This project makes use of the hidapi library and thus transitively from libusb to provide a CLI to control the SoundBlaster X G6 device from command line. This empowers the people to control the G6 in Linux.
I developed this CLI to the best of my belief and I use it myself to control my G6, and it works fine for me. I read pretty often, that you are able to damage or brick a USB device, if you send faulty data to it.
That's why I want point out, that you USE THIS CLI AT YOUR OWN RISK! I am not responsible for any damages on your system or your device!
This software is tested with a G6 having the Firmware version: 2.1.201208.1030.
Make sure, that you have the same version, since I do not know whether the USB specification may differ between the versions. You are able to update your Firmware with SoundBlaster Command in Windows by using a QEMU/KVM VM and the USB Redirection feature.
Select a directory of your choice and clone the repository into it:
cd $HOME
git clone <repository-url>Install Python3. The application has been tested with Python3.10 (LinuxMint 21.3) and Python3.12 (Windows 10):
sudo apt-get install Python3.10This should create the directory ~/soundblaster-x-g6-cli, containing all files.
The directory ~/soundblaster-x-g6-cli/shell contains ready to use shell scripts to toggle or set the device output
of the SoundBlaster X G6. Just set the required file permissions and you should be good to go:
sudo chmod 0544 /home/<your-username>/soundblaster-x-g6-cli/shell/*Create a virtual environment and download the dependencies using pip:
# create virtual environment 'venv'
cd /home/<your-username>/soundblaster-x-g6-cli/
python -m venv venv
# install virtualenv package (if required) and activate 'venv'
pip install virtualenv
virtualenv venv
source venv/bin/activate
# install dependencies into 'venv'
pip install -r requirements.txtIn /etc/udev/rules.d/ create a rule file as root (e.q. with name 50-soundblaster-x-g6.rules) having the
following content:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="041e", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3256", TAG+="uaccess"
This allows you (and the application) to access the USB device directly and is mandatory for the application to being able to send data to the device.
Apply the udev rules by issuing:
# Reload udev rules:
sudo udevadm triggerThe following libusb packages are required:
libusb-1.0-0-dev/jammy-updates,now 2:1.0.25-1ubuntu2 amd64 [installed]
libusb-1.0-0/jammy-updates,now 2:1.0.25-1ubuntu2 amd64 [installed]Download the package libusb from Pypi (version 1.0.27) and add the
following DLL file to your %PATH% variable:
/libusb-1.0.27/src/libusb/_platform/_windows/x64/libusb-1.0.dll
This is required to let the application use libusb in the backend.
The shell scripts in /home/<your-username>/soundblaster-x-g6-cli/shell/ should now be usable and the installation
is complete.
usage: g6_cli.py [-h] [--toggle-output] [--set-output {Speakers,Headphones}]
[--dry-run] [--set-surround {Enabled,Disabled}]
[--set-surround-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}]
[--set-crystalizer {Enabled,Disabled}]
[--set-crystalizer-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}]
[--set-bass {Enabled,Disabled}]
[--set-bass-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}]
[--set-smart-volume {Enabled,Disabled}]
[--set-smart-volume-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}]
[--set-smart-volume-special-value {Night,Loud}]
[--set-dialog-plus {Enabled,Disabled}]
[--set-dialog-plus-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}]
SoundBlaster X G6 CLI
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--toggle-output Toggles the sound output between Speakers and
Headphones
--set-output {Speakers,Headphones}
--dry-run Used to verify the available hex_line files, without
making any calls against the G6 device.
--set-surround {Enabled,Disabled}
Enables or disables the Surround sound effect:
['Enabled', 'Disabled']
--set-surround-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}
Set the value for the Surround sound effect as
integer: [0 .. 100].
--set-crystalizer {Enabled,Disabled}
Enables or disables the Crystalizer sound effect:
['Enabled', 'Disabled']
--set-crystalizer-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}
Set the value for the Crystalizer sound effect as
integer: [0 .. 100].
--set-bass {Enabled,Disabled}
Enables or disables the Bass sound effect: ['Enabled',
'Disabled']
--set-bass-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}
Set the value for the Bass sound effect as integer: [0
.. 100].
--set-smart-volume {Enabled,Disabled}
Enables or disables the Smart-Volume sound effect:
['Enabled', 'Disabled']
--set-smart-volume-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}
Set the value for the Smart-Volume sound effect as
value: [0 .. 100].
--set-smart-volume-special-value {Night,Loud}
Set the value for the Smart-Volume sound effect as
string: 'Night', 'Loud'. Supersedes the value from '--
set-smart-volume-value'!
--set-dialog-plus {Enabled,Disabled}
Enables or disables the Dialog-Plus sound effect:
['Enabled', 'Disabled']
--set-dialog-plus-value {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100}
Set the value for the Dialog-Plus sound effect as
integer: : [0 .. 100].I reverse engineered the USB specification by recording the USB communication using Wireshark USBPCAP and making conclusions of the HEX codes being transmitted from SoundBlaster Command to the device:
See: usb-spec.txt
The following file contains some basic information about the USB protocol:
See: usb-protocol.md