No audio playback: can not set buffer size in the audio preferences

I just updated to "MuseScore Studio 4.4" (full info see below).

The playback doesn't start. The vertical bar stays at the same position. In the preferences tab "Audio & MIDI" the "Audio device" is set to "System default" but the "Buffer size" is empty. When selecting one of the options the field stays empty. I already tried a reset to factory settings. The OS (Windows 11) won't show MuseScore as an app in the sound settings, except for the following examples.

Audio playback works when:
Example 1:
- Select any other audio device that is not the sound card "Sound Blaster AE-7". I connected my TV for this test. Restart MuseScore. The buffer size 1024 is automatically selected and the playback works.

Example 2:
- Disable "direct mode" in the settings of the sound card. But this will disable all functionality the sound card offers, like equalizer, crystalizer, smart volume control and so on.

Both examples are not a solution, because the TV has another purpose and disabling the Direct Mode means "Just don't use your expensive sound card with all its functions or connected audio devices".

I rather use MuseScore in my current setup with a fully working audio playback. Is there a real solution for this or will there be a bugfix in the future?

By the way: MuseScore3 and a Sound Blaster ZxR sound card worked well together. When I switched to Sound Blaster AE-7 it did not work any more (at this time I didn't know about the Direct Mode so I can't tell if it would have made any difference).

OS: Windows 11 Version 2009 or later, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.4.0-242390800, revision: 0fcd11b