Persistent / lockable channel balance (keep an off-center balance across restarts) #410

Two users have asked, independently, for the channel balance to stay where they put it.

Use case A — permanent off-center balance. A user who is deaf in the right ear sets the balance hard left, but it moves back on its own, so the setting has to be redone. Dedicated "volume lock" utilities solve this, but are clumsier to use than Volume².

Use case B — remember balance across reboots. A second user asks whether the balance can simply be remembered, so that it survives a restart instead of resetting.

Proposal

A "Lock balance" option that:

• holds the balance at whatever position the user chose, not only 50/50;
• persists that position across program restarts, system reboots, and device switches.

Related issues

• Заморозка баланса на 50%?.. #317 — freeze balance at 50% (closed)
• Channel balance resets to L after switching from another audio device and unmuting #328 — channel balance resets to L after switching device and unmuting (closed)
• Right-Click Balance Reset Not Persisting #360 — right-click balance reset not persisting (closed)

Those cover resetting or holding the balance at center; none covers holding an arbitrary balance permanently.

Collected from support email, September 2025 and September 2026.