A Way to Change the Volumes of All the Players at One Time With a Keyboard Shortcut or With EasyEffects Sink?

[lisphm]

My laptop has a subpar EQ for its speakers, so I'm using this setup.

I need to boost the maximum volume, but without a Limiter, the sound becomes very distorted. The only problem is that the Limiter worsens the sound quality when things are very loud, even with the Auto Leveling. I'm stuck between two choices: have the speakers be too quiet so it never reaches the Limiter, or have the sound quality always be worse. Changing the system volume only changes the volume after the Limiter has been applied. However, I want some way to change the volume before the Limiter is applied so that I only lose sound quality at the highest volume levels.

I've been thinking if there is a way to change the Output Volume value in the Loudness component based on EasyEffects Sink, or set it to a variable that I can easily change with a keyboard shortcut.

Thanks for your help.

Oh and also, EasyEffects Sink does absolutely nothing, even if I set my sound output device to it. Is this intended?

[lisphm]

If all else fails, I can just change each Player's volume individually. Or better yet, find a way to scale all of the volumes of the Players based on one value, which I suppose is the same thing as the original question.
New Title:
A Way to Change the Volumes of All the Players at One Time With a Keyboard Shortcut or With EasyEffects Sink?

[wwmm]

Oh and also, EasyEffects Sink does absolutely nothing, even if I set my sound output device to it. Is this intended?

By default PipeWire does not enable volume and mute controls for virtual sinks. It is possible to change its configuration files to force it to do otherwise. But honestly it is better to not do it and keep controlling your soundcard device volume.

I need to boost the maximum volume, but without a Limiter, the sound becomes very distorted.

If you amplify the signal beyond 0 dB you will most likely have distortion. There is no way around it. The level meter in EasyEffects bottom panel will warn you when this happens.

I want some way to change the volume before the Limiter is applied so that I only lose sound quality at the highest volume levels.

It is not possible to amplify the level above 0 dB without the limiter taking action for force the level down at all costs. It is its function after all.

Show a print of EasyEffects window when the audio level is "too low". Unless there is an output gain control somewhere decreasing the level there is nothing you can do. You may have already reached the limitations of your laptop speakers.

[lisphm]

Show a print of EasyEffects window when the audio level is "too low".

Removed the Loudness and set the output volume of the EQ back to 0 dB.

All the values in the EQ are below or at 0 dB, which is why it is quieter than desired.

However, I am referring to a simple and convenient way for the Output Volume to change the volume before any sound effects are applied.

As of now, changing the Output Volume does not change the sound that the Equalizer receives.
I want a way to change what the Equalizer receives that is as easy as changing the Output Volume.

[wwmm]

As of now, changing the Output Volume does not change the sound that the Equalizer receives.
I want a way to change what the Equalizer receives that is as easy as changing the Output Volume.

If you set monitor.channel-volumes = true somewhere in PipeWire's configuration file our sink volume will be enabled and you will get what you want. But I am not sure where in its configuration file this setting should be put. So it is worth to ask for this there or take a look at their wiki pages.

That being said I still do not see the reason why the volume has to be controlled before the equalizer. As far as the plugin is concerned it does not need this.

[lisphm]

OK, thanks.

The reason is because of the limiter. Since the volume is controlled after the limiter, it means that most of the time, the volume gets high enough to reach the limiter. But controlling the volume anywhere before the limiter means I can reach the limiter only when I need to.

This is an exaggerated example of what I'm talking about. The Output Volume (Speakers) is set to mute, but EasyEffects sees the same volume. This means that whatever I do to the output volume, the limiter will still act up.

However, changing the loudness before the limiter means that the limiter only acts when I need it to, saving sound quality.

[wwmm]

Depending on how well the autogain plugin works for your audio content it will be an easier and automated solution to handle the level of the signal that gets before the limiter. And considering your concerns about the audio level the autogain would also probably allow you to not set the equalizer input gain so high.