Xubuntu Java Sound Problem With Open-JDK

[Ric49]

I recently installed REW on Xubuntu 19.10. I had Open-JDK 8 installed, and REW installation went smoothly.

I then spent a long time trying to get some sound out. The Java source showed up in the Pulseaudio mixer, and the REW signal generator seemed to think everything was normal, but nothing I did would produce any output.

The fix was to install Oracle Java v8, and this is not nearly so easy as it used to be. That, and a change to a line in roomeqwizard.vmoptions to fix the waterfall display, and everything works as it should.

The thing is, both of these fixes take some finding, particularly for non-geeks. Surely the fact that REW will only function with Oracle Java should be clearly stated on the download page, along with step-by-step instructions on how to install it? The only warning is that REW needs a specific Java version to install, so I think most people would assume that if it installs, the Java they are using must be OK.

My other questions are why is it not possible to make REW work with other versions of Java, and is there any chance of a Snap version? I really dislike Snaps but, in the case of REW, it would be worth putting up with.

Thanks for a great bit of software, though.

 

[John Mulcahy]

There appear to be folk using the open JDK build on Linux without issues. Both Oracle and OpenJDK use the same source these days, but there may be OS-specific installation configs that Oracle handles better. The waterfall display issue can be fixed using the installer option.

 

[cgull]

This might or might not be your problem, but some of us have had trouble with headless (server) versions of the JRE being installed-- REW will install and appear to work except for sound i/o. See https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/exception-upon-execution-under-linux.5891/#post-44535

 

[Ric49]

Thanks for the replies. I think I did install the headless version, so that could well be the problem. A more specific note on the download page might save a lot of time and frustration. Not all audio enthusiasts will understand what jre, jdk and headless are, me included. If I had used the command in the download notes instead of installing OpenJDK before I started, I would not have had the hassle.

I don't remember seeing an installer option - or perhaps I did, but didn't understand what it was.

 

[Ric49]

Thanks very much for adding the relevant information to the download notes, John.