Headphone output volume starts silent then increases to set level

[Matthew_J_White]

I don't know if this is an HP, Realtek or Windows 11 thing but I do know it's very annoying...

When audio hasn't been played for at least a few seconds then audio is played, the volume from the headphone jack starts off from silent then gradually increases over a few seconds until it reaches the set level, I suspect it may be a feature rather than a bug to protect ones ears if volume is high so you don't get a sudden blast, however, I find it very annoying as I often miss the sound at the beginning of YouTube videos and other content and have to go back to the start once the volume has reached the set level to hear what I missed.

I can't find anything online about this except for one person mentioning the same thing happening, all drivers are up to date, trouble shooters come up with no problems found and none of the available settings I've tried changing have made a difference.

It would be great if someone could shed some definitive light on why it does this and whether it's a Windows, HP or Realtek thing, even greater if someone knows a way to make the audio come through at the set volume from the very start, I really don't need or want it to behave this way.