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Acoustica 8 for Linux — Public Beta

This page is for beta testers that want to help testing the Linux versions of Acoustica 8

Acoustica 8 screenshot

Acoustica 8 now runs on Linux, and we would like you to try it. This is a public beta. The application is complete and is the same Acoustica we ship on macOS and Windows, but Linux is new ground for us and a few things are not there yet. Everything on this page is honest about which.

If you are new to Acoustica, start with the Acoustica product page.

Who can take part

Anyone with a valid license key for any Acoustica 8 edition (Standard, Premium or Ultimate). The Linux build reads the same key as your other computers and unlocks exactly the same edition, so there is nothing extra to buy and nothing to sign up for. Please enter your key the first time Acoustica starts and you should be all set.

Download

Acoustica 8.0.1, 64-bit Intel and AMD processors.

Installing

On Ubuntu, Debian and related distributions, install the downloaded file with:

sudo apt install ./acoustica_8.0.1-1_amd64.deb

 

On Fedora, RHEL, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux:

sudo dnf install ./acoustica-8.0.1-1.x86_64.rpm

 

Both install the remaining dependencies for you. Acoustica then appears in your application menu, and can also be started from a terminal by typing acoustica.

Audio input and output go through ALSA or JACK, and PipeWire's JACK server works as well. Choose the device in Preferences after the first start.

What is not there yet

These are the differences you are most likely to run into. They are on our list, and this beta is partly about finding out which of them matter most to you.

  • MP3 and AAC files cannot be opened. Acoustica relies on the operating system to decode these formats, and Linux offers nothing to take that role, so MP3, AAC, M4A and MP4 files will not open, even though they still appear in the file dialog. We plan to fix MP3 import, but the other formats will probably not be available in the Linux version due to patent claims. Wave, Wave64, AIFF, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Opus all work, and Acoustica can still export MP3.
  • The plug-ins are inside Acoustica only. Every processing tool your edition includes is available in Acoustica itself, but the Linux packages do not install VST3 versions for other hosts, so you cannot reach them from Ardour, Reaper or Bitwig yet. The Acoustica ARA plug-in and the Pro Tools Link plug-in are not part of the Linux beta either. We plan to add VST3 and LV2 plug-ins as well as LV2 hosting in Acoustica.
  • Audio CDs cannot be imported — reading tracks from audio CDs will not be implemented on Linux. Burning a CD does work, but it needs the libburn library, which the packages do not install for you. Add it with sudo apt install libburn4 on Ubuntu and Debian, or sudo dnf install libburn on Fedora, RHEL, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux.
  • Interface scaling has a ceiling. With your desktop scaling set above 125 %, Acoustica's own user interface size setting may have no effect.
  • Touch gestures do not work. Pinch to zoom and two-finger scrolling are not picked up.

Sending us feedback

Please tell us what you find. Bugs, rough edges and suggestions all help, and reports from this beta decide what we fix first.

Choose Send Feedback… from the Help menu inside Acoustica. Describe what happened, and drag in any file that helps us investigate such as a screenshot, or the audio file that caused the trouble. Add your email address if you would like a reply; it is optional, but without it we have no way to come back to you.

When you report a problem, it helps a great deal to tell us your distribution and version, your desktop environment, and whether you are using ALSA, JACK or PipeWire.

More about Acoustica

The Acoustica product page covers what each edition includes, and the Acoustica 8 user guide applies to the Linux version too.