The sound updates for Linux 5.13 have been merged into the mainline

The audio-related update for Linux 5.13 has been released and has been merged into the mainline. This year, PipeWire continues to gain attention in improving the sound of the Linux userspace, and the kernel’s sound driver continues to be improved, and support for new devices has been added.

In this version, the Linux kernel introduces the VirtIO sound driver, which complies with the new VirtIO sound device specification and is part of the IO virtualization standard. VirtIO sound is designed for situations where audio is needed but device pass-through or emulation is not available.

Here are some highlights:

Core:
– A common mute-LED framework was introduced;
used by HD-audio for now, more adaption will follow later.
The former “Mic Mute-LED Mode” mixer control has been replaced with
the corresponding sysfs now.
– User-control management was changed to count consumed bytes instead
of capping by number of elements;
this will allow more controls in the normal usage pattern while
avoiding the possible memory exhaustion DoS

ASoC:
– Continued refactoring and cleanups in ASoC core and generic card
drivers
– Wide range of small cppcheck and warning fixes
– New drivers for Freescale i.MX DMA over rpmsg, Mediatek MT6358
accessory detection, and Realtek RT1019, RT1316, RT711 and RT715

USB-audio:
– Continued improvements and fixes of the implicit feedback mode,
including better support for Pioneer and Roland/BOSS devices

HD-audio:
– Default back to non-buffer preallocation on x86
– Cirrus codec improvements, more quirks for Realtek codecs

Others:
– New virtio sound driver
– FireWire Bebob updates