Fixing Low Speaker Volume on Linux

[siyamsec-lab]

🔊 Show & Tell: Fixing Low Speaker Volume on Linux

I recently had a low-volume issue on my HP EliteBook 840 G8 running AnduinOS. The built-in speakers were noticeably quiet even when the system volume was at 100%.

Instead of using a temporary volume boost every time, I worked through the PipeWire/WirePlumber configuration and made the higher volume limit persistent.

The setup

My audio stack:

• PipeWire 1.6.2
• WirePlumber 0.5.13
• PipeWire PulseAudio compatibility layer
• Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller
• GNOME

First, I identified the default audio sink:

pactl info | grep -E 'Server Name|Default Sink'

Then I verified the current volume:

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@

1. Allow a higher maximum volume

I created:

~/.config/wireplumber/wireplumber.conf.d/90-speaker-volume.conf

with a rule targeting my specific speaker sink:

monitor.alsa.rules = [
  {
    matches = [
      {
        node.name = "alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-skl_hda_dsp_generic.HiFi__Speaker__sink"
      }
    ]
    actions = {
      update-props = {
        api.acp.device.alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-skl_hda_dsp_generic.HiFi__Speaker__sink.max-volume = 1.5
      }
    }
  }
]

Then I restarted WirePlumber:

systemctl --user restart wireplumber

I verified that the property was actually applied:

wpctl inspect @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ | grep -iE 'node.name|max-volume'

The important result was:

max-volume = "1.5"

2. Allow GNOME to use volume above 100%

GNOME was also configured to disallow volume above 100%, so I enabled it:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.sound allow-volume-above-100-percent true

Verify:

gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.sound allow-volume-above-100-percent

Expected:

true

3. Test the higher volume

Now I could set the sink to 150%:

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 150%

And verify it:

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@

Result:

Volume: 1.50

I also verified through the PulseAudio compatibility interface:

pactl get-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@

which reported:

150% / 10.57 dB

What I learned

The important part wasn't simply running:

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 150%

That only changes the current volume.

The persistent part was configuring WirePlumber's max-volume property for the specific speaker sink and allowing GNOME to use volume above 100%.

I also experimented with WirePlumber's filter-graph/software-DSP mechanisms, but that turned out to be unnecessary for this particular problem. The simpler max-volume configuration was enough to expose the higher volume range.

⚠️ Important

150% volume is software amplification, not extra physical speaker power. Going above the hardware's normal level can introduce distortion and may potentially stress speakers.

The exact node.name is also hardware/configuration-specific. Don't blindly copy mine — identify your own speaker sink with:

wpctl status

and inspect it with:

wpctl inspect @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@

This was my approach to solving the low-volume problem on my system.