linux_desktop_setup

Notes on Linux desktop setup

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Sound

Written for HP Omen laptop and Linux Mint 18

Remove clicking noise
How to use JACK with pulseaudio
Set up midi keyboard and sampler

Remove sound clicking

I had it from the very start or may be after power management adjustments.

Add to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

options snd-hda-intel power_save=10

For some reason I have this script that should be executed with sudo

hda-verb /dev/snd/hwC0D0 0x20 SET_COEF_INDEX 0x67
hda-verb /dev/snd/hwC0D0 0x20 SET_PROC_COEF 0x3000

But these days it’s all fine without it

JACK with PulseAudio

Problem arised when I switched to JACK as main audio server. JACK and PulseAudio both use ALSA on low-level and they block each other.
Recipe source on askubuntu

Install JACK and module to route PulseAudio to JACK

apt install jack jackd2 libjack-jackd2-dev pulseaudio-utils pulseaudio-module-jack

Configure qjackctl setup->options
script after startup

pactl load-module module-jack-sink
pactl load-module module-jack-source
pacmd set-default-sink jack_out

script before shutdown

pactl unload-module module-jack-sink
pactl unload-module module-jack-source

This way when you start jack server in qjackctl, pulseaudio will use it (but in player you have to pause/play).
And when you stop jack, pulseaudio will fall back to direct use of sound card instantly.

When playing audio, for example in Firefox, one should see

And last, to control volume use alsamixer

MIDI keyboard with sampler

Set MIDI driver seq in qjackctl parameters

Enable ALSA sequencer

Compile LinuxSampler with JACK, for that you’ll need

apt install libjack-jackd2-dev

Start JACK audio output channel in JSampler (LinuxSampler GUI)

Connect MIDI keyboard to LinuxSampler port and LinuxSampler to system like this

You can save configuration in JSampler as script and execute it directly in LinuxSampler.
Check here

Switch to headset mic

This is how to automatically switch the microphone on plug/unplug:

acpi_listen is the tool to detect when you plug/unplug the headset. This is what it detects:

jack/headphone HEADPHONE unplug
jack/headphone HEADPHONE plug

pulseaudio is where we can switch source ports

In my system to select headset microphone:

pacmd set-source-port alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo analog-input-headset-mic

To select internal microphone:

pacmd set-source-port alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo analog-input-internal-mic

You can use pacmd list-cards to get a list of sources names and ports names. You can also use the terminal auto-complete feature to help craft the commands. Now, let’s bring everything together:

Switch to root with sudo su and create the script /etc/acpi/headset-microphone.sh

#!/bin/sh
export PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH="/run/user/1000/pulse/"
if [ "$1" = plug ]; then
  sudo -u you -E pacmd set-source-port alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo analog-input-headset-mic
else
  sudo -u you -E pacmd set-source-port alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo analog-input-internal-mic
fi

be sure to:

change you to your username
replace the pulseaudio source and ports with your values
make the script executable, `chmod a+x /etc/acpi/headset-microphone.sh`

then create the event listener, creating a file ´/etc/acpi/events/headset-microphone-plug´:

event=jack/headphone HEADPHONE plug
action=/etc/acpi/headset-microphone.sh plug

and the unplug event listener, creating a file ´/etc/acpi/events/headset-microphone-unplug´:

event=jack/headphone HEADPHONE unplug
action=/etc/acpi/headset-microphone.sh unplug

and, as last thing, restart the acpi listening events service

systemctl restart acpid.service