[teus]

I'm a bit lost, trying to get an equalizer or even REW correction working with Kodi. I don't know what distribution to pick, and if I go with Alsa, Pulse or pipewire.
So far, I learned the following:

• OSMC has a plugin which works as equalizer, but they don't support x86/x64 hardware. plugin https://github.com/wastis/PulseEqualizerGui
  
• libreelec doesnt have the alsa support baked in and doesnt allow modification of the OS. they run ALSA and pulseaudio only for bluetooth devices.I can install the PulseEqualizerGui plugin, but it looks like I have to reconfigure the entire audio setup to  work with pulse. I want to avoid so much manual configuration. 
  
• I can run a vanilla OS with kodi on top, but the OS integration is lackluster. on xubuntu the OS keeps changing the resolution, I tried two different ways to disable password login. I tried pulseaudio-equalizer and qpaeq but it requires reconfiguring as well. I could try pulseeffects
  
• I could try kodi in flatpak wich has pipewire supports
  
• I can give up and just install Windows and equalizerAPO, which works for my desktop
  

[teus]

I erased the disk once more and tried the latest ubuntu release (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS April 25, 2024), it comes by default with pipewire. The GUI and integration of vanilla ubuntu is a lot smoother than xubuntu, especially when it comes to login, screen lock and keeping the Kodi application in focus (instead of minimizing it too often). kodi on xubuntu would also crash frequently. Ubuntu 24.04 supports pipewire, kodi installs from the repository and works out of the box with pipewire. nice.  Easy effects also installs easily, and doesn't even require any configuration to set up. 

Happy to see this finally worked out. I now can correct my loudspeakers, equalize, boost or reduce bass and even have a compressor for when movies have too mouch loudness range

[sneezing_subsystem]

Nice! Glad it worked out for you. For my setups, I always run audio out via pass-through (USB out) directly into my DAC, then pre-amp then receiver. This way, I'm never reliant on the Linux audio stack for playback. But yeah, in your case, running the latest kernels and an up-to-date distro (Like Ubuntu or KDE Neon) will always offer the best experience.  Always more than one way to skin the cat, as they say.

[teus]

Nice! Glad it worked out for you. For my setups, I always run audio out via pass-through (USB out) directly into my DAC, then pre-amp then receiver. This way, I'm never reliant on the Linux audio stack for playback. But yeah, in your case, running the latest kernels and an up-to-date distro (Like Ubuntu or KDE Neon) will always offer the best experience.  Always more than one way to skin the cat, as they say.

yeah, totally. so many ways to do it. in the end, I spent about 100 euro on a second hand NUC, and now I can run anything in 4K resolution. 
I route my audio through HDMI to the TV and the TV goes with TOSLINK to a DAC and a decent but simple amplifier. it only has one input, no equalizer, nothing. 
the TV remote can't control the volume since TOSLINK has no volume control, but that's alright. I could buy a hardware DSP and not rely on the PC running Kodi, but those are a bit expensive.
I could upgrade my amplifier to a full blown receiver with an equalizer, but that wouldn't do REW correction and switching between equalizer presets could be more cumbersome.

[sneezing_subsystem]

I'm considering the FLIRC +1 remote (with the USB receiver), which I think looks like it could solve the remote control issue. It appears to be able to allow marcos to be defined and saved to it, which would be a big help. In my case, I use the Kodi remote app, but I have to use the Yamaha amplifier's remote to control volume. Not a huge deal, like you say, but if I can get one remote to rule them all, as they say, well that would be great.

Does your DAC have EQ settings? I know many do, but not always available on all external inputs... I purchased an Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition DAC, which I love, and it has a 10 or 12 band EQ (can't remember exactly which one), as well as a built-in parametric EQ, which is also pretty sweet. The issue I have is that the EQ only works for sources internal to the DAC (i.e. Bluetooth, SMB network files, streaming services, internet radio, etc). So it does not work for my USB Debian Linux PC input. Though I think this will change on a subsequent firmware update. For now I just use my Yamaha's tone controls. It's more than acceptable in my case, but again, I'd love to use the EQ in the DAC. Here's hoping. If not, I can always go old-school and pick up a Yamaha EQ off of eBay, but I'd rather not go that route.