Although today Linux is not what it was 3-4 decades ago, there are still people who feel lost when doing the Switch from Windows. Linux is a kernel, and around it there can be and there is a lot. In addition, the different options that exist to do the same thing do not always make things easier for us. One of them can be to manage audio devices, and if Ubuntu Configuration falls short, we can always pull pavucontrol.
Before continuing, it is worth explaining What is it Pavucontrol, although well written, is in lowercase. The first three acronyms are PulseAaudio Volume. The pavucontrol package is from the software known as Pulse Audio Volume Control, which is a mixer or volume controller for PulseAudio sound server. Unlike other tools, this one allows us to control both the volume of hardware devices and each playback separately.
Before installing Pavucontrol
Canonical changed the default audio server from Ubuntu 22.10, and PipeWire is now used. It is a detail to take into account, since PulseAudio is popular software and we may believe that its use is necessary when it is not. In fact, in the latest versions of Ubuntu it is not even installed by default. But if you want to manage audio devices with Pavucontrol, PulseAudio audio server must be installed.
As a piece of advice, and for those who don't know, first you have to take a walk through Settings/Sound to confirm that what you need is not available by default in Ubuntu.
GNOME already includes its own tool to manage audio devices, and there are even basic procedures that can be done from the control center at the top right. From this section we can control the volume of everything that is playing in our operating system. We can even control the volume of windows separately if we access Volume Levels:
It is important to make all this clear to do not install software that is not necessary. Now, they are also Ubuntu Kubuntu, Lubuntu and the rest of the official and unofficial flavors. If we come across one that hasn't made the jump to PipeWire, or doesn't have anything with a GUI to manage Audio devices, or we want even more control, then it might be a good idea to use Pavucontrol.
Installing and using Pavucontrol
To install Pavucontrol on Ubuntu, just open a terminal and type:
sudo apt install pavucontrol
Being a package that depends on PulseAudio, theoretically the above should also install what is necessary to make it work.
Once installed, you can search for "pavucontrol" in the application drawer, you will not find it. Or if. If you look for it trusting the view you will not find it, but the operating system does show it if that text is searched. What happens is that Ubuntu knows that "pavucontrol" is another program that in Spanish is called "PulseAudio Volume Control".
Once open, we will see 5 tabs:
Reproduction
In this tab we will see everything that is being reproduced in our operating system, and one of the reasons for using Pavucontrol over the native options. If you look at the screenshot above, Firefox appears twice. Magic? No. PulseAudio Volume Control is able to "see" or differentiate browser tabs, and this will allow us to lower the volume of one of them without having to lower the volume of the entire application.
We can also increase the volume, by application and even by tab, so that it exceeds 100%. It's a possibility, but you have to be careful with this setting because we could end up hearing something that sounds broken, not to mention that the speakers could be damaged. At the bottom we have options show all streams, applications and virtual transmissions.
Recording
From this tab we can control the audio of everything that is being recorded. Logically, for this you need to be recording some audio. Although it can be controlled from here, recording software often offers its own tools, so I would only use it if all else failed.
Output devices
Although this tab may remind us of the first one, it is actually very different. Playback will show us everything that is playing separately, while Output Devices will allow us to control what outputs audio. For example, the speakers or headphones if we have them connected. If we have more than one output device connected, from here we can choose which one has to output the sound.
Input devices
Everything said in the previous section is valid for this one, with the difference that in this case what we will control will be the audio input devices, such as microphones, whether external or the one from the webcam.
Configuration
The last tab is the Configuration tab, and here we can choose an audio profile between Duplex Analog Stereo, Analog Stereo Output, Analog Stereo Input, Pro Audio and no profile (off).
Alternatives to Pavucontrol
I have already mentioned that I would not recommend installing PulseAudio and Pavucontrol in the latest versions of Ubuntu because it is already possible to control the audio from the default settings and they also made the jump to PipeWire in 22.10. But if what we want is a equalizer To be able to modify the sound of any app that is playing in our operating system, I would recommend installing EasyEffects. It is similar to PulseEffects, with the main difference being that Easy Effects is designed to modify the sound under PipeWire. If for whatever reason we need it to be PulseAudio, there is PulseEffects; let link to flathub It works safe on all supported systems.
What both Easy Effects and PulseEffects do is control the sound of everything that is playing on our computer. For example, it can be used to equalize the music that is playing on Kodi, or increase the bass or give surround sound to our movies wherever they are played.
I hope this article will help you understand what Pavucontrol is, if it is necessary or not in your case and what alternatives to use.