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Audio4Linux/JDSP4Linux
An audio effect processor for PipeWire and PulseAudio clients
JamesDSP for Linux is a Qt-based GUI wrapping the JamesDSP audio processing library, which originated on Android. It plugs into PipeWire (or legacy PulseAudio) to apply a chain of DSP effects — EQ, reverb, convolver, bass boost, crossfeed — to all system audio. Target audience is audiophiles and Linux desktop users who want system-wide DSP without a separate DAW.
The EEL2 scripting engine is the standout feature: you can write arbitrary DSP effects at runtime with a minimal built-in IDE, syntax highlighting, and spectral processing helpers — that's well above what most free system audio tools offer. The PipeWire integration is first-class with proper low-latency injection, per-device preset rules, and selective app exclusion. D-Bus IPC plus a CLI remote control means it's scriptable and automatable without hacking config files. The partitioned convolver supports full true-stereo (LL/LR/RL/RR) impulse responses, which is rare in free tools and matters for serious headphone correction.
PulseAudio support is in maintenance mode and the README says so openly — if your distro hasn't moved to PipeWire yet (older LTS Ubuntu, some enterprise systems), you're a second-class citizen and some features simply aren't available. The Flatpak sandbox caveat is real and annoying: impulse response files, VDC files, and presets all have to live under the sandboxed path, which breaks any existing workflow. The core DSP library (libjamesdsp) is vendored as a git subtree from an Android project and the C code shows its roots — it's not designed for Linux-native packaging, so distros outside Arch and Fedora are largely on their own for building from source. Real-time priority issues (the kernel killing the processing thread) are a known failure mode that requires manual system configuration, and the troubleshooting section in the README is the extent of the guidance.