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I think it's fair to say that your experience is extremely atypical. PulseAudio constantly stands out as the most common frustration in all of Linux. systemd i

I think it's fair to say that your experience is extremely atypical. PulseAudio constantly stands out as the most common frustration in all of Linux. systemd is pretty frustrating too, but it's only frustrating the 1% of the time when it breaks (because it means your whole system is broken), whereas the 70% of the time PulseAudio doesn't work, it's more mildly infuriating. For anything except a single audio in and single audio out, I would not bet on a beginner-to-intermediate ever getting it working, and PulseAudio is probably the main reason I in 2024 cannot recommend Linux on the desktop for non-engineers.

prmoustache 2y ago
I have been using pipewire for a few years already. Which distro are you using that is still using pulseaudio? I can't complain really, in last decade audio has been working really well on my computer globally bar the occasional bluetooth pairing/connection issue. But I've seen people struggling with BT on all OS/platforms anyway. Pulseaudio was a PITA in the early years but matured a lot and Pipewire has been flawless on my distro since it took over. And I can do a lot of stuff out of the box that requires third party tools on other system to do the same.
bigstrat2003 2y ago
> whereas the 70% of the time PulseAudio doesn't work, it's more mildly infuriating. I have installed Linux on I don't know how many systems at this point. My desktop, my work laptop, other people's work laptops, etc. Audio just worked flawlessly on each and every one. I cannot believe that PulseAudio has issues 70% of the time. There's simply no way I've been that lucky to have never seen an issue.
- cowboylowrez 2y ago
  I get things like pulseaudio deciding only one ear is enough haha but emotionally I'm just grateful that it works at all sometimes since I really like the idea of a linux studio. Reboots help. I use a little bit older Ubuntu Studio, should probably upgrade. Back in the day when I only had alsa, I loved the experience.

prmoustache 2y ago

I have been using pipewire for a few years already. Which distro are you using that is still using pulseaudio? I can't complain really, in last decade audio has been working really well on my computer globally bar the occasional bluetooth pairing/connection issue. But I've seen people struggling with BT on all OS/platforms anyway. Pulseaudio was a PITA in the early years but matured a lot and Pipewire has been flawless on my distro since it took over. And I can do a lot of stuff out of the box that requires third party tools on other system to do the same.

bigstrat2003 2y ago

> whereas the 70% of the time PulseAudio doesn't work, it's more mildly infuriating. I have installed Linux on I don't know how many systems at this point. My desktop, my work laptop, other people's work laptops, etc. Audio just worked flawlessly on each and every one. I cannot believe that PulseAudio has issues 70% of the time. There's simply no way I've been that lucky to have never seen an issue.

cowboylowrez 2y ago
I get things like pulseaudio deciding only one ear is enough haha but emotionally I'm just grateful that it works at all sometimes since I really like the idea of a linux studio. Reboots help. I use a little bit older Ubuntu Studio, should probably upgrade. Back in the day when I only had alsa, I loved the experience.