Audio Quality Dropped Significantly Of My Laptop Speaker After Switching to Omarchy

[17Swagat]

System details

OS: Omarchy 3.8.2 ; Hardware: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12650H; NVIDIA GeFore RTX 3050 Ti ; Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.40 GHz

What's wrong?

Hi Everyone,
Tired from Windows 11, I switched to Omarchy and I find it really fun to use.
The only thing that it lacks from the Windows 11 is the Audio Quality.
When using bluetooth earphones its not an issue.
But when using my laptop's speaker which use to have amazing clear and loud sound suddenly turned shit.
On higher volumes the audio of songs cracks and sounds really bad.
I use to have Dolby and some other stuff for audio (which I don't remeber) which some made the sound quality so good.

Can anyone help me figure out to fix this sound issue and have the sound quality similar to what I had with windows 11.

My system is: Asus F-Dash-15
Copying Stuff From the Terminal (Regarding my laptop's speaker's Info):

~ ❯ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Audio [C-Media(R) Audio], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 9: HDMI 3 [HDMI 3]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [DELL S2721HN]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: HDMI 3 [HDMI 3]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

~ ❯ cat /proc/asound/card
...0/ ...1/ ...2/ ...s

~ ❯ cat /proc/asound/cards
 0 [Audio          ]: USB-Audio - C-Media(R) Audio
                      ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. C-Media(R) Audio at usb-0000:00:14.0-9, full speed
 1 [PCH            ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel PCH
                      HDA Intel PCH at 0x612f288000 irq 224
 2 [NVidia         ]: HDA-Intel - HDA NVidia
                      HDA NVidia at 0x60080000 irq 17

~ ❯ lspci | grep -i audio
0000:00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Alder Lake PCH-P High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
0000:01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GA107 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)

~ ❯ lspci -v | grep -A20 -i audio
0000:00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Alder Lake PCH-P High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [HDA compatible])
	DeviceName: Onboard - Sound
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1ce2
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 32, IRQ 224, IOMMU group 14
	Memory at 612f288000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Memory at 612f000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_soc_avs, snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl, snd_hda_intel

0000:00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Alder Lake PCH-P SMBus Host Controller (rev 01)
	DeviceName: Onboard - Other
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1ce2
	Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 16, IOMMU group 14
	Memory at 612f294000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	I/O ports at efa0 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801

0000:00:1f.5 Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-P PCH SPI Controller (rev 01)
	DeviceName: Onboard - Other
--
0000:01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GA107 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [HDA compatible])
	Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 1c5c
	Physical Slot: 1
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17, IOMMU group 15
	Memory at 60080000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

10000:e0:06.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 12th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x4 Controller #0 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 176, IOMMU group 9
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=e1, subordinate=e1, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: [disabled] [16-bit]
	Memory behind bridge: 50000000-500fffff [size=1M] [32-bit]
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: [disabled] [64-bit]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp

10000:e0:06.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 12th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x4 Controller #2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 177, IOMMU group 9

~ ❯ wpctl status
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, cookie:3390560630]
 └─ Clients:
        32. xdg-desktop-portal                  [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1534]
        33. WirePlumber                         [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1606]
        39. xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland         [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1613]
        42. WirePlumber [export]                [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1606]
        71. WirePlumber                         [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1606]
        78. pipewire                            [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1762]
        79. waybar                              [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:1790]
        80. wpctl                               [1.6.5, swagat17@omarchy-pc, pid:17956]

Audio
 ├─ Devices:
 │      61. Built-in Audio                      [alsa]
 │      62. C-Media(R) Audio                    [alsa]
 │      63. GA107 High Definition Audio Controller [alsa]
 │      64. OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2         [bluez5]
 │
 ├─ Sinks:
 │      51. C-Media(R) Audio Analog Stereo      [vol: 1.24]
 │      53. GA107 High Definition Audio Controller Digital Stereo (HDMI) [vol: 1.50]
 │  *   65. OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2         [vol: 0.94]
 │
 ├─ Sources:
 │
 ├─ Filters:
 │    - loopback-1606-20
 │  *   54. bluez_input.9C:DE:F0:73:7E:A8                                [Audio/Source]
 │      59. bluez_capture_internal.9C:DE:F0:73:7E:A8                     [Stream/Input/Audio/Internal]
 │
 └─ Streams:

Video
 ├─ Devices:
 │      44. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam                [v4l2]
 │      60. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam                [v4l2]
 │
 ├─ Sinks:
 │
 ├─ Sources:
 │  *   73. USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam (V4L2)
 │
 ├─ Filters:
 │
 └─ Streams:

Settings
 └─ Default Configured Devices:
         0. Audio/Sink    bluez_output.9C_DE_F0_73_7E_A8.1

~ ❯ pw-cli ls Node
	id 29, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "29"
 		factory.id = "11"
 		priority.driver = "200000"
 		node.name = "Dummy-Driver"
	id 30, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "30"
 		factory.id = "11"
 		priority.driver = "190000"
 		node.name = "Freewheel-Driver"
	id 45, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "91"
 		factory.id = "14"
 		client.id = "42"
 		node.description = "BLE MIDI 1"
 		node.name = "bluez_midi.server"
 		media.class = "Midi/Bridge"
	id 46, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "46"
 		factory.id = "11"
 		client.id = "42"
 		priority.session = "100"
 		priority.driver = "1"
 		node.name = "Midi-Bridge"
 		media.class = "Midi/Bridge"
	id 51, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "94"
 		object.path = "alsa:acp:Audio:4:playback"
 		factory.id = "19"
 		client.id = "42"
 		device.id = "62"
 		priority.session = "1109"
 		priority.driver = "1109"
 		node.description = "C-Media(R) Audio Analog Stereo"
 		node.name = "alsa_output.usb-ASUSTeK_COMPUTER_INC._C-Media_R__Audio-00.analog-stereo"
 		node.nick = "C-Media(R) Audio"
 		media.class = "Audio/Sink"
	id 53, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "99"
 		object.path = "alsa:acp:NVidia:4:playback"
 		factory.id = "19"
 		client.id = "42"
 		device.id = "63"
 		priority.session = "696"
 		priority.driver = "696"
 		node.description = "GA107 High Definition Audio Controller Digital Stereo (HDMI)"
 		node.name = "alsa_output.pci-0000_01_00.1.hdmi-stereo"
 		node.nick = "HDMI 0"
 		media.class = "Audio/Sink"
	id 54, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "113"
 		factory.id = "12"
 		client.id = "71"
 		device.id = "64"
 		priority.session = "2010"
 		node.description = "OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2"
 		node.name = "bluez_input.9C:DE:F0:73:7E:A8"
 		media.class = "Audio/Source"
	id 59, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "114"
 		factory.id = "12"
 		client.id = "71"
 		node.description = "Bluetooth internal capture stream for OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2"
 		node.name = "bluez_capture_internal.9C:DE:F0:73:7E:A8"
 		media.class = "Stream/Input/Audio/Internal"
	id 65, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "107"
 		factory.id = "12"
 		client.id = "42"
 		device.id = "64"
 		priority.session = "1010"
 		priority.driver = "1010"
 		node.description = "OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2"
 		node.name = "bluez_output.9C_DE_F0_73_7E_A8.1"
 		media.class = "Audio/Sink"
	id 73, type PipeWire:Interface:Node/3
 		object.serial = "104"
 		object.path = "v4l2:/dev/video0"
 		factory.id = "11"
 		client.id = "42"
 		device.id = "60"
 		priority.session = "1000"
 		node.description = "USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam (V4L2)"
 		node.name = "v4l2_input.pci-0000_00_14.0-usb-0_7_1.0"
 		node.nick = "USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam"
 		media.class = "Video/Source"
 		media.role = "Camera"

~ ❯

[jjohnson]

Your C-Media(R) Audio Analog Stereo sink (51) shows vol: 1.24 — that's 24% digital gain applied by PipeWire before the DAC, which hard-clips the waveform. You might be comparing it to your HDMI sink (53) at vol: 1.5, but HDMI is different — the monitor's own DAC handles conversion downstream, so PipeWire pre-gain doesn't clip.

Try: wpctl set-volume 51 1.0

Also verify you're testing the right output — your default sink is Bluetooth, not the built-in speakers: wpctl set-default 51

Use omarchy-launch-audio (wiremix TUI) or wpctl for volume management.

[17Swagat]

• Omarchy allows me to increase till 150%. At 100% the audio is low, so set it to 124%. Also the quality is not great either at 100%. I intentionally increased it to 124%.
• With Windows 11, the audio was loud and crisp. It was loud as it would be at 150% in omarchy, but still have the crisp sound.
• Something went very wrong in the Audio Segment with Omarchy.

I don't know what was there is windows that let it produce such high quality sound at that loud sound by default (maybe because of dolby or asus stuff, i don't know), but something is missing in linux, particularly with Omarchy.

In the past I've worked with Ubuntu a lot, but not on this laptop. Don't remember facing any audio related issue tbh.
But with this laptop the lack of audio quality with omarchy is noticeable.

[jjohnson]

For the missing Dolby DSP, easyeffects from pacman is the Linux equivalent (EQ, compression, loudness). Omarchy doesn't ship audio processing, but that will get you closest to what Windows had.

[17Swagat]

I downloaded easyeffects and find it hard to setup to get a perfect sound settings. Could you suggest some youtube videos or blogs that could help figure me out stuff.. Any sort of predefined configuration would be great.

Ok.. This time I'll be serious with easyeffect and would try to do it... Last time things got tedious and hard for me to figure out how to get a pre-defined config, slap it in and use it..

I'll try and let you @jjohnson know about my progress. If I have some issues I'll ask you.
Thank you.

[17Swagat]

Hi @jjohnson , could you help me regarding the following situation:

I found the following repo: https://github.com/antoinecellerier/speaker-tuning-to-easyeffects/blob/master/README.md
Which seems to be a good option.

But the Problem, is that I got so much frustrated that I've installed omarchy over windows. There is no dual boot. My main system is entirely running Omarchy.

My Laptop is Asus F Dash 15 (2022) model. I know its a bizzare situation, but is there a way.
Thank you.

[jjohnson]

I think this issue needs a 'Convert to discussion'; I'd suggest opening one of the AI assistants.
For example, Super + Shift + A