Linux Users, What's You Distro Experience?

[audiojunkie]

And don't forget a huge issue with Windows : you always end spending waayyy too much time on KVR.

Hehehe!! Guilty as charged. But I don't really mind, because music is my hobby, and if I want to relax and chat on KVRAudio, so be it--if I am relaxing and enjoying myself, mission accomplished.

[j_e_g]

I went back to a custom Win11 with all the crap removed: telemetry, forced account creation, Cortana, games, etc.

And that's what I did. No more tinkering,

Actually, that seems like a lot of "tinkering", especially if you have to redo this after every system update because companies are repeatedly installing (or reinstalling) "digital copy protection" or other software that negatively impacts your system's performance..

[FranklyFlawless]

Typically there are convenience scripts or preconfigured Windows images to ease the installation process.

[glokraw]

It seems that the easier it is to create music, the worse the collective production comes. There may be an elevated level of technical capability available to the masses, but when it's not integrated with artistic excellence, there isn't much that's memorable, very little staying power in a next-click culture with the attention span of a house fly. Seems like a lot of nicely decorated re-packaging, but a lack of originality. I don't begrudge the many learning curves. Learning generally brings good luck.

[FrettedSynth]

Linux users don't forget! Unless you can provide a half hour video proving to the Wacky guy that your system runs as you say!
It did not happen.

Hey Wacky? If a bear craps in the woods and you did not see it? Did it really happen.

[FranklyFlawless]

I do not have the time to record an uninterrupted video session, but I do have various posts scattered around other forums providing information about my Librem 14:

• Purism Librem 14 v1 - User Support / HCL Reports - Qubes OS Forum
• FS (WW): Librem 14v1-01 - Hardware / Librem 14 - Purism community

As for my Librem 5 USA, I use GNOME Screenshot to provide technical support on the Purism community forums. Here is a thread showcasing PureOS 11 'Crimson' on my Librem 5 USA:

Crimson Experience - Hardware / Librem 5 - Purism community

[glokraw]

My systems work so well, I haven't had time to even hear of anything you linked. But it's great to see progress out in the modern wide world. It's occasionally good luck to be ignorant of new realities. But I need to buy a couple old pci mobos and soundcards to save me from the future

[WackyZoundz]

Actually, that seems like a lot of "tinkering", especially if you have to redo this after every system update because companies are repeatedly installing (or reinstalling) "digital copy protection" or other software that negatively impacts your system's performance..

I don't use such software in the first place. It must come with a serial or keyfile. No hidden drivers, no dongles, no online checks.

[audiojunkie]

Actually, that seems like a lot of "tinkering", especially if you have to redo this after every system update because companies are repeatedly installing (or reinstalling) "digital copy protection" or other software that negatively impacts your system's performance..

I don't use such software in the first place. It must come with a serial or keyfile. No hidden drivers, no dongles, no online checks.

Well, here is something we can agree on! This is the only way to go about things!

[dan_flash]

Always this "For you" bogus. If there are no drivers it doesn't work for anyone. I always found it fascinating that no Linux fanboy who claimed that everything works for him ever had time to show it, not even half an hour.

"Oh yeah, I have a laptop with ArchLinux and it runs my Babyface Pro at a buffer size of 16 samples!"

"Well, bring it over. I want to see and measure that."

"Sorry, no time available."

What do you want? Would you like me to invite you to my home so I can show you some realtime audio recording using 3 different USB audio interfaces? Or should I upload hi resolution photos and/videos of me typing awesome sentences demonstrating successful use of the working keyboards and touchpads? How about a two hour documentary detailing all of my Linux audio wonders with comparisons to my previous Windows setups to illustrate the superior performance (and experience) that I get from Linux?

Do people really do that type of thing to try have another person off in some meaningless internet argument?

Wait, didn't somebody in this very thread already upload screenshots demonstrating parity between the 3 main OSes when it comes to audio performance (or at least latency)? Did that not suffice?

If something Linux doesn't work for you but works for person X then so be it and let it be so and c'est la vie. There isn't any need for hostility nor the bad attitude when replying to people here.

[ghettosynth]

Damn Linux nerds, keeping all the juicy bits to themselves...

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... mGpF55yprD

[dellboy]

I have a working Linux setup with Bitwig, Waveform, and Studio One installed. I also have a working Windows 11 setup with all those DAWs working + Cubase Pro, and Mixcraft Pro.

In the Linux system I have a few VSTs running through Yabridge. In the Windows system I have too many VSTs to count.

The Linux system was hard work setting up. The Windows system was easy to setup.

The Linux system can be a bit temperamental. The Windows system is generally more stable.

The Windows system is pretty boring. The Linux system is fun.

If I had to choose one of them to do serious music work, then the Windows system is the winner.

Both systems are great, and I could use either. If money was no object I would be on OSX.

[audiojunkie]

I love these types of videos!

[dellboy]

Its an excellent video, very well put together. The fact that he dismissed pipewire and used jack is confusing now that its the default in some linux distros.

[j_e_g]

he dismissed pipewire and used jack (instead) is confusing

It's not confusing at all. Pipewire typically requires more buffering than Jack in order to avoid underruns (ie, audible bursts of noise). Pipewire wasn't designed with the lowest possible latency as a major goal. On the other hand, Jack was designed with that as a priority, (But note the fact that some of Jack's design choices, especially having hosts run in a different process than the audio play/record code, results in Jack being not as low latency as using ALSA MMAP mode directly).

Pipewire's primary goal is synchronization (particularly syncing audio to video). The first Pipewire version exhibitied so much more latency than Jack, that musicians complained, and the developers had to retool Pipewire to more closely resemble how jack does things. But in spite of that latter effort, they have not been able to deliver the same performance as jack (and frankly, I don't see any way they ever can. Pipewire is not a design that lends itself to low latency performance).

The only mystery is why the person isn't also foregoing jack, and instead setting his software to use ALSA MMAP mode directly. The only explanation I can surmise is that his software doesn't support MMAP. (There are a number of music apps that support Jack only. I advise linux musicians to avoid using such software).

The reason why distros are using Pipewire for the default audio engine is not because it offers the best performance. Rather, it's because pipewire replaces PulseAudio and jack both, and therefore supports the largest selection of apps that make sound (many of those apps not even tools for musicians, such as perhaps a game title). In other words. Pipewire is chosen for its ease of setting up a distro's sound for general use by all linux software.