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Fixing the sound on my ThinkPad T14s Gen2
Speakers on most ThinkPads are not known for their audiophile quality. However, the sound on my ThinkPad T14s Gen 2 was really terrible on Linux; much more so than on Windows.
The issue here is that the settings and drivers for Dolby Audio are not available as open source. Your best bet is to try and recreate the sound using certain equalizer settings. I have spent some time researching the best program for that and even more time on finding the best settings for my ThinkPad.
Using Easy Effects, you can load different presets that will improve your sound drastically. The one preset that works best for me is the thinkpad-t14-gen1.json which I happened to find hidden deep inside some reddit thread.
In case this file gets deleted, here’s the setting:
{
"output": {
"bass_enhancer#0": {
"amount": 22.0,
"blend": 0.0,
"bypass": false,
"floor": 20.0,
"floor-active": false,
"harmonics": 10.0,
"input-gain": 0.0,
"output-gain": 0.0,
"scope": 220.0
},
"blocklist": [],
"filter#0": {
"balance": 0.0,
"bypass": false,
"equal-mode": "IIR",
"frequency": 75.0,
"gain": 0.0,
"input-gain": 0.0,
"mode": "RLC (BT)",
"output-gain": 0.0,
"quality": 0.0,
"slope": "x6",
"type": "High-pass",
"width": 4.0
},
"limiter#0": {
"alr": false,
"alr-attack": 5.0,
"alr-knee": 0.0,
"alr-release": 50.0,
"attack": 2.0,
"bypass": false,
"dithering": "None",
"external-sidechain": false,
"gain-boost": true,
"input-gain": 0.0,
"lookahead": 4.0,
"mode": "Herm Thin",
"output-gain": 0.0,
"oversampling": "Half x4(2L)",
"release": 8.0,
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"stereo-link": 100.0,
"threshold": 0.0
},
"multiband_compressor#0": {
"band0": {
"attack-threshold": -16.0,
"attack-time": 150.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -12.0,
"makeup": 2.0000000000000018,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 5.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 300.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 500.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 10.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band1": {
"attack-threshold": -24.0,
"attack-time": 150.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": true,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -9.0,
"makeup": -1.0824674490095276e-15,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 3.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 200.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 1000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 500.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 256.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band2": {
"attack-threshold": -24.0,
"attack-time": 100.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": true,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -9.0,
"makeup": -6.0000000000000036,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 3.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 150.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 2000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 1000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 800.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band3": {
"attack-threshold": -24.0,
"attack-time": 80.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": true,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -9.0,
"makeup": -0.6000000000000002,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 4.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 120.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 4000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 2000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 4500.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band4": {
"attack-threshold": -12.0,
"attack-time": 20.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": false,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -6.0,
"makeup": 0.0,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 1.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 100.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 8000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 4000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 4000.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band5": {
"attack-threshold": -12.0,
"attack-time": 20.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": false,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -6.0,
"makeup": 0.0,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 1.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 100.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 12000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 8000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 8000.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band6": {
"attack-threshold": -12.0,
"attack-time": 20.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": false,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -6.0,
"makeup": 0.0,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 1.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 100.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 16000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 12000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 12000.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"band7": {
"attack-threshold": -12.0,
"attack-time": 20.0,
"boost-amount": 6.0,
"boost-threshold": -72.0,
"compression-mode": "Downward",
"compressor-enable": true,
"enable-band": false,
"external-sidechain": false,
"knee": -6.0,
"makeup": 0.0,
"mute": false,
"ratio": 1.0,
"release-threshold": -100.0,
"release-time": 100.0,
"sidechain-custom-highcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-custom-lowcut-filter": false,
"sidechain-highcut-frequency": 20000.0,
"sidechain-lookahead": 0.0,
"sidechain-lowcut-frequency": 16000.0,
"sidechain-mode": "RMS",
"sidechain-preamp": 0.0,
"sidechain-reactivity": 10.0,
"sidechain-source": "Middle",
"solo": false,
"split-frequency": 16000.0,
"stereo-split-source": "Left/Right"
},
"bypass": false,
"compressor-mode": "Modern",
"dry": -100.0,
"envelope-boost": "None",
"input-gain": -6.0,
"output-gain": 0.0,
"stereo-split": false,
"wet": 0.0
},
"plugins_order": [
"bass_enhancer#0",
"filter#0",
"multiband_compressor#0",
"stereo_tools#0",
"limiter#0"
],
"stereo_tools#0": {
"balance-in": 0.0,
"balance-out": 0.0,
"bypass": false,
"delay": 0.0,
"input-gain": 0.0,
"middle-level": 0.0,
"middle-panorama": 0.0,
"mode": "LR > LR (Stereo Default)",
"mutel": false,
"muter": false,
"output-gain": 0.0,
"phasel": false,
"phaser": false,
"sc-level": 1.0,
"side-balance": 0.0,
"side-level": 0.0,
"softclip": false,
"stereo-base": 0.24999999999999994,
"stereo-phase": 0.0
}
}
}
