Ubuntu
alsa-utils package

  1. Bug #208920
  2. Comment #4

Comment 4 for bug 208920

Revision history for this message
Jamie Lokier (jamie-shareable) wrote : Crispy loud sound fix? - touch the PCM volume control

I can confirm this bug on different hardware _and_ the workaround.

I was getting very, very loud and distorted sounds on Hardy after upgrading. (System beep woke my sleeping housemate, hmm.)

Then playing music with Rhythmbox, it was horribly clipped sound as well as loud. A fix in Rhythmbox was to set the app's volume control to just 1 pixel above minimum. Then it sounded about normal. (0 pixels = mute, 2 pixels = noticable clipping). System beep remained ridiculously load.

But then, following acidbits' advice in the previous comment, I opened the GNOME Volume Control (right click on volume control applet, select "Open Volume Control").

The PCM control showed maximum position, and the Master control slightly less.

I adjusted the PCM control down and then back up to maximum position. Since then, sound is fine. Thanks acidbits!

Now I have Rhythmbox's own volume control set to something normal again (i.e. max in the app, not 1 pixel :-).

Note that adjusting the Master control didn't fix it, nor did trying different playback devices in Sound Preferences.

So the PCM mixer control is broken somehow. It's set to an impossible value, way more than maximum (like say 100x amplitude?). Just nudging the slider seems to fix it permanently.

I haven't checked if the fix persists after reboot or suspend.