Voicemeeter slow on startup (Win11)

I have a fair amount (but not excessive) of apps starting with windows startup. Unfortunately voicemeeter always seems to be one of, if not the last app to start. My PC is not absolutely bleeding edge, but reasonable specs (5900x, 16gb 3600MTS). Generally it's around 40 seconds to a minute before Voicemeeter loads and I get any sound (I can open firefox, browse to a video and watch the first 30 odd seconds before VM opens and I get sound). I thought I'd miscounfigured something, but fairly recently I did a fresh install and still have the same issue on the fresh install (ensuring VM was the first app I installed in case that made a difference). Does anyone else experience this, or does anyone have any tips for me? It works great once it's loaded!

Startup apps if relevant.

https://preview.redd.it/qvrqon8cojwd1.png?width=814&format=png&auto=webp&s=2988a700d27438408bc4ea7723b7deecde89974d