Can I configure pulseaudio to output to 2 sinks at the same time?

RandomTroll · 12-30-2023, 12:57 PM

I have 2 bluetooth speakers that don't coördinate with each other. I can make pulse output to one or the other. I've built paprefs from SlackBuild and installed it. It seems to run successfully, but it doesn't create the simultaneous device in pavucontrol. I've stopped and restarted pulseaudio.

lvm_ · 12-31-2023, 01:25 AM

You can route audio from a source back to a sink via a loopback module and then to a second source. https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Sof...odule-loopback Don't think it will work well though - bluetooth is not a real-time protocol, two speakers will never be fully in sync unless you are using bluetooth multicast, and I have no idea how to set it up in linux.

Come to think of it, I am not even sure if it is possible to connect two audio bluetooth devices simultaneously without multicast anyway - maybe that's why paprefs doesn't work.

obobskivich · 12-31-2023, 06:04 AM

It may be easier to simply buy an external Bluetooth transmitter that supports simultaneous multicast and feed it audio from the source PC via another format (e.g. standard analog connection) - such boxes aren't all that uncommon or wildly expensive these days.

RandomTroll · 01-01-2024, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvm_

Come to think of it, I am not even sure if it is possible to connect two audio bluetooth devices simultaneously without multicast anyway - maybe that's why paprefs doesn't work.

Odd that a few people recommend paprefs for just this purpose - not that they're right and you're wrong.