EasyEffects: The Linux Tool That Makes Laptop Speakers Sound Way Better
EasyEffects: Essential for Enhancing Laptop Speaker Sound on Linux Distributions
OSnews argues that EasyEffects, a PipeWire-based audio effects app, should ship by default with Linux distributions and desktop environments. It lets users apply presets that dramatically improve laptop speaker sound, which is often tinny and hollow. The author suggests OEMs create custom presets and DEs integrate preset management into sound settings.
There’s absolutely no reason why speakers on Linux laptops should sound tinny, harsh, and hollow.
- oofabz
Would be sweet if it could use the microphone to auto-tune the speakers by playing audio and listening to the result. Microphones are not perfect but a cheap microphone has much better frequency response than cheap speakers. If you assume the microphone is perfect you will get a pretty good result, probably better than a generic "laptop speaker" preset would be.
- cassianoleal
Last night I went through their guide on how to improve the sound of laptop speakers on my Framework. It's night and day, highly recommended.
- randomfinn
> In fact, I’d take it a step further and urge desktop environments like KDE and GNOME to properly integrate EasyEffects into their sound settings.
Another important integration point would be the system volume control. If you could EQ your speakers to near flat response, and then apply loudness based on the volume control, you would get great sound at lower volumes without compromising the quality at higher volumes.
I do this currently with EasyEffects equalizer and loudness filters, but for best quality I need to keep the speakers and system volume at preset reference level and control the volume from the loudness filter volume setting.
- jurf
> Third, audio quality is deeply subjective, and what sounds good to my ears may sound like total garbage to yours.
Interesting article (audio processing should be a standard OS feature), but I wish we'd stop doing this. Speakers were never subjective (unlike earphones), they’re supposed to be flat – “equalised”. At least if you want to hear the thing as it was mastered.
I think it just hurts consumers in the end, as it validates snake oil in the form of various ”enhancements”, like image processing on TVs. It makes stuff really hard to compare and much easier to sell shitty hardware.
Not that I’m opposed to improving shitty hardware with software, – quite the contrary – it’s just the murky subjectivity that irks me.
- fsuts
Laptop Manufacturers fail to appreciate how much better their product would be with good speakers. Particularly in today’s age where everyone is streaming music or watching videos much more than before.
MacBook Pro 16’s are great but most others suck.