[pulseaudio-discuss] Pulseaudio config

[Ansis Māliņš]

The docs are bad, but existent. But out of kindness:

pactl is the command line tool to control PulseAudio. pavucontrol is a
graphical one, but it can't load or unload modules.

Find out stuff with
pactl list modules
pactl list sinks # sinks = speakers
pactl list sources # sources = microphones

The PULSE_SINK and PULSE_SOURCE control which sink or source is used as the
default. With the syntax I showed, I set the variable for the command that
follows it. Alternatively, if your recorder app has an options menu where
you can select inputs and outputs, you can use that instead.

Now, the setup.

pactl load-module module-null-sink sink_name="transmit"
Every sink comes with a monitor source. Null sinks are exactly that -
they're only good for their monitor source. That means they're the way to
take the output of an application and use it elsewhere. Now, I could record
the monitor of the default sound card, but then I'd also be recording any
other beeps and squeaks the system produces. You don't want Skype sounds
mixed in your rap songs, right?

pactl load-module module-combine-sink sink_name="tee"
slaves="transmit,<name of your local soundcard>"
This is a playback multiplexer. Anything you play to it, will get played on
every slave sink. This is the way to, for example, play on multiple sound
cards simultaneously. This time, one of the sound cards is a virtual one.

pactl load-module module-loopback source="<name of your microphone source>"
sink="transmit"
The loopback modules is basically the equivalent of an application that
records sound and plays it back immediately. Here, we take the microphone
and play it back to the null sink. You could omit the source parameter to
record from system's default mic.

We're set now. We now must play beats to "tee" and record from
"transmit.monitor" and send it over the Internet.
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