My Titanlfall 2 audio settings also showed 7.1 and unable to change them in-game, even though I have stereo speakers set as default device in the PC sound settings.( I do have a HDMI monitor connected to my laptop but it is not set as the default audio device and my system can output 7.1 over hdmi).
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I looked into this settings file you directed the OP to it already was set to "2". I changed the value to "1" and then sound worked again. Titanfall 2 audio settings in-game still say 7.1 with no option to change it in-game.
Anyway don't know what "1" means but at least I can play the game. Sound worked when I first installed the game but the second time I started the game it was not working. Thanks for the info.