback is triggered through the fallback mechanism with virtual-audio-ports?
Can / could I somehow forbid virtual audio ports for a few days, weeks testing period?
What do you mean? Sure complex virtual audio “cables” routing may lead to loop/feedback, if you want to exclude that, just remove those connections, or?
@musicullum you have the right question, I don’t have the right anwer. Its just a feeling… somehow… (and mentioned this a few times… at audio-reset / swtiching / whatever… the fallback mechanism might replace physical-connections to virtual-ones… meanwhile at “zzzzzz”-s they finally come out from physical…) so it’s just like… I can’t tell you, sorry.
I explained this problem - last say 2 yrs - in different ways, different computers, scenarios, situation. A steady “loopabkish zzzzzz” phenomeon just happened right today at clicking “reset audio” for “getting earphone out” up.
And now… checking my connections, reset-audio quickly replaced inputs to virtual-ins… and thats why had this idea today. I’m sorry can’t give more hints.
I can’t forbid VL to be able use them. I can’t opt-out / disable VL’s VirtualAudio. But if that isn’t the culrpit … for 1000%… then no need for that. One thing sure, the"zzzz" problem isn’t WIN or MAC specific and never was.
I strongly vote for not automatically replacing formerly physical in/outs, be they audio or MIDI, with virtual ports unless the user consents to this via options. I don’t see the benefits of the current behavior as it can obviously lead to instantaneous havoc … 
That is a different issue we’ll be adressing soon.
What do you mean by “fallback”?
If you talk about Connections, as always, if you ever used a Virtual Audio/MIDI port in one of the connections, it will remember that. If a connection can not be found, it will use the most recent one in the list of assigned ports.
Just check Connections if there are any Virtual ports you don’t use?
This looks more like a Send problem to me, though. Song Group Sends again maybe?
but I never ever used… (and despite fallbacks (in case of loss, no input, etc…) to virtual sometimes)
That would be a newbie. Unless the physical input is no longer applicable.
reported in the last two… or even more years, you did your best effort a couple of times with “did something, try out next version”. So absolutely no blaming, or so, just want to kill this bastard “zzzzz” bug for good
Maybe it’s not clear: if there are no virtual ports in the right column of “Connections”, none can be used by VST Live. It never creates such “cables” internally.
You might think…. VL “loves” fallback and fill connection to virtual, … I personally accepted live with, but for eg in the example above
I never ever set it to vAudio, but fallback-ed to vAudio. Does my explanation makes sense?
found public forum threads regarding - mostly between us - from 2024, 2025… this comes up sometimes then we both and probably we all need to move on…
again: I can handle this fallback mechanism, but the “zzzzz” … I would like to catch that fish and serve it as fisch&chips on a plate 
Sorry, don’t understand what it is supoposed to show. Are there Virtual ports in your connections?
@musicullum You’re right, img not showing the connections, showin the steady “zzzzz” on FELI-IEM(out)
Putting on timeline for clear understanding:
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No sound on my laptop’s headphone-out (asked community for hints/“hilfe”)
-
@Kai_Schwirzke gave me the hint to reset audio
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did “reset audio”
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“zzzzzz” introduced on "FELI-IEM(out) / visible on screenshot /
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Checked connections and again the two first inputs were “fallback-replaced” to vAudio-IN (again. Saying “again”, because used to clean up vAudio’s (to “nc”), but never ever setting/using vAudio… for me it’s just an annoying thing in VL that “wants to offer itself time to time”)
5.a note: I have never ever set vAudio as input (not on my “new laptop”, not on my “live-project”) -
then were thinking (.here.) and writing you: what if that fallback mechanism is causing a stucking loop of last sample that is played back on output. However that might be a completely stupid thought from me… but as we can’t catch “zzzzzz” fish since 2024… I need to continue thinking.
Better explanation?
Setting to nc does not “clean up” a connection.
Try to select any port under “DEVICE” with ctrl pressed, it will offer to remove all stored connections. Set the port that you want. As long as that port is available, it will not “fall back”. When you leave VST Live without issues, that setting is stored.
Note that connections are stored in projects as well, so after loading a project, you may need to apply the same procedure. VST Live does not “fall back” unless either a) the Virtual Port had ever been selected for that connection or b) no physical port is available which was stored in the connection.
VST Live remembers each port for a given connection when the app is closed locally, and when saving a project persistently. The order is last used first searched; will check if we can move virtual connections to always be last.
In addition, MIDI IN 1 and MIDI In2 as well as MAIN (Main Audio Output) are remembered locally as default connections.
Hope that helps.