How can I change the default audio device from command line?

Solution 1:

You can control PulseAudio thoroughly through the command line using pacmd and pactl commands. For options see pacmd --help or the wiki at PulseAudio:

pacmd list-sinks for name or index number of possible sinks

pacmd list-sources for name or index number of possible sources

pacmd set-default-sink "SINKNAME" | index to set the default output sink

pacmd set-default-source "SOURCENAME" | index to set the default input

pacmd set-sink-volume index volume

pacmd set-source-volume index volume for volume control (65536 = 100 %, 0 = mute; or a bit more intuitive 0x10000 = 100 %, 0x7500 = 75 %, 0x0 = 0 %)

and many many more CLI options.

Note: Changing the output sink through the command line interface can only take effect if stream target device reading is disabled. This can be done by editing the corresponding line in /etc/pulse/default.pa to:

load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false

Restart PulseAudio for changes to take effect:

pulseaudio -k

For a more elaborate tutorial on how to do this, and for instructions on how to change the sink during playback see this answer.

Solution 2:

Yes there is type alsamixer in terminal

Press ,

F1 - Help

F2 - System Information

F6 - Select Sound Card

Esc - Exit the menu