diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
index 06210911e..d63e7c076 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
@@ -785,33 +785,27 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	snd_config_update_free_global();
 
 	for (i = 0; info && i < info->n_items; i++) {
+		const char *k = info->items[i].key;
 		const char *s = info->items[i].value;
-		if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_API_ALSA_PATH)) {
-			snprintf(this->props.device, 63, "%s", info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
-			this->default_channels = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
-			this->default_rate = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_FORMAT)) {
-			this->default_format = spa_alsa_format_from_name(info->items[i].value, 128);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
-			size_t len;
-			while (*s && this->default_pos.channels < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
-				if ((len = strcspn(s, ",")) == 0)
-					break;
-				this->default_pos.pos[this->default_pos.channels++] =
-					spa_alsa_channel_from_name(s, len);
-				s += len + strspn(s+len, ",");
-			}
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.period-size")) {
-			this->default_period_size = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.headroom")) {
-			this->default_headroom = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
+		if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_API_ALSA_PATH)) {
+			snprintf(this->props.device, 63, "%s", s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
+			this->default_channels = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
+			this->default_rate = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_FORMAT)) {
+			this->default_format = spa_alsa_format_from_name(s, strlen(s));
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
+			spa_alsa_parse_position(&this->default_pos, s, strlen(s));
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.period-size")) {
+			this->default_period_size = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.headroom")) {
+			this->default_headroom = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
 			this->disable_mmap = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
 			this->disable_batch = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
 			this->props.use_chmap = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
index 393f450e6..a33450d7a 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
@@ -805,33 +805,27 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	snd_config_update_free_global();
 
 	for (i = 0; info && i < info->n_items; i++) {
+		const char *k = info->items[i].key;
 		const char *s = info->items[i].value;
-		if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_API_ALSA_PATH)) {
-			snprintf(this->props.device, 63, "%s", info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
-			this->default_channels = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
-			this->default_rate = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_FORMAT)) {
-			this->default_format = spa_alsa_format_from_name(info->items[i].value, 128);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
-			size_t len;
-			while (*s && this->default_pos.channels < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
-				if ((len = strcspn(s, ",")) == 0)
-					break;
-				this->default_pos.pos[this->default_pos.channels++] =
-					spa_alsa_channel_from_name(s, len);
-				s += len + strspn(s+len, ",");
-			}
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.period-size")) {
-			this->default_period_size = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.headroom")) {
-			this->default_headroom = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
+		if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_API_ALSA_PATH)) {
+			snprintf(this->props.device, 63, "%s", s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
+			this->default_channels = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
+			this->default_rate = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_FORMAT)) {
+			this->default_format = spa_alsa_format_from_name(s, strlen(s));
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
+			spa_alsa_parse_position(&this->default_pos, s, strlen(s));
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.period-size")) {
+			this->default_period_size = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.headroom")) {
+			this->default_headroom = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
 			this->disable_mmap = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
 			this->disable_batch = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
 			this->props.use_chmap = (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) == 1);
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.h b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.h
index d477987a3..798ba95dc 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.h
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.h
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <spa/support/loop.h>
 #include <spa/support/log.h>
 #include <spa/utils/list.h>
+#include <spa/utils/json.h>
 
 #include <spa/node/node.h>
 #include <spa/node/utils.h>
@@ -216,6 +217,23 @@ static inline uint32_t spa_alsa_channel_from_name(const char *name, size_t len)
 	return SPA_AUDIO_CHANNEL_UNKNOWN;
 }
 
+static inline void spa_alsa_parse_position(struct channel_map *map, const char *val, size_t len)
+{
+	struct spa_json it[2];
+	char v[256];
+	int l;
+
+	spa_json_init(&it[0], val, len);
+        if (spa_json_enter_array(&it[0], &it[1]) <= 0)
+                spa_json_init(&it[1], val, len);
+
+	map->channels = 0;
+	while ((l = spa_json_get_string(&it[1], v, sizeof(v))) > 0 &&
+	    map->channels < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
+		map->pos[map->channels++] = spa_alsa_channel_from_name(v, l);
+	}
+}
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 } /* extern "C" */
 #endif
diff --git a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
index ba021b876..8064fdc90 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include <spa/support/cpu.h>
 #include <spa/utils/list.h>
 #include <spa/utils/names.h>
+#include <spa/utils/json.h>
 #include <spa/node/keys.h>
 #include <spa/node/node.h>
 #include <spa/node/io.h>
@@ -1235,6 +1236,24 @@ static uint32_t channel_from_name(const char *name, size_t len)
 	return SPA_AUDIO_CHANNEL_UNKNOWN;
 }
 
+static inline uint32_t parse_position(uint32_t *pos, const char *val, size_t len)
+{
+	struct spa_json it[2];
+	char v[256];
+	int l;
+	uint32_t i = 0;
+
+	spa_json_init(&it[0], val, len);
+        if (spa_json_enter_array(&it[0], &it[1]) <= 0)
+                spa_json_init(&it[1], val, len);
+
+	while ((l = spa_json_get_string(&it[1], v, sizeof(v))) > 0 &&
+	    i < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
+		pos[i++] = channel_from_name(v, l);
+	}
+	return i;
+}
+
 static int
 impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	  struct spa_handle *handle,
@@ -1244,7 +1263,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 {
 	struct impl *this;
 	struct port *port;
-	const char *str;
+	uint32_t i;
 
 	spa_return_val_if_fail(factory != NULL, -EINVAL);
 	spa_return_val_if_fail(handle != NULL, -EINVAL);
@@ -1264,29 +1283,22 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 
 	props_reset(&this->props);
 
-	if (info != NULL) {
-		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "channelmix.normalize")) != NULL &&
-		    (strcmp(str, "true") == 0 || atoi(str) != 0))
+	for (i = 0; info && i < info->n_items; i++) {
+		const char *k = info->items[i].key;
+		const char *s = info->items[i].value;
+		if (strcmp(k, "channelmix.normalize") == 0 &&
+		    (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) != 0))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_NORMALIZE;
-		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "channelmix.mix-lfe")) != NULL &&
-		    (strcmp(str, "true") == 0 || atoi(str) != 0))
+		if (strcmp(k, "channelmix.mix-lfe") == 0 &&
+		    (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) != 0))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_MIX_LFE;
-		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "channelmix.upmix")) != NULL &&
-		    (strcmp(str, "true") == 0 || atoi(str) != 0))
+		if (strcmp(k, "channelmix.upmix") == 0 &&
+		    (strcmp(s, "true") == 0 || atoi(s) != 0))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_UPMIX;
-		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "channelmix.lfe-cutoff")) != NULL)
-			this->mix.lfe_cutoff = atoi(str);
-		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) != NULL) {
-			size_t len;
-			const char *p = str;
-			while (*p && this->props.n_channels < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
-				if ((len = strcspn(p, ",")) == 0)
-					break;
-				this->props.channel_map[this->props.n_channels++] =
-					channel_from_name(p, len);
-				p += len + strspn(p+len, ",");
-			}
-		}
+		if (strcmp(k, "channelmix.lfe-cutoff") == 0)
+			this->mix.lfe_cutoff = atoi(s);
+		if (strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION) == 0)
+			this->props.n_channels = parse_position(this->props.channel_map, s, strlen(s));
 	}
 	this->props.n_channel_volumes = this->props.n_channels;
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/support/null-audio-sink.c b/spa/plugins/support/null-audio-sink.c
index f4f830874..3275af150 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/support/null-audio-sink.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/support/null-audio-sink.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include <spa/support/loop.h>
 #include <spa/utils/list.h>
 #include <spa/utils/keys.h>
+#include <spa/utils/json.h>
 #include <spa/node/node.h>
 #include <spa/node/utils.h>
 #include <spa/node/io.h>
@@ -733,6 +734,23 @@ static uint32_t channel_from_name(const char *name, size_t len)
 	return SPA_AUDIO_CHANNEL_UNKNOWN;
 }
 
+static inline void parse_position(struct impl *this, const char *val, size_t len)
+{
+	struct spa_json it[2];
+	char v[256];
+	int l;
+
+	spa_json_init(&it[0], val, len);
+        if (spa_json_enter_array(&it[0], &it[1]) <= 0)
+                spa_json_init(&it[1], val, len);
+
+	this->props.n_pos = 0;
+	while ((l = spa_json_get_string(&it[1], v, sizeof(v))) > 0 &&
+	    this->props.n_pos < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
+		this->props.pos[this->props.n_pos++] = channel_from_name(v, l);
+	}
+}
+
 static int
 impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	  struct spa_handle *handle,
@@ -809,19 +827,14 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	spa_loop_add_source(this->data_loop, &this->timer_source);
 
 	for (i = 0; info && i < info->n_items; i++) {
-		if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
-			this->props.channels = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
-			this->props.rate = atoi(info->items[i].value);
-		} else if (!strcmp(info->items[i].key, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
-			size_t len;
-			const char *p = info->items[i].value;
-			while (*p && this->props.n_pos < SPA_AUDIO_MAX_CHANNELS) {
-				if ((len = strcspn(p, ",")) == 0)
-					break;
-				this->props.pos[this->props.n_pos++] = channel_from_name(p, len);
-				p += len + strspn(p+len, ",");
-			}
+		const char *k = info->items[i].key;
+		const char *s = info->items[i].value;
+		if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_CHANNELS)) {
+			this->props.channels = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_RATE)) {
+			this->props.rate = atoi(s);
+		} else if (!strcmp(k, SPA_KEY_AUDIO_POSITION)) {
+			parse_position(this, s, strlen(s));
 		}
 	}
 	if (this->props.n_pos > 0)
diff --git a/spa/tests/test-json.c b/spa/tests/test-json.c
index 47f343cdf..d03a20a37 100644
--- a/spa/tests/test-json.c
+++ b/spa/tests/test-json.c
@@ -169,10 +169,35 @@ static void test_encode(void)
 	spa_assert(strcmp(result, "\x04\x05\x1f\x20\x01\x7f\x90") == 0);
 }
 
+static void test_array(char *str, char **vals)
+{
+	struct spa_json it[2];
+	char val[256];
+	int i, len;
+
+	spa_json_init(&it[0], str, strlen(str));
+	if (spa_json_enter_array(&it[0], &it[1]) <= 0)
+		spa_json_init(&it[1], str, strlen(str));
+	for (i = 0; vals[i]; i++) {
+		spa_assert((len = spa_json_get_string(&it[1], val, sizeof(val))) > 0);
+		spa_assert(strcmp(val, vals[i]) == 0);
+	}
+}
+
+static void test_arrays(void)
+{
+	test_array("FL,FR", (char *[]){ "FL", "FR", NULL });
+	test_array(" FL , FR ", (char *[]){ "FL", "FR", NULL });
+	test_array("[ FL , FR ]", (char *[]){ "FL", "FR", NULL });
+	test_array("[FL FR]", (char *[]){ "FL", "FR", NULL });
+	test_array("FL FR", (char *[]){ "FL", "FR", NULL });
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
 	test_abi();
 	test_parse();
 	test_encode();
+	test_arrays();
 	return 0;
 }