Trying to migrate from ALSA to PipeWire, No Sound [Solved]

[KWhat]

I have no idea where to start with this one, I have run though the guide (https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PipeWire) and I have basically gone from a ALSA system with audio to a PipeWire system without audio.

My config is basically all default except for the clock.rate the guide talks about

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    default.clock.rate          = 192000
    default.clock.allowed-rates = [ 192000 48000 44100 ]

aplay -l shows the list of devices, we want card 1: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 0: ALCS1200A Analog [ALCS1200A Analog]

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**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 8: HDMI 2 [U28E590]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 9: HDMI 3 [LU28R55]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 10: HDMI 4 [HDMI 4]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 11: HDMI 5 [HDMI 5]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 0: ALCS1200A Analog [ALCS1200A Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 1: ALCS1200A Digital [ALCS1200A Digital]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

wpctl status seems to show that we don't have any sinks? I am not sure if that is the problem or how to fix it.

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PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, cookie:3504351768]
 └─ Clients:
        33. pipewire                            [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:24271]
        34.                                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4093]
        35. KDE Connect Daemon                  [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4288]
        36.                                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4198]
        37. System Settings                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4327]
        39. WirePlumber                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:24251]
        51. WirePlumber [export]                [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:24251]
        55. speech-dispatcher-dummy             [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:25311]
        61. plasmashell                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4198]
        62. Firefox                             [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:23615]
        68. xdg-desktop-portal                  [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4048]
        69. wpctl                               [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:31425]

Audio
 ├─ Devices:
 │      52. Navi 10 HDMI Audio                  [alsa]
 │      53. Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller [alsa]
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  *   38. Dummy Output                        [vol: 1.00]
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:
        56. speech-dispatcher-dummy                                     
             57. output_FL       > Dummy Output:playback_FL     [init]
             58. output_FR       > Dummy Output:playback_FR     [init]
        63. Firefox                                                     
             64. output_FL       > Dummy Output:playback_FL     [init]
             65. output_FR       > Dummy Output:playback_FR     [init]

Video
 ├─ Devices:
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:

Settings
 └─ Default Configured Devices:

I am starting with startx and using gentoo-pipewire-launcher.

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kwhat@plutonium244 ~ $ cat ~/.xprofile
gentoo-pipewire-launcher &

kwhat@plutonium244 ~ $ cat 
~/.xinitrc 
#!/bin/sh
exec dbus-launch --sh-syntax --exit-with-session "/usr/bin/startplasma-x11"

For completeness: emerge -pv wireplumber pipewire

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These are the packages that would be merged, in order:

Calculating dependencies... done!
Dependency resolution took 2.17 s (backtrack: 0/20).

[ebuild   R    ] media-video/pipewire-1.4.10:0/0.4::gentoo  USE="X dbus elogind extra ffmpeg gstreamer pulseaudio readline sound-server ssl v4l -bluetooth -doc -echo-cancel -fftw -flatpak -gsettings -ieee1394 -jack-client -jack-sdk -libcamera -liblc3 -loudness -lv2 -man -modemmanager -pipewire-alsa -roc (-selinux) (-system-service) (-systemd) -test -zeroconf" ABI_X86="32 (64) (-x32)" 0 KiB
[ebuild   R    ] media-video/wireplumber-0.5.13:0/0.5::gentoo  USE="elogind -doc (-system-service) (-systemd) -test" LUA_SINGLE_TARGET="lua5-4 -lua5-3" 0 KiB

Total: 2 packages (2 reinstalls), Size of downloads: 0 KiB

[C5ace]

Have been using plain alsa for donkey years.Tried pipewire, wireplumber, etc. Never worked properly. Alsa works fine for me to get audio from speakers and headphones.

[szatox]

This looks like missing access to audio device. Which typically means one of 2 things:
1) Wrong permissions to /dev/snd/*
2) Something else is already using (and blocking) audio devices - this something could be an alsa app which explicitly accessed hardware directly instead of using default device, or even another user's instance of pipewire.

[NeddySeagoon]

KWhat,

There is only ALSA. Well, OSS is still in the kernel but it's not used.
Everything else is a wrapper around alsa.

What does

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ls -l /dev/snd

tell?
That will inform if your kernel is in good shape or not.

The content of /proc/asound/devices may help too.

[KWhat]

ls -lR /dev/snd

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/dev/snd:
total 0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root       80 Feb  8 14:31 by-path
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  9 Feb  8 14:31 controlC0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 15 Feb  8 14:31 controlC1
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  8 Feb  8 14:31 hwC0D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 14 Feb  8 14:31 hwC1D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  6 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D10p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  7 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D11p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  2 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D3p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  3 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D7p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  4 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D8p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  5 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC0D9p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 11 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC1D0c
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 10 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC1D0p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 12 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC1D1p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 13 Feb  8 15:55 pcmC1D2c
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116,  1 Feb  8 14:31 seq
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 33 Feb  8 14:31 timer

/dev/snd/by-path:
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 Feb  8 14:31 pci-0000:0b:00.1 -> ../controlC0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 Feb  8 14:31 pci-0000:0d:00.4 -> ../controlC1

cat /proc/asound/devices

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  1:        : sequencer
  2: [ 0- 3]: digital audio playback
  3: [ 0- 7]: digital audio playback
  4: [ 0- 8]: digital audio playback
  5: [ 0- 9]: digital audio playback
  6: [ 0-10]: digital audio playback
  7: [ 0-11]: digital audio playback
  8: [ 0- 0]: hardware dependent
  9: [ 0]   : control
 10: [ 1- 0]: digital audio playback
 11: [ 1- 0]: digital audio capture
 12: [ 1- 1]: digital audio playback
 13: [ 1- 2]: digital audio capture
 14: [ 1- 0]: hardware dependent
 15: [ 1]   : control
 33:        : timer

Also groups for my current user

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users disk wheel audio cdrom video games kvm cdrw usb input docker locate vboxusers portage pcap pipewire wireshark plugdev

[rab0171610]

This may or may not apply to you, but I am just throwing it out there without any determination of its significance to your setup:

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For the best experience with fast user switching, it is recommended that you remove your user from the audio group unless you rely on the audio group for device access control, ACLs, or if you are using seatd:
root# usermod -rG audio larry

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PipeWire#Audio_Groups

[KWhat]

This may or may not apply to you, but I am just throwing it out there without any determination of its significance to your setup:

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For the best experience with fast user switching, it is recommended that you remove your user from the audio group unless you rely on the audio group for device access control, ACLs, or if you are using seatd:
root# usermod -rG audio larry

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PipeWire#Audio_Groups

Tried removing the user, same result.

[NeddySeagoon]

KWhat,

That all looks sound :)

Why is your user in the disk group?
That gives raw disk access. It's not related to your audio problem though.

[KWhat]

KWhat,

That all looks sound

Why is your user in the disk group?
That gives raw disk access. It's not related to your audio problem though.

Probably something ages ago that I forgot about and isn't needed anymore. Still cant figure out why I don't have any audio.

[KWhat]

Some wireplumber log output:

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N 14:40:41.566351         s-monitors bluez-midi.lua:95:createMonitor: PipeWire's BlueZ MIDI SPA missing or broken. Bluetooth not supported.
E 14:40:41.566385        pw.resource ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/pipewire/resource.c:255:pw_resource_errorf_id: can't create node: No such file or directory
W 14:40:41.566389            wp-node ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/node.c:913:wp_impl_node_new_from_pw_factory: failed to create node from factory 'spa-node-factory'
N 14:40:41.566393         s-monitors bluez-midi.lua:130:createServers: Failed to create BLE MIDI server.
N 14:40:41.572627          wp-device ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/device.c:710:wp_spa_device_new_from_spa_factory: SPA handle 'api.libcamera.enum.manager' could not be loaded; is it installed?
N 14:40:41.572639 s-monitors-libcame enumerate-device.lua:30:chunk: PipeWire's libcamera SPA plugin is missing or broken. Some camera types may not be supported.
W 14:41:06.225922             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply
W 14:41:06.225942             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:995:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MaxRealtimePriority, using 1
W 14:41:31.250925             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply
W 14:41:31.250946             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:1000:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MinNiceLevel, using 0
W 14:42:41.634900            pw.core ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/pipewire/core.c:199:destroy_proxy: 0x55a1176a6d80: leaked proxy 0x55a1176fa890 id:3
W 14:42:41.634929            pw.core ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/pipewire/core.c:199:destroy_proxy: 0x55a1176a6d80: leaked proxy 0x55a1176f7e30 id:4
[2026-02-09T14:42:42PST] Starting WirePlumber.
N 14:42:42.863100          wp-device ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/device.c:710:wp_spa_device_new_from_spa_factory: SPA handle 'api.bluez5.enum.dbus' could not be loaded; is it installed?
N 14:42:42.863128         s-monitors bluez.lua:435:createMonitor: PipeWire's BlueZ SPA plugin is missing or broken. Bluetooth devices will not be supported.
N 14:42:42.863428          wp-device ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/device.c:710:wp_spa_device_new_from_spa_factory: SPA handle 'api.bluez5.midi.enum' could not be loaded; is it installed?
N 14:42:42.863439         s-monitors bluez-midi.lua:95:createMonitor: PipeWire's BlueZ MIDI SPA missing or broken. Bluetooth not supported.
E 14:42:42.863476        pw.resource ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/pipewire/resource.c:255:pw_resource_errorf_id: can't create node: No such file or directory
W 14:42:42.863482            wp-node ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/node.c:913:wp_impl_node_new_from_pw_factory: failed to create node from factory 'spa-node-factory'
N 14:42:42.863487         s-monitors bluez-midi.lua:130:createServers: Failed to create BLE MIDI server.
N 14:42:42.865088          wp-device ../wireplumber-0.5.13/lib/wp/device.c:710:wp_spa_device_new_from_spa_factory: SPA handle 'api.libcamera.enum.manager' could not be loaded; is it installed?
N 14:42:42.865100 s-monitors-libcame enumerate-device.lua:30:chunk: PipeWire's libcamera SPA plugin is missing or broken. Some camera types may not be supported.
W 14:43:07.682925             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply
W 14:43:07.682950             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:995:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MaxRealtimePriority, using 1
W 14:43:32.707917             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply
W 14:43:32.707941             mod.rt ../pipewire-1.4.10/src/modules/module-rt.c:1000:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MinNiceLevel, using 0

[KWhat]

Ok a little more experimenting, a little more info. Opening up sound settings in plasma's settings and then selecting the Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller and switching it form "Off" to something else makes Sinks show up:

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kwhat@plutonium244 ~ $ wpctl status
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, cookie:3294272562]
 └─ Clients:
        33. xdg-desktop-portal                  [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4062]
        34. pipewire                            [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4348]
        36.                                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4106]
        37. KDE Connect Daemon                  [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4302]
        38. plasmashell                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4209]
        39. libcanberra                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4209]
        40. WirePlumber                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4331]
        52. WirePlumber [export]                [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4331]
        60. libcanberra                         [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4322]
        63. wpctl                               [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:7873]
        75.                                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4209]
        76. Firefox                             [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4320]
        77. System Settings                     [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:4322]
        78. speech-dispatcher-dummy             [1.4.10, kwhat@plutonium244, pid:6450]

Audio
 ├─ Devices:
 │      53. Navi 10 HDMI Audio                  [alsa]
 │      54. Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller [alsa]
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  *   49. Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller Digital Stereo (IEC958) [vol: 0.41]
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │      61. Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller Analog Stereo [vol: 1.00 MUTED]
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:
        70. Firefox                                                     
             68. output_FL       > ALCS1200A Digital:playback_FL        [init]
             69. output_FR       > ALCS1200A Digital:playback_FR        [init]
        79. speech-dispatcher-dummy                                     
             80. output_FL       > ALCS1200A Digital:playback_FL        [init]
             81. output_FR       > ALCS1200A Digital:playback_FR        [init]

Video
 ├─ Devices:
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:

Settings
 └─ Default Configured Devices:
         0. Audio/Sink    alsa_output.pci-0000_0d_00.4.pro-output-0

I still don't have sound but it shows the analog output as muted and I cant seem to figure out how to unmute it. My drop down does not have an analog option: "Digital Stereo (IEC958) Output + Analog Stereo Input," "Digital Stereo (IEC958) Output," "Digital Surround 5.1 (IEC958/AC3) Output" and "Pro Audio."

[KWhat]

So I asked ChatGPT

It lead me down a path of disabling ACP via pipewire config.

~/.config/wireplumber/wireplumber.conf.d/disable-acp.conf

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monitor.alsa.rules = [
  {
    matches = [
      {
        device.name = "alsa_card.pci-0000_0d_00.4"
      }
    ]
    actions = {
      update-props = {
        api.alsa.use-acp = false
      }
    }
  }
]

From there I realized that my speakers were plugged into the rear 5.1 port instead of the front, which I think changed at some point but I am wondering if that is why my analog device didn't automatically show up. I changed plugs and I now have audio.

[Anon-E-moose]

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$ wpctl set-mute -h
Usage:
  wpctl [OPTION…] COMMAND [COMMAND_OPTIONS] - WirePlumber Control CLI

Command: set-mute ID 1|0|toggle
  Changes the mute state of ID

Help Options:
  -h, --help       Show help options

Application Options:
  -p, --pid        Selects all nodes associated to the given PID number

[KWhat]

Final update, yes it was because my speakers were plugged into the rear L/R jack instead of the front L/R jack. No need to disable ACP. I think it wasn't working because it didn't detect anything plugged in and disabled the output. This use to work on ALSA which was strange but maybe they were mirroring the front / rear ports.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[szatox]

If it was about the set of audio jacks in use, chances are the problem was caused by a wrong hardware profile being selected.
You can try changing outputs with wiremix.


This said, I wish I knew some "stainless" alternative too.