4.1. Audio Applications

Abstract

This section introduces the main audio applications you may need for your entertainment: Amarok the music player, and KMix the sound mixer. They can be accessed by choosing Sound & Video from the main menu.

4.1.1. amaroK Audio Player

Amarok is “the” multimedia application to listen to your favorite music. You can organize your music into collections, get information about recordings such as artist, lyrics, album covers, and more. We only describe its essential features.

Figure 4.1. amaroK's Main Window

amaroK's Main Window

Figure 4.1, “amaroK's Main Window” shows the main interface components of Amarok:

Browser.  This displays various information depending on the function selected using the tabs at its left.

Playlist.  Where the files to be played are shown. Right click on any file to access a menu allowing you to play the file, remove it from the playlist, etc.

Play Controls.  Amarok's play controls are “standard” audio equipment ones: Previous/Next Tracks, Play, Stop. The Play button doubles as a Pause button too.

Volume Control.  Slide it right to increase the volume and left to decrease it.

[Note] Note

Once Amarok is launched, this icon appears on the panel. Right click on it to control playback and access some options.

You access Amarok's main features by clicking on the tabs located at the left of the Browser.

The Collection browser allows you to view and organize your entire music collection. To start building a collection, simply copy files to the Music folder inside your personal folder, then choose ToolsUpdate Collection from Amarok's menu to update the collection with the files you added recently.

Figure 4.2. Music Collection

Music Collection

[Warning] Warning

If you added files from removable devices (such as a USB key or an external hard drive), make sure they are mounted at the same location as when you originally added them to your collection or Amarok won't be able to find the files they contain.

The playlist browser lets you roam your playlists and podcasts. To create a playlist, simply drag tunes into the playlist, then choose PlaylistSave Playlist and give it a name. To add new podcasts, click the Add button, select Podcast and add the podcast's URL into the dialog.

The File Browser allows you to access and search your local file system. You can use it as an alternative to Amarok's Collection.

4.1.2. Using KMix, the Mixer

KMix is a sound mixing application for KDE. It allows you to fine-tune your sound card's audio levels through various sliders.

[Note] Note

The availability and type of the controls discussed below depend on your particular sound card. Some controls may even be absent for your hardware.

When KMix starts, this quick-launch icon appears near the clock. Click on it, then click Mixer to view the full mixer window.

Figure 4.3. KMix Main Window

KMix Main Window

You have a slider for each input source of your sound card. The most important one is the leftmost one (labelled Master, Front, etc.) which controls the general volume. By right clicking on each slider, you have extra options such as Split Channels, Muted, Hide, etc.

[Tip] Tip

Clicking on the quick-launch icon pops up a slider which lets you control the master volume and mute all sound.