It has come to my attention that wireplumber doesn't pick an ALSA device format when it enables the device, which, as a result, lets pipewire make the choice. Pipewire itself doesn't have any logic to select the appropriate format and ends up selecting the last one, always.

This is, however, not always the best.... For example, a device might support 44100, 16000 and 8000 sample rates, and pipewire should pick 44100 instead of 8000. Also, when it comes to choosing between 16-bit and 8-bit, it should choose 16-bit... etc.

Also, some formats seem to trigger bugs in pipewire, which is another reason we should try to pick a well tested format (S16 @ 44100 or 48000 is the most tested one). Capturing at 8000 for instance seems to have issues. Also, non-interleaved formats crash.