USB Audio cuts out

[wrong_turn]

I should be able to do this having being building my own pcs since the early 90s.

I use a soundbar which has always been connected via vy TV, using HDMI an and optical cable. Not ideal as the TV only transmits 2.0, but the woofer on the 2.1 soundbar makes up for it well enough.

The optical just "broke" the other day. It's always had a dodgy connection but as it was 5pm in a sleepy backwater, I came up with two options. Either a new optical cable (not sure if these just break, especially it there's a blinding red light coming out of it) or USB audio.

I've tried USB audio in the past and it really lagged but it was half the price of the optical cable so I gave it a go. Ten minutes later it was plugged in and working fine, no apparent lag.

Any ideas how to stop Win 10 from switching it off?? I've found the power settings but no equivalent to Win 7's "turn off this device to save power". There is a weird power setting that seems to make no difference.

I wish I hadn't thrown my 20-year old Soundblaster last year...

[Jinx]

I assume you have been in the advanced power settings of the power plan? Specifically setting the "USB settings: USB selective suspend setting: setting: Disabled" ?
Have you also disabled all other sound devices?