Pulse Audio-Will not allow playback simultaneously multiple outputs

[MOE-LARRY&CURLY]

Running latest vers of Mint/cinn (as of this post 7/28/24). I have Pulse Audio, Pulse volume control installed. There is so ALSA software that came with distro that I can't really figure to access. I have no soundcard as audio is run through motherboard. (iMac 12,1) 5 speakers wanted to play at same time: internal left and right, powered sub plugged into headphone jack (there is also a output jack next to it but have no luck using it) and 2 powered M-Audio's through an Avid MBOX Mini interface connected via usb. I had this sort of working before on Zorin although having the said pulse software plus Pulse effects, Pulse Prefs but it was not very stable, could not save setup. I can get output from each speaker but not all at once. Is there a way to enable/disable any options in the Pulse Audio script, forcing? I've seen lots of command line tweaks others have used for various reasons but solving issues. I believe I am in a kind of specific and special area per my hardware/set up. Any advise or instruction is much appreciated!!!

 

[Condobloke]

• PulseAudio:
  pactl list
  
  
• ALSA:
  aplay -l

The commands in bold will tell you whether pulse audio is installed and also if Alsa is installed. Basically if you get a screen full of print....they are installed.
Both will give an error if the sound system is not running. ALSA will be loaded with the kernel (Linux Mint has this)

Then....in terminal, type in the below:

alsamixer

Then follow the following instructions:

ALSAMIXER
Use the right and left arrow keys to navigate through the sliders.

At the bottom of each slider you see either 00 or MM. Toggle these with the M key. MM means muted, 00 is enabled.

Use the up and down arrow keys or the Page Up/Page Down keys to control the sliders. Page Up/Page Down move the sliders in increments of five, and the End key resets to zero. When there are two channels controlled by one slider, Q increases the left channel and Z decreases. E increases the right channel, and C decreases.

Press F2 to see all the system information on your sound cards. If you have more than one sound card press F6 to display a sound card chooser.

To exit from this simply tap the esc key on your keyboard

Following this, go to Software Manager and type in alsa...hit enter....look for GStreamer1.0-alsa .....install it.

GStreamer is a streaming media framework, based on graphs of filters which operate on media data. Applications using this library can do anything from real-time sound processing to playing videos, and just about anything else media-related. Its plugin-based architecture means that new data types or processing capabilities can be added simply by installing new plug-ins.
This package contains the GStreamer plugin for the ALSA library. ALSA is the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture.

Hopefully this will get you up and running.

 

[MOE-LARRY&CURLY]

• PulseAudio:
  pactl list
  
  
• ALSA:
  aplay -l

The commands in bold will tell you whether pulse audio is installed and also if Alsa is installed. Basically if you get a screen full of print....they are installed.
Both will give an error if the sound system is not running. ALSA will be loaded with the kernel (Linux Mint has this)

Then....in terminal, type in the below:

alsamixer

Then follow the following instructions:

ALSAMIXER
Use the right and left arrow keys to navigate through the sliders.

At the bottom of each slider you see either 00 or MM. Toggle these with the M key. MM means muted, 00 is enabled.

Use the up and down arrow keys or the Page Up/Page Down keys to control the sliders. Page Up/Page Down move the sliders in increments of five, and the End key resets to zero. When there are two channels controlled by one slider, Q increases the left channel and Z decreases. E increases the right channel, and C decreases.

Press F2 to see all the system information on your sound cards. If you have more than one sound card press F6 to display a sound card chooser.

To exit from this simply tap the esc key on your keyboard

Following this, go to Software Manager and type in alsa...hit enter....look for GStreamer1.0-alsa .....install it.

GStreamer is a streaming media framework, based on graphs of filters which operate on media data. Applications using this library can do anything from real-time sound processing to playing videos, and just about anything else media-related. Its plugin-based architecture means that new data types or processing capabilities can be added simply by installing new plug-ins.
This package contains the GStreamer plugin for the ALSA library. ALSA is the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture.

Hopefully this will get you up and running.

Thank you for reaching out, unfortunately While in the alsa mixer it looks as everything should work, but in pulse not so much. Is pulse in the way or a conflict? I do not have any sound cards. I will add some screenshots of more info in my main post. Hopefully this can narrow it down and help me figure this out.

 

[Condobloke]

Do you have 'Pulse Effects' installed ?

It will be in Software Manager....just type it in there and if it has a tick beside it...it is installed.

Type it into the menu and it will show. If you have altered settings in there, you may do well to uninstall it and then install it again

If it is not installed at all....install it. allow it to use its default settings

 

[Egzoset]

Once in a while the CLI maniacs actually prove most useful to the rest of Linux users:

https:// wiki . archlinux . org/title/PulseAudio/Examples#Simultaneous_HDMI_and_analog_output​

PulseAudio/Examples​

I happen to have Zorin 17.1 ready to boot LIVE on my YUMi-exFAT external USB unit and this command added the desired device instantly:

pactl load-module module-combine-sink

​

Tested on my permanent Dull NoteBook MX setup as well, though an issue with out-of-phase delay still exists.

Yet my guess is the following section can help with such difficulty too:

6.1 Alternative solution using module-loopback with delay compensation​

 

[MOE-LARRY&CURLY]

Thank you both. These things are def time consuming. I will try some of these out, I had effects before but couldnt save settings, and everytime I switched from one website to another and also with dif appsmedia players I would have to change settings. I think it was a conflict of software. like pulse volume, effects and the system sound itself through the os. Then theres my hardware... On a side note, Any ideas why VLC works sometimes and others crashes or I hear sound but very dark picture... Thanks again!

 

[Egzoset]

These things are def time consuming.

It's been over 6 hours of machine petting for me, but i had to address this particular need anyway.

...couldnt save settings...

That too...

Any ideas why VLC works sometimes and others crashes...

There's a slogan of mine: « Fix once, Break many », or vice-versa. That means contributors come up with neat solutions just like 'paprefs' where we only had to reach the right tab and click a box - no more and now a zillion users wanting a very same feature must be slaves to the CLI, trying to type long magic spells without a single typo! Etc. Idem for 2+ decades-old VLC which doesn't even crash graciously while i also noticed a spin-dependent difference. Too bad 1 single Linux flavour won't accomodate all expectations! But it's free, except in some cases as for Ubuntu/XUbuntu which now sells premium options nonetheless... Etc., etc.

All the sudden i feel reminded of "a ghost in the machine"!

 

[Egzoset]

Update:

Using LM22 Cinnamon i'm glad to report it's now supporting both my bone conduction earphone plus an in-ear unit, which sort of brings deep bass mixed with clear sound (2 BT devices). So far delay issues been marginal but web browsing may happen to cause brief interruptions, go figure!. Yet this may suffice i hope in allowing dual user TV viewing and/or perhaps even vintage game playing (if it's only the old Mario Bros, etc). Interruptions could also result from a crowded RF bandwith calling for BT updates/upgrades, euh... It's only been a few minutes, i'll know better after long-term testing with some background perspective, but at least the CLI worked. Further comparisons remain to be done! Euh... Woups! Both BT devices disconnected, that bit of short-lived progress enjoyment i shall say; maybe i need a bigger my Dull NoteBook or else. Que sera, sera.

Good day, have fun!!