A1
defEars A1 Input
defEars A1 Output
v1.2 — Mixer sliders, diagnostics, easier bus changes
Up to ten virtual cables.
Zero audio chaos.
Free Windows audio routing by Deffy Urz.
Choose 4, 6, 8, or 10 paired buses during install (default 6). Route microphones, browsers, Discord, OBS, and monitoring chains through clean isolated lanes.
v1.2 · Windows 10 / 11
defEars Setup
v1.2
Paired Buses · 6-line default
- A1 In · Out
- B2 In · Out
- C3 In · Out
- D4 In · Out
- E5 In · Out
- F6 In · Out
- G7–H8 (8-line) or Y9–Z10 (10-line) selectable at install
Driver installed · 12 endpoints (6-line mode)
A1–F6
What it does
defEars creates clean audio lanes for Windows. Route any source — a mic, app, or browser — into a defEars Input, then pipe that signal out to OBS, Discord, a recorder, or your monitors.
Sources
Mic · App · Browser
defEars Bus
Input → Output
Destinations
OBS · Discord · Monitor
A virtual cable does not play audio by itself. It routes audio between endpoints.
Zero latency routing
Kernel-level virtual cables pass audio between endpoints with minimal overhead — no buffer copies, no extra processes.
Independent lanes
Each bus is fully isolated — no crosstalk between lanes. Route Discord on A1 while monitoring on D4 without interference.
You pick the count
Install with 4, 6, 8, or 10 buses. Start with 6 (default) and change the count anytime with a single command — no driver rebuild or full reinstall needed.
Choose your buses
Each bus exposes a paired Input and Output endpoint. Select 4, 6, 8, or 10 lines during installation — default is 6. In Windows audio tools, each endpoint appears as a stable named device.
Lines:
12 endpoints
B2
defEars B2 Input
defEars B2 Output
C3
defEars C3 Input
defEars C3 Output
D4
defEars D4 Input
defEars D4 Output
E5
defEars E5 Input
defEars E5 Output
F6
defEars F6 Input
defEars F6 Output
Built for creator routing
Up to ten lanes (A1–Z10) give you flexible routing — clean separation for the setups creators actually run. Choose 4, 6, 8, or 10 lines at install time.
Discord voice routing
Send your mic to Discord on one bus while keeping game audio on another — no more shared loops.
OBS scene audio control
Split mic, music, browser, and chat into separate buses so each OBS scene can mix exactly what it needs.
Browser audio isolation
Pipe a single browser tab into its own bus for recording or streaming without capturing the whole desktop.
Microphone monitoring
Monitor your own mic through a dedicated bus to catch clipping and noise before it hits the stream.
Dual-account / dual-app
Run two Discord accounts or two browsers and keep each one's audio on its own lane. No crosstalk.
Audio Repeater chains
Stack repeaters across buses to build monitoring chains, submixes, and parallel recording feeds.
Clean testing lanes
Reserve a bus for stream tests and dry runs so experiments never bleed into your live mix.
Setup, in plain English
A virtual cable doesn't play audio — it routes audio between endpoints. Here's a two-Repeater example using the D4 bus.
1
Repeater 1 — Mic into the cable
Wave in
Headset Microphone
Wave out
defEars D4 Input (VAC)
2
Repeater 2 — Cable back to speakers
Wave in
defEars D4 Output (VAC)
Wave out
Headset / Speakers
Remember: the cable itself is silent. Repeater 1 pushes your mic into the D4 bus; Repeater 2 pulls D4 back out to your headphones. Point OBS or Discord at defEars D4 Output (VAC) to capture that lane.
Patch Notes
What changed and why it matters — in plain English.
v1.2
Latest update
Mixer sliders actually work now
Before, the Windows volume mixer showed sliders for each defEars endpoint but they didn't do anything when you moved them. Now the driver talks back to Windows properly — the sliders move, the values save, and Windows is happy. The audio itself still passes through at full volume (just like VB-CABLE), but the UI is no longer broken.
New diagnostic tool: defearsctl
Think of it like a health check for defEars. Open a terminal, run defearsctl.ps1, and it tells you: Is the driver installed? Are the endpoints showing up? What bus count is active? Is the service running? You can even get the output as JSON for automation. No more guessing what's wrong.
Change bus count without nuking everything
Previously, if you installed with 6 buses and wanted 8, you had to fully uninstall, then reinstall from scratch. Now you just run change-bus-count.ps1 -BusCount 8 and it updates the registry, restarts the device, and refreshes the endpoints. Takes about 10 seconds instead of 5 minutes.
Smarter uninstaller
When you uninstall defEars, the uninstaller now asks: "Hey, you had test signing enabled for this — want me to turn it off?" If you say yes, it runs bcdedit /set testsigning off for you and reminds you to re-enable Secure Boot. No more forgetting to clean up.
v1.1
Feature Complete
10-bus table-driven architecture, SPSC lock-free ring buffers, PortCLS wave cyclic miniport pairs, Inno Setup installer with visual bus selector, distributable pre-signed path, interactive website with bus selector. This was the first "real" release — the driver installed, endpoints appeared, and audio routed correctly.
v1.0
Initial prototype
Single-bus virtual audio cable proof-of-concept. Basic ring buffer, PortCLS registration, INF installation. No installer UI — you had to run pnputil commands by hand. It worked, but barely.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about defEars, test signing, and audio routing.
What is a virtual audio cable?
A virtual audio cable is a software audio device that routes audio between applications. It doesn't play sound by itself — it acts as a pipe. You send audio into one end (the Input endpoint) and pull it out the other end (the Output endpoint) using an Audio Repeater or directly from an app like OBS or Discord.
Why does defEars require test signing mode?
defEars uses a self-signed test certificate, not a Microsoft production signature. Windows only loads kernel drivers that are production-signed or test-signed. Enabling test signing mode requires disabling Secure Boot in your BIOS/UEFI. A publicly signed release with Microsoft attestation is planned.
How do I route audio with defEars?
Use two Audio Repeaters: Repeater 1 sends your source (e.g., microphone) into a defEars Input endpoint. Repeater 2 pulls from the matching defEars Output endpoint to your destination (e.g., speakers, OBS, Discord). Each bus (A1–Z10) is a separate independent cable — no crosstalk between lanes.
Can I change the number of buses after install?
Yes. Run change-bus-count.ps1 -BusCount 8 or the defEars installer again and select a different bus count (4, 6, 8, or 10). The registry updates and the driver rebinds — no full uninstall needed. Endpoints will update after a brief device refresh.
What audio format does defEars use?
defEars uses 48 kHz, 16-bit, stereo PCM by default. The INF file defines registry entries for SampleRate, BitsPerSample, and Channels, allowing future runtime configuration. The ring buffer is sized at 200 ms by default (configurable via RingBufferMs in the registry).
How do I uninstall defEars and restore my system?
Run the uninstaller from the defEars program group or use uninstall-dev.ps1. This removes only defEars — no other audio devices are touched.
After uninstalling, the uninstaller will offer to disable test signing mode. Re-enable Secure Boot in your BIOS/UEFI for full security, then reboot.
Is defEars safe to use?
defEars is provided "as is" without warranty. The test-signed driver has been verified to install and route audio correctly. However, test signing mode lowers Windows kernel security by allowing any test-signed driver to load — not just defEars. If you are uncomfortable with this, wait for the publicly signed release.
Will defEars break my Steam games or anti-cheat?
Yes — this is an important limitation. defEars requires Windows test signing mode, which disables Driver Signature Enforcement. Anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), BattlEye, and Ricochet detect this and will refuse to launch protected games.
Affected games include but are not limited to: Rust, Apex Legends, Fortnite, VRChat (EAC mode), Halo Infinite, The Finals, Hunt: Showdown, and many others.
To fix this: Uninstall defEars and disable test signing by running bcdedit /set testsigning off as Administrator, then reboot. Your games will work again. You can re-enable defEars later by re-running the installer (which re-enables test signing and requires another reboot).
You cannot run defEars and EAC-protected games at the same time. This will not change until the driver receives proper Microsoft production signing.
Troubleshooting
Common issues and how to fix them.
Driver won't load (Code 52)
This is a signature issue. Ensure test signing is enabled: run bcdedit /set testsigning on as Administrator and reboot. Verify Secure Boot is disabled in your BIOS/UEFI. Re-run the installer after reboot.
Installer keeps asking to reboot (test signing won't stick)
If the installer enables test signing, asks you to reboot, and then after rebooting test signing is still off — Secure Boot is still enabled in your BIOS/UEFI. When Secure Boot is on, Windows silently ignores the bcdedit /set testsigning on command on every boot.
Fix: Reboot into your BIOS/UEFI settings (usually press Del, F2, F12, or Esc during boot). Find Secure Boot (usually under Security or Boot settings) and disable it. Save, exit, boot into Windows, and run the installer again.
Endpoints don't appear after install
The Audio Endpoint Builder may need a moment to enumerate new devices. Wait 30 seconds, then check Sound settings. If still missing, run defearsctl.ps1 to verify device and endpoint status. A reboot may be required on first install.
No audio flows through the cable
A virtual cable is silent by itself — it routes audio, it doesn't produce it. You need an Audio Repeater (or two) to move audio between your source, the cable, and your destination. See the Setup Guide above for a complete two-Repeater example.
Changed bus count but old endpoints remain
The Audio Endpoint Builder caches endpoint names. Restart the AudioEndpointBuilder and Audiosrv services, or simply reboot. The installer attempts this automatically but a manual refresh may be needed.
Antivirus flags the installer or driver
This is expected for unsigned/test-signed drivers. SmartScreen and antivirus software may flag the installer as unrecognized. You can safely allow the installer if you downloaded it from the official source. This will not occur once the driver receives Microsoft attestation signing.
Steam games won't launch (Easy Anti-Cheat error)
This is caused by test signing mode, which defEars requires. Anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), BattlEye, and Ricochet refuse to run when Driver Signature Enforcement is disabled.
Fix: Uninstall defEars, then run bcdedit /set testsigning off as Administrator and reboot. Your games will work again.
You cannot use defEars and play EAC-protected games simultaneously. This is a fundamental limitation of test-signed drivers.
Feature Complete
Status & release note
defEars v1.2 is Feature Complete with working mixer sliders, a diagnostic CLI tool, and easier bus count changes. The driver installs, endpoints appear for your selected line count, and routing works. Public release readiness depends on production-grade driver signing.
Driver installs
Installs and loads on test systems.
Endpoints appear
Endpoints appear for your selected configuration (4, 6, 8, or 10 lines).
Routing works
Audio flows cleanly across repeater chains.
Pending signing
Public release awaits production driver signing.
defEars v1.2 has not yet received public Microsoft driver signing. Do not deploy on production-critical systems until the signed public installer is released.
Get defEars v1.2
4, 6, 8, or 10 buses. Up to twenty endpoints.
Created by Deffy Urz.
Free to use. Windows 10 / 11.
Built for creators tired of wrestling with audio routing.