Can only hear voice, but not guitar, in Zoom guitar meetings

Hi Kevin, 

This is a classic case of overly aggressive noise suppression on your new laptop — the system is "helpfully" filtering out guitar frequencies because it thinks they're background noise. The fact that your old laptop works fine confirms it's not Zoom itself, but something specific to the new machine's audio stack. Here's how to fix it:

Disable Acer/Realtek AI Noise Cancellation (Most Likely Culprit)

New Acer laptops ship with aggressive AI audio processing that specifically targets non-voice sounds:

• Open Realtek Audio Console (search for it in Start)
• Look for "AI Noise Cancellation", "Voice Call Noise Removal", or "Smart Noise Suppression"
• Turn all of these OFF
• Also check for an Acer-specific audio app (like DTS Audio or Waves MaxxAudio) and disable any voice/call enhancement modes there too

Disable Windows 11 Audio Enhancements

Windows 11 adds its own layer of voice-focused filtering on top of the hardware:

• Go to Settings → System → Sound
• Under Input, click your microphone → Properties
• Find "Audio enhancements" or "Voice Focus" → set to Off
• Do the same under Output for your speakers/headphones

Do this while Zoom is open, then switch Zoom's audio input off and back on to force it to pick up the change.

Fix Zoom's Windows Audio Signal Processing

• Open Zoom → Settings → Audio → Advanced
• Find "Signal processing by Windows audio device drivers"
• Change from Auto → try "Off (Windows – Raw)" first
• If that doesn't work, try "On (Windows – Default)"
• This bypasses the processing layer that strips instrument frequencies

Confirm "Original Sound for Musicians" is Active During the Meeting

You mentioned you've set this up, but it's a two-step process that's easy to miss:

• Zoom → Settings → Audio → Enable "Show in-meeting option to Enable Original Sound" and set profile to "Music and Professional Audio"
• Then, during the meeting, look for the "Original Sound: Off" button at the top-left of the Zoom window and click it so it says "Original Sound: On"

 The setting in preferences just enables the button — you still have to activate it each meeting.

Also Turn Off Zoom's Own Noise Suppression

• Zoom → Settings → Audio
• Set "Suppress background noise" to "Disable" (not Low, Medium, or Auto — fully off)
• Uncheck "Automatically adjust microphone volume"

Hello ​@Kevin OBrien,

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