I now have two systems with creativeLabs, and never have any trouble with them.
Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus
- Thread starter dos2unix
- Start date
I now have two systems with creativeLabs, and never have any trouble with them.
Can confirm now that current versions of Linux really are not compatible with 5.1 analog output using Creative hardware. There are serious mapping issues. Still googling for an option, but optical out might be the only viable option, but that has more limited up mixing constraints on the center channel.
It works for me.
Fasterghost had it right, but I had a lot of trouble figuring out the steps to make it work since I am so new to Linux and since SoundBlaster doesn't work correctly out of the box.
So you want to go to your home directory and make sure you select show hidden files (usually by right clicking on the mouse).
A folder will appear called .config, go in there.
If a pipewire folder does not appear, right click and create a new folder called pipewire
Go into that folder and create a new folder called pipewire.conf.d
Go into that folder and create a new file called 10-remap.conf, copy and paste the code for remapping, save the file, go into the terminal and type reboot.
When the system comes back up, find sound from the main menu and you should see a new Device called 5.1 Remapped in Output. Select that and you can test and the test should actually work correctly now. Youtube isn't a good source for testing, but Fraunhoffer seems to offer audio files that can be used to verify everything is working via Firefox if you want.
I'll do more testing later, but this seems to have done the trick until pipewire makes additional updates to their default 5.1 mapping for SoundBlaster AE legacy devices (i.e., non-Pro).
So you want to go to your home directory and make sure you select show hidden files (usually by right clicking on the mouse).
A folder will appear called .config, go in there.
If a pipewire folder does not appear, right click and create a new folder called pipewire
Go into that folder and create a new folder called pipewire.conf.d
Go into that folder and create a new file called 10-remap.conf, copy and paste the code for remapping, save the file, go into the terminal and type reboot.
When the system comes back up, find sound from the main menu and you should see a new Device called 5.1 Remapped in Output. Select that and you can test and the test should actually work correctly now. Youtube isn't a good source for testing, but Fraunhoffer seems to offer audio files that can be used to verify everything is working via Firefox if you want.
I'll do more testing later, but this seems to have done the trick until pipewire makes additional updates to their default 5.1 mapping for SoundBlaster AE legacy devices (i.e., non-Pro).
Fasterghost
New Member
Sorry, I only now got to your post and it seem you've figured it out already.
Just for others who might be dealing with this problem, here are the commands to input in terminal:
Now you need to edit the two new files in some text editor. Unfortunately, every linux distribution has a different one. Mine had "xed" as default, so in terminal:
And copy/paste the respective texts into the indidivual files are previously indicates and save. Finally, you will need to restart pipewire:
As for the mapping issue, that is problem of ALSA which incorrectly informs Pipewire that RL RF channels are Central and LFE. There is nothing Pipewire can do about that except an ad-hoc workaround. "Fixing" it would break things for everyone else.
It's also pretty impossible to solve this on ALSA side as Creative sells different hardware under the same name. There are AE-5 cards with significant differences on the hardware level on the market. However, they still claim to be the same card when queried!!! So not only is Creative saying "fuck you" to Linux, it actively makes it impossible to provide reliable community support with shenanigans like these. And no, I am not confusing AE-5 vs AE-5 Plus... that's a whole different can of worms.
Just for others who might be dealing with this problem, here are the commands to input in terminal:
Code:
mkdir -p ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
mkdir -p ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire-pulse.conf.d
touch ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/10-remap.conf
touch ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire-pulse.conf.d/pipewire-pulse.confNow you need to edit the two new files in some text editor. Unfortunately, every linux distribution has a different one. Mine had "xed" as default, so in terminal:
Code:
xed ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/10-remap.conf ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire-pulse.conf.d/pipewire-pulse.confAnd copy/paste the respective texts into the indidivual files are previously indicates and save. Finally, you will need to restart pipewire:
Code:
systemctl --user restart pipewire.service
systemctl --user restart pipewire-pulse.serviceAs for the mapping issue, that is problem of ALSA which incorrectly informs Pipewire that RL RF channels are Central and LFE. There is nothing Pipewire can do about that except an ad-hoc workaround. "Fixing" it would break things for everyone else.
It's also pretty impossible to solve this on ALSA side as Creative sells different hardware under the same name. There are AE-5 cards with significant differences on the hardware level on the market. However, they still claim to be the same card when queried!!! So not only is Creative saying "fuck you" to Linux, it actively makes it impossible to provide reliable community support with shenanigans like these. And no, I am not confusing AE-5 vs AE-5 Plus... that's a whole different can of worms.
In my case, it seems to be irrelevant whether I select this. But I have selected it nonetheless just to be sure. Forget to mention it in my original post, thanks!
Please don't settle for optical 5.1 on this card. You'd be bypassing all the amazing hardware that makes the card so expensive and leaving the DAC conversion and pre-AMP to an inferior hardware somewhere down the line.
I've never had to do any of this, maybe it's the distro. I did install "alsa-firmware" package, but that's the
only audio packages out of whatever gets installed by default.
Obviously, if you have a 5.1 audio card, and you want 5.1, you need 5.1 speakers.
If you have a 2.1 speaker system, guess what you get 2.1 no matter what.
If you have a 5.1 speaker system with separate inputs for left front, right front, right rear, left rear, center, and sub,
you will get separate discrete audio on each channel. The discrete audio also works with SP/DIF, but I do agree
you lose some functionality going this way.
If I click on the right front, I only get audio from that, if I click left rear, I only get audio from that, if I click on the sub, I only get audio from that.
Sometimes after a new install I have to increase the default volume levels to make it audible, but I do get separate discreet channels, no special config files necessary.
Fasterghost
New Member
@dos2unix
Then count yourself lucky and please don't rub it in for us others who have to jump through dozens of hoops to even get stereo working, let alone 5.1.
But seriously, my guess is you have the exact same AE-5 card version that the author of drivers had, so everything works for you perfectly out of the box. But you will be an exception. My AE-5 query ID corresponds to Sound Blaster Z, even though it's AE-5. Furthermore, the subquery ID is also something completely different that it's NOT supposed to be. The fact the worst problem I have is the switched RL-RR/C-LFE channel mapping is a small miracle. There are some who don't even get stereo.
And it's all due to Creative. Until they stop making different hardware with the same name and inconsistent IDs OR provide actual Linux driver OR give us the source codes, this will not get better. Adding hundreds, potentially thousands of quirks into the kernel for a SINGLE device is not a viable solution.
EDIT: And no, the problem isn't that I would have 2.1 speakers and expect 5.1 sound.
Then count yourself lucky and please don't rub it in for us others who have to jump through dozens of hoops to even get stereo working, let alone 5.1.
But seriously, my guess is you have the exact same AE-5 card version that the author of drivers had, so everything works for you perfectly out of the box. But you will be an exception. My AE-5 query ID corresponds to Sound Blaster Z, even though it's AE-5. Furthermore, the subquery ID is also something completely different that it's NOT supposed to be. The fact the worst problem I have is the switched RL-RR/C-LFE channel mapping is a small miracle. There are some who don't even get stereo.
And it's all due to Creative. Until they stop making different hardware with the same name and inconsistent IDs OR provide actual Linux driver OR give us the source codes, this will not get better. Adding hundreds, potentially thousands of quirks into the kernel for a SINGLE device is not a viable solution.
EDIT: And no, the problem isn't that I would have 2.1 speakers and expect 5.1 sound.
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I do agree with this. No real Linux support from them.
Fasterghost
New Member
The last I heard, their official position on Linux support for their hardware is that "they are waiting for greater market adoption of Linux OS before committing".
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