If the user unplugs an HDMI monitor and plugs a different one in, and hence the X server turns off the output and re-enables it to cater for any required new display mode, would that force the audio client to close/re-open the audio device? I don't /think/ so. As such, I guess the ELD can change dynamically, so notification would be a good idea.

Hmm, if the user plugs/unplugs the cable, my understanding is that David Henningson's patches for jack detection would trap these events, and that would trigger reconfigurations of the audio server. If notifications are needed, that's fine with me, we can add them at a later stage. I don't have multiple monitors and would not be able to contribute anything on this anyway...I wanted to start small and make use the existing information is used properly by PulseAudio/others first. -Pierre