Audiolinux lxqt release notes


Version 5.5.0

1) Full system update with more than 220 packages

2) Kernel RT 5.17.1.17.realtime2-1-rt

3) Updated rtapp configuration file

4) Menu 348

Added amd_pstate option for scaling governor if kernel is >= 5.17.x

Updated Web Interface 2 menu. Now options are displayed in the same order as in Web Interface 1
Added CUSTOM menu

Added new Audio extra menu and moved some options from Expert and Audio menu in Web Interface 1
Some improvements in the Diretta installation script (Audio extra menu)
Added new kernel XANMOD RT to kernel update script. Now available kernels are:
1) Audiolinux RT is the standard last realtime kernel (default)
2) Audiolinux AMD RT is a realtime kernel optimized for zen 3 AMD processors with graysky patch
3) Audiolinux RT BFQ is a realtime kernel with Budget Fair Queueing patch
4) Audiolinux RT LTS is the standard stable Long Term Support realtime kernel
5) Audiolinux XANMOD RT is Long Term Support realtime kernel with Xanmod patches
Kernels 2, 3, 5 have also alsa base sampling frequencies extended up to 1536 kHz, alsa aloop patch enabling up to 1536 kHz PCM sampling rate, NUMA disabled for better performance, tickrate set to 1000, support for some extra DAC

Removed button Cancel on main menu. Now you can exit from menu selecting 11 EXIT and go to Console
Added option 0 MAIN MENU to all sub-menu

Some internal improvements and fixes to status scripts

Added CPU type to 0 SHOW configuration in Main Menu

Option 8 CPU frequency in Status menu now check core frequency with a direct call to /sys
Option 9 CPU load in Status menu now display load for each core and application (you can exit with F10)

On user request now the options for starting audio services in Audio menu will enable the service if disabled and will disable it if enabled

Added 2 new options in Expert menu:
9 LINUX JOURNAL enable/disable
10 LINUX WATCHDOG enable/disable
You could disable Journal and Watchdog if you want to improve performance and you plan to leave your system running for a long time
You will see however some false errors at boot

WEB INTERFACE 1 will now use Wetty (much better than shellinabox)

Updated script-server package for Web Interface 2
Audiolinux menu will not start automatically at each login, but the user will have to type menu on the command line (Web interface 2 will work as before)

Version 5.4.0

1) Full system update (more than 250 packages (including new gcc version)

2) Kernel RT 5.16.2.19.realtime1-2-rt

3) Menu 332

Added gcc compiler version check before installing Ravenna or Diretta drivers in Expert menu

New DIRETTA option in Expert menu with the following options:
1) Install/update
2) Enable/Disable Diretta daemon Single (recommended)
3) Enable/Disable Diretta daemon Multi
4) Set Ethernet interface

Added new configuration option to record script: 3) Set after how much time of silence record will stop
Fixed a problem when more than 2 songs with the same title already exist in recording directory
Record script will now rename a song to 2 - title if a song with the same title already exists in recording directory
Fix to record script removing some packages after sox-dsd installation
Fix to record script add_tags function
A little tuning for record script auto-stop. Now recording will stop after 3s of 0.01% silence

All custom Web Interface 2 menu items saved in /opt/configuration/scriptserver are now correctly reinstalled after a menu update

Ramroot configuration script now set boot default to yes if ramroot enabled (it could change to no after a package update)

Fix to isolated cores option trying to install cpuset instead of cpuset-git

Version 5.3.1

1) Fix to initramfs image

2) Menu 318

The /etc/mkinitcpio.conf configuration file is tested and eventually modified at menu launch. This will fix ramroot problem in lxqt version.

HQPlayer embedded install options updated

Fix to isolated cores script. Now it will install cpuset-git

Version 5.3.0

1) Full system update(more than 280 packages

2) Kernel RT 5.15.5.22.realtime1-1-rt

3) Menu 315

Fix to spotifyd configuration folder owner
Updated auto-update script

Added new kernel Audiolinux AMD RT. Kernel available on Audiolinux are now:
1) Audiolinux RT is the standard last realtime kernel
2) Audiolinux AMD RT is a realtime kernel optimized for zen 3 AMD processors with
- graysky patch
- alsa base sampling frequencies extended up to 1536 kHz
- alsa aloop patch enabling up to 1536 kHz PCM sampling rate
- NUMA disabled for better performance
- tickrate set to 1000
- support for some extra DAC
3) Audiolinux RT BFQ is a realtime kernel with
- Budget Fair Queueing patch
- alsa base sampling frequencies extended up to 1536 kHz
- alsa aloop patch enabling up to 1536 kHz PCM sampling rate
- NUMA disabled for better performance
- tickrate set to 1000
- support for some extra DAC
4) Audiolinux RT LTS is the standard Long Term Support realtime kernel

Simplified display of isolated cores status in 0 SHOW configuration (Main menu)
Fix to update menu script trying to copy from non-existent folder
Fix to remote mount script gateway display
Option 14 NETWORK status in Status menu now displays also wireless speed

New Recording script version with:
1) Files with sample frequency higher than 384 kHz will be converted automatically to wavpack format
2) Recordings will be tagged automatically with songrec (open source version of Shazam)

Various improvements to recording script

Added new option 16 RECORD playing audio to Expert menu
This new script will record the audio output, whether the source is from a local file or from internet
The audio application output must be set to Loopback device 0, for example Loopback,DEV=0

CD rip script in Audio menu now supports more than one CDROM drive.
The drive will be selected and saved to configuration file with option 1) Find the offset of your CD drive (reset configuration)

Fixed conversion to PCM frequencies higher than 384KHz in 15 CONVERT/UPSAMPLE audio files to DSD or PCM. Now the output file for those frequencies is .wav (limitation of flac compression)
Better display of isolated core status.
Added the possibility to add more than one irq to a set of cores in Expert menu -> 10 CPU ISOLATED CORES Assign core to irq or application

New partially rewritten core isolation scripts. Now in Expert menu -> 10 CPU ISOLATED CORES Assign core to irq or application is possible to assign also an irq to a specific set of isolated cores different from the set used by audio applications.
Improved system status display for core isolation

Change to local mount script. Now /etc/fstab line is compatible with vfat


Version 5.2.0

1) Full system update (more than 220 packages)

2) Kernel RT LTS 5.10.65.53.realtime1-1


2) Browser changed to official Google Chrome (instead of open source Chromium) because sync will be soon disabled on Chromium.

4) Menu 306

Fix to cd script (find offset not working if file not empty)

Little fix in cdrip script displayed text

Fix to Ethernet speed limit script in the wrong path

Now MPD and Squeezelite configuration scripts will set DAC number. After a reboot the number will not change

Update to script-server for Web Interface 2

Version 5.1.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel RT LTS 5.10.52.47.realtime1-1


3) Fix for pacman unrecognized archive format

4) Menu 301

Little fix about AES67 daemon not starting

5) The image is now a clone from a 16GB USB stick, however is recommended to use a 32GB one, since not all 16GB sticks are the same size

Version 5.0.0

1) Full system update

2) Very stable Kernel RT LTS 5.10.35-rt39-2-rt-lts


3) Improved Desktop monitor and new colors

4) Menu 300 with (in chronological order)

Removed option for kernel 5.4.x in kernel update
Added new dependency for CD rip. You can add the package manually with 'yay -Sy python-discid'
Now you can rip also if the CD is not in MusicBrainz database
Spotify configuration file updated to new format.
New option in Expert menu 'CPU extra speed (at a cost)'
This script will disable CPU mitigations at the cost of making your system less secure
Added folder /opt/configuration/scriptserver where you can add your custom items for Web Interface 2. These files will be copied back to /opt/script-server/conf/runners/ in case of a menu update
Removed arch4edu repository (too slow). Now rocm packages for hqplayer have been uploaded to audiolinux repository
Rewritten script for setting priority to standard of extreme
Rewritten script for AES67 audio over IP. Now you can choose between original Merging ravenna-alsa (Butler) daemon and AES67 daemon
Basic configuration is done by the script
Tested successfully with Merging equipment
New options '7) UPSAMPLE/CONVERT PCM flac/wav/mp3 to PCM flac' and '8) UPSAMPLE/CONVERT DSD dff/dsf to DSD dsf' in '14 CONVERT/UPSAMPLE audio files to DSD or PCM' (Expert menu) The script has been partially rewritten and some bugs fixed
Added some explanation to PCM conversion extra parameters in DSD conversion script
In the new version of audio conversion script you can convert PCM to DSD and DSD to PCM
Added new options:
6) Convert DSD dff/dsf to PCM flac
8) Set PCM extra conversion parameters (for experts)
New improved CD rip script with the following options:
1) Find the offset of your CD player
2) Set your music directory
3) RIP to flac
4) Edit configuration (templates etc.)
New improved DSD conversion script with these options:
1) Set your music directory
2) Set DSD sampling frequency
3) Convert PCM flac/wav to DSD dsf
4) Convert DSD dff to DSD dsf
5) Set DSD extra conversion parameters (for experts)
6) View, copy, move, delete your music files
DSD conversion and Music to RAM scripts search is now case sensitive
Added alert in main menu if you are using AMD processor
Rewritten script for modified option 'CPU ucode and scaling driver to AMD/Intel' in Expert menu. This option now change automatically scaling driver to acpi for AMD or intel pstate for Intel CPU
Camilla DSP! New options:
In Expert menu '16 CAMILLADSP installation'. This script will install and configure Camilla DSP - a flexible linux IIR and FIR engine for crossovers, room correction etc
In Audio menu added '19 CAMILLADSP start and enable' and '20 CAMILLADSP GUI start and enable'
You can access Camilla DSP configuration at ipaddress:5002
Added new option 'CONVERT audio files to DSD' in Expert menu. This script will convert flac files to DSD dsf format up to DSD1024 with standard and expert options
Improved squeezelite configuration script now using the form hw:x,x for audio card
Wireless script remove previous stray wpa_supplicant links in /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants
Added '11 NEWS' to main menu
Improved MUSIC2RAM script: now show available memory and added music folders after adding files to RAM.
General cleaning of scripts
Changed disc-template for CD rip
Added CD rip option in Audio menu (exact audio copy)
Added Help option to REALTIME MANUAL ASSIGNMENT configuration in Expert menu
Added UPnP server

Version 4.9.5

1) Full system update (almost 2 GB!)

2) Kernel RT 5.11.4-rt11-1-rt

3) Menu 273 with

Updated script-server for Web Interface 2

Added arch4edu repository for rocm packages

Added 3 versions of hqplayer embedded to Install/Update menu

Check for initramfs compression type in kernel update

Forced update to ramroot version 2.0.1-2

/etc/mkinitcpio.conf changed to default gzip compression for compatibility with older kernels
Resize script should now be compatible with NVMe SSD
spotifyd-slim now substituted by spotifyd in Web Interface 2

Fix to spotify installation script in Update menu. spotifyd-slim now substituted by spotifyd

Version 4.9.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel 5.4.93-rt51-2-rt-lts


3) NoMachine connection problems now fixed. Disabled update popup, since the package should always be updated with archlinux package.

4) Menu 260 with

Added the option 4 HQPLAYER copy default configuration to AUDIO menu

Archlinux package for HQPlayer embedded is now based on signalyst Fedora package
If you want a package with NVIDIA/AMD GPU acceleration, please contact support, but be aware that more than 2500MB of libraries must be installed

Fix to HQPlayer installation

Main menu and option 17 PLAY FROM RAM load music to RAM in AUDIO menu display the loaded music albums

Fix to Shairport-sync installation

Changed linux realtime kernel repository

NEW! Audiolinux repository with applications not available in Archlinux or too difficult or too long to compile

Added Install/Update/Remove audio applications to Web Interface 2 at ipaddress:5001

Fix for local NTFS drive mount (not saved to /etc/fstab)

Version 4.8.0

1) Full system update

2) Now default kernel is linux-rt-lts (Long Term Support). You can always install the last kernel in UPDATE menu. LTS realtime kernel is more stable and realtime patches have been tested a lot more. Recommended for Roon users.

3) Added lzo driver to initramfs image (ramroot needs it)

4) Menu 253 with

Update to script-server (used for Web Interface 2) and new improved mount scripts

Fix to WEB Interface 2 (link to boot mode script wrong)

Improved remote mount script. Now it will display the content of /etc/fstab and you can select the option "Umount it and delete the corresponding line in /etc/fstab" if you have made a mistake

Added error message if the user start Audiolinux menu as root user (You should not do that...)

Kernel update script now show also last LTS kernel version. LTS kernel set as default. Removed fallback option at boot, since Audiolinux is not using autodetect and the standard and fallback images would be exactly the same
Added NETWORK enable/disable option in EXPERT menu. !!! Please be aware that if you disable it all Web Interfaces (including NoMachine in lxqt) will be disabled and you will be able to access Audiolinux only from keyboard/monitor. You could disable network if you are playing only local files

Fix to MPD configuration script. Now you should give the full path of your music directory

New kernel update script. Now you can install Linux realtime kernel LTS . This kernel is recommended for Roon users, since there are some Roon bugs not resolved yet using 5.9.x

Improved PLAY from RAM script. With Web Interface 1 now you can load your music files to RAM with file editor


Version 4.7.1

1) Ramroot fix

Version 4.7.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to linux-rt 5.9.1 realtime patch 19

3) Added firmware for nvidia cards

4) Menu 242 with

Updated list of audio applications with high priority if running (rtapp)

Fix to backup script that was not working if source was a NVMe SSD

Fix to Network speedlimit script. Added option to reduce speed to 10 Mb/s

Fix to option 14 "BOOT mode to Extreme, Extreme2 or Standard"

Added network speed to STATUS menu (network status)

Fix for  1 "REALTIME MANUAL ASSIGNMENT configuration" in EXPERT menu

Improved network script with:
1 BRIDGE with DHCP automatic IP Address
2 BRIDGE with static IP Address
3 DHCP automatic IP Address (default)
4 STATIC IP Address
5 RESTORE previous configuration
6 ETHERNET speed limit
7 Exit"
New options 3 4 without bridge. Now you can also set network mask

Fixed a problem in menu that could delay starting if network is down

Fix to Realtime clock script in Expert menu


Version 4.6.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to linux-rt 5.6.19-rt12-1-rt

3) Menu 234 with

New option 6 "REALTIME MANUAL ASSIGNMENT configuration" in EXPERT menu. This is a great news, since now you can set priority for IRQ, APPLICATION and NETWORK and see a summary with 6 "Show configuration" in main menu.
Please be sure that you are using one of the latest kernel. This script is available only on Audiolinux and is using proprietary code.

BOOT option in system menu 14 "BOOT mode to Extreme, Extreme2 or Standard" completely changed using C-state script. Now CPU "sleep" states can be changed "on the fly". With this and other options Audiolinux will not depend on kernel line (and bootloader) since all configurations are made during boot. It will be also more easily portable to other architectures.
ISOLATE CORES option 16 "ISOLATED CPU CORES configuration" completely changed. Now you can isolate and... de-isolate CPU cores without changing kernel line and reboot. The effects are immediate!
10 "ISOLATED CORES Assign core to application" in expert menu also changed with the new isolated cores configuration. Applications can use different cores and configured without restarting. An application is checking the isolation status periodically and will make the necessary changes.
Improved 0 "SHOW configuration" in main menu now show also which applications are running in which core.
Added buffer option to 9 "SQUEEZELITE select DAC and buffer" in audio menu
Now in Web Interface at ipaddres:5001 the various menus are in different folders. A lot more easy to use!
Many other little changes and fixes and a general cleaning of scripts removing duplicates.

Simplified Realtime Priority summary on SHOW configuration and some other minor fixes

Main menu will try only 2 times to download new version number to avoid too long waiting time if Internet connection is down or slow. Menu update script will download menu file only if necessary

Since the package spotifyd-bin is no more available, it has been replaced by spotifyd-slim
Now after installing this package and logitechmediaserver-git all packages needed only for compilation are removed, to save disk space

Profile scripts updated to the new options

Version 4.5.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to linux-rt-5.6.17.10-1

3) Menu 225 with

    Updated kernel installation script. Now kernel linux-rt-bfq has been renamed to linux-rt-bfq-dev

    Fix: in some cases audio services not disabled if isolated cores enabled

    Profile copied to Auto when one of the standard profiles selected

    CPU load now show instantaneous load not average from boot

    Main menu show also last available Audiolinux menu

    Enable/disable Samba server in EXPERT menu now also start/stop samba immediately

    Full support of Merging Ravenna driver also on 5.x kernels and new aes67-linux-daemon (EXPERIMENTAL)

    Web Interface 2 at ipaddress:5001 now improved and fully working


Version 4.4.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to 5.6.4-rt3


3) Menu updated to version 217 with

    fix in the new menu system update script

    important fix to local mount and WiFi scripts


4) Various little fixes


Version 4.3.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to 5.4.19.rt11

3) Menu updated to version 214 with with the new alternative menu already installed

4) Various little fixes

Version 4.2.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to 5.4.5-rt3-1-rt


3) Menu updated to version 213 with with the new option REALTIME clock in EXPERT menu and many fixes

Version 4.1.1

1) Hotfix to manual realtime assignment in profile script that was causing a system hang

Version 4.1.0

1) Full system update

2) New AUR package manager yay

3) Menu updated to version 206 with

    Option to set MPD music directory

    "RAMROOT configuration" in System menu

    UPDATE menu completely re-designed. Now you can install/reinstall/remove all audio applications.

Version 4.0.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to 5.2.21.rt13

3) Ramroot version 2

4) ssh changed to sshd service (no more socket for security reasons)

5) Updated archlinux mirror servers

6) Updated /etc/rtapp/rtapp.conf

7) Updated /etc/rtirq.conf (the default is now xhci not all usb devices)

8) New aur package manager pamac

9) Updated archlinux mirror servers

10) Improved  desktop monitor menu

11) Fonts changed from Droid to Noto (Chinese fonts support)

12) Menu updated to version 200 with

    new blacklist kernel option in expert menu

    new option show configuration in main menu

    all options in update menu will not preserve original downloaded package, to save space

    isolated cores: option for setting specific core for different application

    samba server enable/disable in expert menu

    samba add new shared directory

    MAC address in network status

    option to downgrade kernel to 4.19.x (for Ravenna driver installation)

    added hqplayer option in update menu

    new audio service spotifyd (only paid subscription to Spotify)

    WiFi will now remove previous configurations in /etc/wpa_supplicant

    original configuration menu divided in system and audio menus

    realtime test with cycles number input option

    select DAC for MPD fix (pressing enter will disable play form memory)

13) PROFILES MENU:
green ,orange (default), fire, Auto (generated by Audiolinux menu), custom1, custom2, custom3
Example:

RTMANUAL=""   
RTEXPERT=""
PRIORITY=""
HYPER=""
SCALING=""
CPUSPEED=""
TURBO=""
BOOT=""
ISOLATED=""
ISOLATEDIRQ=""
SAMBA=""
UCODE=""

# RTMANUAL: realtime manual assignment                    "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# RTEXPERT: realtime expert configuration                 "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# PRIORITY: realtime priority                             "standard", "extreme"
# HYPER: hyper-threading                                  "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# SCALING: scaling driver                                 "intel", "acpi"
# CPUSPEED: CPU frequency                                 <frequency> (GHz) in format x.xx or 'performance', for example 2.70
# TURBO: CPU turbo                                        "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# BOOT: boot mode                                         "standard", "extreme", "extreme2"
# If you have configured boot mode with "SET CPU C-states" in Expert menu, set this to an empty value
# ISOLATED: isolate a set of cores                        "0" disabled, <core number> (first is 0, not available) or an interval of cores
# For example 1-2 will isolate core 1,2 / 1-3 will isolate core 1,2,3 / 2 will isolate only core 2
# If enabled, all audio services will be disabled and hyper-threading disabled even if set to 1 (enabled) on this configuration file
# You can re-enable your audio services after reboot
# ISOLATEDIRQ: isolate audio irqs                         "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# This will disable C-state configuration in expert menu
# SAMBA: samba server                                     "1" enabled, "0" disabled
# UCODE: specify processor microcode                      "intel", "amd"


# IMPORTANT: if value is empty your configuration will not be changed.
# This is useful if you have applied some special configuration, for example if you have activated C-state in expert menu
# Example: BOOT=""

Version 3.6.0

1) Full system update

2) Menu updated to version 124 with new options in expert menu: 9 "ENABLE/DISABLE realtime manual assignment" 10 "Change ucode to AMD/Intel".  WiFi script hotfix now will remove previous attempts configuration (wpa_supplicant). Roon database transfer script will move the full directory /var/roon not only the database

3) Kernel updated to 5.2.0-rt1-8-rt-bfq

4) Added driver for AMD graphic cards

5) Added  "REISUB" option to shutdown cleanly in case of problems --> see https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_shortcuts#Kernel

Version 3.5.0

1) Full system update

2) Menu updated to version 123

3) Kernel updated to linux-rt-bfq-4.19.50.rt22

4) Various little fixes


Version 3.4.0

1) Full system update

2) Menu updated to version 114 with

- fix for local mount script (in some cases the drive was not added to /etc/fstab)

- "Set Ethernet speed limit" in Expert menu

- "Load music to memory" in main menu and "ENABLE/DISABLE play music from memory" in the configuration menu

- From now on if you select standard, extreme boot or isolated cores you will always boot with the boot option audiolinux. The scripts will change the parameters of this option accordingly. Now the system is compatible with both kernels RT 5.x and RT-BFQ 4.19.x

Version 3.3.1

1) Some improvements on the on standard Desktop theme

Version 3.3.0

1) Full system update

2) Kernel updated to 4.19.31-rt18 no NUMA

3) Menu updated to version 110 with WiFi configuration, Format extra drive, Expert menu (Minimize your system, Realtime expert configuration, Alsa system wide configuration file), updated clone script with the option to choose the audiolinux partition size and make an extra partition for your music, option to set MPD DAC and play from memory

Version 3.2.0

1) Kernel updated to 4.19.15-rt12-4-rt-bfq

2) Full system update

3) New lxqt version 0.14

4) Changed time update to systemd sync

5) Menu updated to version 103

Version 3.1.0

1) Kernel updated to linux-rt-bfq-4.19.10.8-2

2) Full system update

3) Headless style Menu updated to version 083.

4) Added system time update at boot

5) Changed default font to ttf-droid for Chinese fonts display

6) Switched to systemd network as in headless version

7) Changed UUID of ext4 and vfat UEFI partitions. This way you can boot with USB stick also if you have audiolinux installed on internal drive