Feature request: integrate Pipewire virtual surround filter (equal to Windows Sonic for Headphones)

[ahydronous]

By adding this Pipewire sink filter (plus adding a toggle in the SteamOS settings), you could have virtual surround audio on headphones and stereo speakers. It has been tested on Deck (via desktop mode) and works.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/blob/master/src/daemon/filter-chain/sink-virtual-surround-5.1-kemar.conf

It might even be possible to add a 7.1 filter, or for Valve to develop a bespoke tweaked filter optimized for games. This would be equivalent to Windows Sonic / Dolby Atmos for Headphones / DTS for Headphones.

[alekseivolchok]

I've been using 7.1 virtualized for a while. I think it is a huge improvement, even if it has some issues (some games break if you tell them you want 7.1 sound, you have to launch qwpgraph after every restart to re-establish pipelines etc). Just recently Valve updated pipewire so it's a little harder to configure (hint: put empty file virtual-sink.conf into home/deck/.config/pipewire/pipewire-conf.d to override mysterious configuration updates), but it's still not that hard. An official support for virtualization would be great.

I know it's hard to sell. Spatial audio isn't sexy. But it would be really easy to do for Valve. Just make it an option in audio somewhere!

I'm also wondering what we're these pipewire config changes about. To me they look like they will also prevent a normal 7.1 audio from working, like if you plug 7.1 audio system into Steam Deck dock.