ALSA backend
This test case tests that ALSA works as a sound backend and that various frontends can be used to communicate with it.
Setup
- This test case should be performed on bare-metal machines. To be able to test with virtual machines, consider a USB device pass-through.
- The computer must be equipped with a sound device.
- Install a desktop version of Fedora 34 (or later).
- Make sure the
alsa-utils
package is installed. - Connect your speakers (headphones) to your computer’s sound device.
- Use an audio file in wav format. If you do not have one you can download a suitable audio file. Some default files can be also found in the
/usr/share/sounds/
directory. - Perform the following steps as a regular user.
How to test
List the sound devices known to ALSA.
$ aplay -l
or (for more details)
$ aplay -L
Identify the ones that represent the logical (
default
,pipewire
) or a physical device (sysdefault:CARD=USB
,sysdefault:CARD=PCH
)Play the audio file (wav) over the default device.
$ aplay -D sysdefault <audiofile.wav>
Play the audio file (wav) over a selected ALSA device.
$ aplay -D hw:X <audiofile.wav>
Play the audio file (wav) over the pipewire device.
$ aplay -D pipewire <audiofile.wav>
Play the audio file (wav) over the physical device.
$ aplay -D sysdefault:CARD=USB <audiofile.wav>
[1]Repeat the above step for all physical devices.
Run
alsamixer
and try setting the volume for a physical device use while playing some audio.
Expected results
aplay -L
lists physical and logical devices on the system.- Audio can be played over different endpoints using the
aplay
command. - Volume levels can be adjusted for physical devices using
alsamixer
[2]