Friends, if anyone has the opportunity to check if the device works in Linux, please let me know.
I did not mean the internal OS of the device, but whether it works as a sound card on a PC running Linux
They do not have a Linux audio driver on the downloads page. They only have a PC driver currently. So no.
The presence of a driver in the download section is not at all necessary, for example, some of Line6 processors work fine in Linux, as well as the new Boss GT1000core (probably GT1000 too, but I have not seen evidence of this). According to NeuralDSP, QC is a USB audio compliant, this is enough for the device to work in Linux, however, verification is still required, because the protocols are not always implemented correctly. For example, the line of Helix processors does not tell the computer the sampling frequency at which the signal is digitized, and the enthusiasts had to write a small patch that tells the kernel to wait for a data stream of 96 kHz. For some time now, this patch has been included in the kernel, so at the moment Helix processors work in any Linux distribution out of the box.
I use Linux and the QC works just fine for me. It shows as both an input and output device. I’ve been sending audio streams to it to jam along with using the headphone out on the QC. I tried a test recording and the levels were low but it did work so I’ll have to play around some more.
Thanks! This is great news! I think a weak recording level is not an error, in Linux there are so many layers of abstractions available to the user, sometimes it is difficult to quickly find what creates a problem
Pravus could you tell me which Distro you are using and if it was plug and play via USB? I am using 20.04 LTS and although it technically works via USB i have re-ocurring audio glitches which are a nightmare. I played around with the Ubuntu Studio Controls in terms of Jack Sample Rate/Buffer sizes, but all I can do is increase or decrease the interval between the glitches and their duration.
ttah , pretty much same behaviour on my machine. I’m using ArcoD BSPWM version, updated to pipewire recently.
ttah, I’m using Arch Linux with PulseAudio and ALSA enabled. I haven’t experimented with Jack and QC, yet. There are two glitches that I’ve noticed:
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The audio will occasionally be garbled. This is very rare and only lasts for less than a second, generally when I start playing an audio stream to the QC unit. It’s probably happened less than 5 times since I plugged in my QC.
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There is no audio at all. The QC still appears in the device list but none of the meters indicate anything. I have to unplug and replug the unit to get audio again. This is somewhat rare, but happens once a week or every two weeks.
Also, not sure if it matters, but I never reboot or power down my unit. I always use standby mode except for updates where a reboot is required.
Have you tried running your QC without Jack? I wouldn’t think Jack would cause an issue, but that’s at least the first place I’d start since I’m not as familiar with it. I’ve never had issues with it in the past, though.
Also, another avenue to explore would be to use a boot CD distribution like Knoppix which doesn’t require a hard disk to install. If there is anything in Ubuntu that is causing issues with USB that might be a good way to detect it.
Best of luck!
Hi Pravus, thanks for your information.
I would describe my issue as crackling and distortion which happens every minute or so and lasts for 10-15 seconds at a time. It only affects audio coming from the computer through the QC and does not affect the sound i hear from my guitar through the QC.
I started with complete defaults (Plugged in via USB, chose QC as Output-Device) in Ubuntu with Pulse Audio. I only loaded Ubuntu Studio and used Jack/Alsa to mess with the sample rate, but as said before I only manage to change the timing of these glitches.
In Windows it works like a charm (my system is a dual boot). I just wanted to have it as generic output device in linux so that I dont have to plug my headphones back into the computer when I´m working.
I suppose its a driver issue with Unix-Kernels since I read this problem mostly from people on Linux or MacOS. I will send my info to support, but stop the troubleshooting and just keep plugging my headphones into the computer for work until its fixed.
ttah, I probably have the same symptoms as you (there is a recording of this sound), however, in my case, this also happens in Windows. I am tested ubuntu 21.04, pulseaudio and jack
Jep, thats exactly what it sounds like!
Yep, that damn sound. I haven’t been able to use the QC for recording because of it.
I’m using PopOS! (based on latest Ubuntu LTS), and can only play for a few minutes before that noise starts. Monitoring the sound from the QC directly everything sounds fine, but monitoring from the DAW, and recording tracks, the sound is corrupted exactly as in that clip you posted. Adjusting the audio settings in my DAW will temporarily reset it, and it will sound fine for a few minutes, but then the corruption comes back.
There’s been a long separate thread about this, it’s not unique to Linux: Occasional Audio Glitches as USB Interface - #120 by Waterbound
It seems recent firmware updates fixed it for iOS/macOS, but there are still issues for Windows/Linux. I was able to reproduce the same issue on Windows myself.
Honestly, I’m worried about it… because if they have to make individual platform-specific efforts to address it, then I fear it may be quite a while before it’s addressed on Linux.
If anyone has had this problem with the QC on Linux, and found a reliable way to work around it, or prevent it, I would be eternally grateful to know how you did it.
IIUC, Ubuntu doe not package a bleeding-edge kernel. Maybe give Fedora a try…?
Anyone know if there will every be a linux / ubuntu support to be able to use quad cortex as an audio interface, which would be very helpful?
The QC will be supported by anything core audio compliant meaning PCs, MAC and some tablets/cell phones etc. Currently, there is no plans to support Linux OS although I know some that have success using QC with Linux.
It doesn’t need ‘support Linux’, just work as class compliant. The bug happens on Windows as well.