Thanks all for Your comments. Since we do local TV my Audio knowledge is sufficient for the tasks I have to do....
So I prepared several Media to explain the effect:
Audio-Keyframing works as it always did (Timeline from 17b8 with not working AudioDucking. The same timline in 17b7 works without any Audio-Keyframes....):

Here a small Video from
17b7 with working Audio Ducking:
http://www.margha.com/bmd/Ducking_17b7.mp4(The video isn't mine - just got it to work on)
In the Screenshots of the Dynamics-Editor You see in version 17b7 the side-chain-bar on the right is at -11dB and the Audio 1 at -32dB - as it should be. In the moment when Audio 2 (the voice over) is active Audio 1 has to be quiet. Works as intended.

Here now the same Video from the same timeline with the same parameters from
17b8 with
NOT working Audio Ducking:
http://www.margha.com/bmd/Ducking_17b8.mp4In the Screenshots of the Dynamics-Editor You see in version 17b8 the side-chain-bar on the right is at -11dB - as in 17b7 and the Audio 1 at -17dB. In the moment when Audio 2 (the voice over) is active Audio 1 in
NOT quiet although the side-chain should cause it to be quiet

You see here the much higher output-bar left to the side-chain-bar.
Therefore I think Audio-Ducking is broken in 17b8. Since it is much work in editing Audio with keyframes - what I did for 14 years now - I like the comfort of Audio Ducking and return to 17b7 until this is fixed.

Have a nice Sunday.
Josef
DaVinci Resolve 19.1 Studio on a HP Z 840 2xXeon 28Core, 128 GB RAM, 400 GB NVMe, 2x4 + 1x2 TB Media, RTX4060TI 16GB, 551.61 Studio, W11 for Workstations 24H2 - www.muehldorf-tv.de