Linux Speakers and Headphones Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to speakers and headphones on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including audio device setup, configuration, and troubleshooting.

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Table of Contents

1. Audio Device Setup
2. Speaker Configuration
3. Headphone Configuration
4. Troubleshooting

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Audio Device Setup

Check Audio Devices

List devices:

# List sinks
pactl list sinks short

# List sources
pactl list sources short

# Check ALSA
aplay -l

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Speaker Configuration

Set Default Output

Configure speakers:

# List sinks
pactl list sinks short

# Set default sink
pactl set-default-sink sink-name

# Test sound
speaker-test -c 2

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Headphone Configuration

Headphone Setup

Configure headphones:

# List sinks
pactl list sinks short

# Set default sink
pactl set-default-sink headphone-sink

# Or use GUI
pavucontrol

Auto-Switch

Auto-switch:

# Install auto-switch
yay -S pulseaudio-switcher

# Or configure manually
# Edit PulseAudio config

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Troubleshooting

No Sound

Check audio:

# Check if muted
pactl list sinks | grep -i mute

# Unmute
pactl set-sink-mute sink-name false

# Increase volume
pactl set-sink-volume sink-name 100%

Wrong Device

Switch device:

# List sinks
pactl list sinks short

# Set default
pactl set-default-sink sink-name

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Summary

This guide covered speakers and headphones for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including setup, configuration, and troubleshooting.

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Next Steps

• Audio Configuration - Audio setup
• Microphone Configuration - Microphone setup
• Bluetooth Configuration - Bluetooth audio
• ArchWiki Audio: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PulseAudio

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.