ToxMox's Mic Freezer+

A Windows desktop application that prevents external applications from changing your audio device volumes. Perfect for streamers, content creators, and anyone who needs consistent audio levels.

Features

• Volume Freezing/Enforcement - Locks audio device volumes to prevent unwanted changes from other applications
• Real-time Audio Level Metering - Visual feedback with stereo peak level indicators for all devices
• Smart Popup Notifications - 4-phase throttling system prevents notification spam while keeping you informed
• Device Favorites - Organize your most-used devices with drag-and-drop for quick access
• System Tray Integration - Minimizes to tray with full-featured WPF context menu
• Automatic Device Handling - Seamlessly handles audio device changes without losing settings
• Pause/Resume Functionality - Temporarily disable volume enforcement with timed or manual resume
• Per-Device Volume Control - Individual volume sliders with 0dB reference markers
• Settings Persistence - All settings saved to Windows registry and restored on startup

System Requirements

• Windows 10.0.19041.0 or later
• .NET 9.0 (included in self-contained build)
• x64 architecture

Installation

Download Release

Download the latest release from the Releases page. The application is distributed as a single self-contained executable.

Build from Source

Prerequisites

• .NET 9.0 SDK
• Windows 10.0.19041.0 SDK or later
• Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code (optional)

Build Commands

# Debug build (for development)
dotnet build ToxMoxMicFreezer.App/ToxMoxMicFreezer.App.csproj -r win-x64

# Release build (self-contained single executable)
dotnet publish ToxMoxMicFreezer.App/ToxMoxMicFreezer.App.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true

Important: Always use the -r win-x64 flag to ensure proper Windows runtime targeting.

The release build output will be in: ./ToxMoxMicFreezer.App/bin/Release/net9.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-x64/publish/

Usage

Getting Started

1. Run ToxMoxMicFreezer.exe
2. The main window shows all your audio devices organized in tabs (Recording/Playback)
3. Click the Snowflake next to any device you want to freeze/monitor
4. Any external attempts to change the volume will be reverted and logged
5. Click the help icon in the top right of the app for instructions

System Tray

Right-click the system tray icon to access:

• Pause/Resume - Temporarily disable volume enforcement
  • Pause for 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes
  • Resume manually at any time
• Mute Popups - Control notification behavior
  • Mute for 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes
  • Mute until manually enabled
• Settings - Configure application behavior
  • Run at Windows startup
  • Minimize to tray on start
  • Start minimized
  • Enable/disable popup notifications
• Show/Hide - Toggle main window visibility
• Exit - Close the application

Shortcuts

• Double-click title bar - Maximize/restore window
• Click and drag volume bars - Adjust device volume when not frozen
• Single-click volume dB value text - Edit volume value directly
• Right-click volume bar - Set to 0dB

Device Organization

• Favorites Tab - Star your most-used devices for quick access
• Drag and Drop - Reorder devices within the favorites tab
• Auto-balancing - Devices automatically balance between left/right columns

Architecture

Technology Stack

• Framework: .NET 9.0 WPF application
• UI Framework: WPF-UI for modern controls and styling
• Audio Backend: NAudio with Windows Core Audio API (WASAPI)
• System Tray: H.NotifyIcon with pure WPF menus
• Notifications: Windows toast notifications via CommunityToolkit

Core Components

• Event-driven Architecture - Audio level monitoring uses WASAPI event callbacks for efficiency
• Modular Service Design - Specialized services handle different aspects of functionality
• State Machine - Device loading follows a predictable state progression
• Registry Persistence - All settings and device selections saved to Windows registry

Dependencies

• NAudio (2.2.1) - Audio device management and Core Audio API - Ms-PL License
• WPF-UI (4.0.2) - Modern WPF controls and styling - MIT License
• H.NotifyIcon.WPF (2.1.3) - System tray icon implementation - MIT License
• System.Drawing.Common (8.0.7) - Graphics support - MIT License
• CommunityToolkit.WinUI.Notifications (7.1.2) - Toast notifications - MIT License

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Copyright 2025 CrunchFocus LLC. See the NOTICE file for additional copyright information.

Third-Party Licenses

See THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md for licenses of included dependencies.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

About

ToxMox's Mic Freezer+ is developed by CrunchFocus LLC, the creators of OverMox, a realtime 3D effects engine for content creators.

Troubleshooting

Application won't start

• Ensure you have Windows 10.0.19041.0 or later
• Check Windows Event Viewer for error messages

Devices not appearing

• Make sure audio devices are enabled in Windows Sound settings
• Check that devices aren't disabled in Device Manager

Volume enforcement not working

• Ensure the device snowflake is checked (frozen)
• Check that the application isn't paused (banner at the top of the UI and system tray icon shows pause state)

High CPU usage

• This is typically caused by audio metering - try minimizing the window
• Switching tabs pauses metering for hidden devices

Support

For bug reports and feature requests, please use the Issues page.

Acknowledgments

This application was created largely with the assistance of AI technology, demonstrating the collaborative potential between human creativity and artificial intelligence in modern software development.