Sound with "artifacts" in BionicPup 32

[fernan]

Hello. I'd like to know what is different in the sound management from Bionicpup 32
(DISTRO_NAME='BionicPup32'
#version number of this distribution:
DISTRO_VERSION=19.03)
and tahrpup32, (tahr 6.0.5)

since using the same hardware, I get a noisy sound reproduction in Bionicpup, (small scratcky crackling noises) using the same hardware and software, and I can't control the volume by software from the retrovol window, while I can do that in Tahrpup32.

The computer is an ASUS X51RL series My sound device is a Maverick D1 DAC, detected in both puppy versions, shown in the Multiple Sound Card Wizard in both puppies. The on-board sound card is burned, it doesn't work.

Using different music players the problem is the same. At first I thought it was the Youtube cutting audio due to a slow connection, then I thought it was a defective USB cable, but installing MPD (same software I use in tahrpup) the problem stays the same, and rebooting into tahrpup, the problem goes away.

Any help will be appreciated, I'd ike to upgrade definitely to bionicpup, but playing music is a very important task I do with my computer.

Thanks!

[8Geee]

It could be that the "default" for audio and or multimedia is the on-board defective device.

In the menu look for the "default applications" and open... check the audio and multimedia defaults, the should be a drop-down list. Select your maverick card for audio/MM if in the list. If its not there, that board might not be supported in bionic, and needs a driver.

I don't know, but maybe the tahr-pup driver can work in bionic.

Regards
8Geee

[bigpup]

Try this:
Right click on the speaker icon on the tray.
Select config window.
In Main tab.
Try changing the Volume Scaling to different setting.

Any affect?

[fernan]

Changing the scale in Config window (linear, log, exponential) has no effect. The slider moves but the volume stays the same.

The Maverick device is detected on both Puppies, but something is different from one distro to the other, since in tahrpup the volume slider has the expected effect.

Running the Alsa Mixer, the same result, the level bar moves, but the volume stays the same. I see Alsa mixer gives some info about devices, perhaps I could see what is different in both puppies.

I can select it from the "multiple sound card wizard", not from any "default apps" menu.

[bigpup]

Tahrpup could be using a different driver.

Bionicpup32 8.0 is up to version change 14.
The latest iso is this:
BionicPup32-8.0+14 ISO

What iso did you use?

peebee fixes bugs, tweaks, and adds or changes stuff.
The changes are in delta files to add to already released versions of Bionicpup32 8.0.
Maybe a sound bug is fixed in a newer release.

[fernan]

I'm using bionicpup32-8.0-uefi.iso

Tried to do a System Update, but a message told me this (what I don't understand very well)

Updates can only be applied to
the original bionicpup32-8.0+0-uefi.iso
with md5=9d753e2dffd49beaba80751e87a45c3f

Reverse_updates are available to generate
the original .iso from one of the updates

If you have bionicpup32-8.0-uefi.iso
from ibiblio you will need to rename
it by comparing its md5 checksum to the
list on SourceForge or ibiblio

And I didn't want to break my current install, so I leaved it alone

[rcrsn51]

Open your audio mixer and mute any extra controls, like line-in or loopback.

[fernan]

there is only one control called "PCM", no other controls with this sound device since it can't capture o record, just one single control that can't be changed.

I'll go back to tahrpup for some days and get familiar with the settings, to see what's missing in bionicpup.

[fernan]

I made some more testing:

In bionicpup32, the equalizer in DeaDBeef is working, but I can't "bypass" it.

In TAHRPUP, I see alsamixer command doesn't work (but I can change the output level from the Retrovol tray), and I see several "oss" modules not present in bionicpup32.

I did several tries to change the hardware settings in bionicpup, at the Retrovol Hardware config window, and in one of the combinations (after typing "hw:0", and then selecting again the sound device from the "Multiple sound card wizard" what informed me that Retrovol was changed to use "hw:1"), the volume slider worked for some minutes. After a reboot it stopped working again and I couldn't make it work again. So it seems it CAN work, but something is overriding it.

I'll post system information next.

[fernan]

TAHRPUP system information (volume tray works, but alsamixer doesn't work)

Kernel Modules
Loaded Modules
snd_usb_audio USB Audio
snd_usbmidi_lib USB Audio/MIDI helper module
snd_hwdep Hardware dependent layer
xt_limit Xtables: rate-limit match
xt_pkttype Xtables: link layer packet type match
xt_LOG Xtables: IPv4/IPv6 packet logging
xt_conntrack Xtables: connection tracking state match
iptable_mangle iptables mangle table
iptable_nat
nf_nat_ipv4
iptable_filter iptables filter table
nf_conntrack_irc IRC (DCC) connection tracking helper
nf_nat_ftp ftp NAT helper
nf_conntrack_ftp ftp connection tracking helper
nf_nat
nf_conntrack_ipv4
nf_defrag_ipv4
nf_conntrack
ip_tables IPv4 packet filter
ctr CTR Counter block mode
ccm Counter with CBC MAC
fan ACPI Fan Driver
joydev Joystick device interfaces
snd_pcsp PC-Speaker driver
snd_pcm_oss PCM OSS emulation for ALSA.
snd_mixer_oss Mixer OSS emulation for ALSA.
radeon ATI Radeon
snd_pcm Midlevel PCM code for ALSA.
snd_seq_dummy ALSA sequencer MIDI-through client
snd_seq_oss OSS-compatible sequencer module
snd_seq_midi Advanced Linux Sound Architecture sequencer MIDI synth.
snd_seq_midi_event MIDI byte <-> sequencer event coder
snd_rawmidi Midlevel RawMidi code for ALSA.
snd_seq Advanced Linux Sound Architecture sequencer.
ath5k Support for 5xxx series of Atheros 802.11 wireless LAN cards.
snd_seq_device ALSA sequencer device management
psmouse PS/2 mouse driver
ath Shared library for Atheros wireless LAN cards.
ttm TTM memory manager subsystem (for DRM device)
snd_timer ALSA timer interface
mac80211 IEEE 802.11 subsystem
drm_kms_helper DRM KMS helper
8139too RealTek RTL-8139 Fast Ethernet driver
drm DRM shared core routines
snd Advanced Linux Sound Architecture driver for soundcards.
mii MII hardware support library
cfg80211 wireless configuration support
hwmon hardware monitoring sysfs/class support
yenta_socket
i2c_algo_bit I2C-Bus bit-banging algorithm
battery ACPI Battery Driver
i2c_piix4 PIIX4 SMBus driver
video ACPI Video Driver
asus_laptop Asus Laptop Support
sparse_keymap Generic support for sparse keymaps
rfkill RF switch support
ac ACPI AC Adapter Driver
input_polldev Generic implementation of a polled input device

[fernan]

bionicpup32 information. Alsamixer works, slider works, but it doesn't change the output level.

====> Audio Devices <====

The lspci command finds no audio information.

!!################################
!!ALSA Information Script v 0.4.64
!!################################

!!Script ran on: Mon Nov 25 01:08:53 UTC 2019


!!Linux Distribution
!!------------------

Linux 4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae [i686 arch] NAME=Puppy ID=puppy_upupbb CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:puppy:puppy_linux:19.03" HOME_URL="http://puppylinux.com/" SUPPORT_URL="http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/index.php" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE"


!!DMI Information
!!---------------

Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Product Name: X51RL
Product Version: 1.0
Firmware Version: 204


!!Kernel Information
!!------------------

Kernel release: 4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae
Operating System: GNU/Linux
Architecture: i686
Processor: i686
SMP Enabled: Yes


!!ALSA Version
!!------------

Driver version: k4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae
Library version:
Utilities version: 1.1.3


!!Loaded ALSA modules
!!-------------------

snd_usb_audio


!!Sound Servers on this system
!!----------------------------

No sound servers found.


!!Soundcards recognised by ALSA
!!-----------------------------

1 [Audio ]: USB-Audio - Bravo-X USB Audio
SAVITECH Bravo-X USB Audio at usb-0000:00:13.3-1, full speed


!!PCI Soundcards installed in the system
!!--------------------------------------



!!Advanced information - PCI Vendor/Device/Subsystem ID's
!!-------------------------------------------------------



!!Modprobe options (Sound related)
!!--------------------------------

snd_pcsp: index=-2
snd_usb_audio: index=-2
snd_atiixp_modem: index=-2
snd_intel8x0m: index=-2
snd_via82xx_modem: index=-2
snd_atiixp_modem: index=-2
snd_intel8x0m: index=-2
snd_via82xx_modem: index=-2
snd_usb_audio: index=-2
snd_usb_caiaq: index=-2
snd_usb_ua101: index=-2
snd_usb_us122l: index=-2
snd_usb_usx2y: index=-2
snd_cmipci: mpu_port=0x330 fm_port=0x388
snd_pcsp: index=-2
snd_usb_audio: index=-2


!!Loaded sound module options
!!---------------------------

!!Module: snd_usb_audio
autoclock : Y
device_setup : 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
enable : Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y
id : (null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null)
ignore_ctl_error : N
index : -2,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1
pid : -1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1
quirk_alias : (null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null),(null)
vid : -1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1


!!USB Mixer information
!!---------------------
--startcollapse--

USB Mixer: usb_id=0x262a9023, ctrlif=1, ctlerr=0
Card: SAVITECH Bravo-X USB Audio at usb-0000:00:13.3-1, full speed
Unit: 9
Control: name="PCM Playback Volume", index=0
Info: id=9, control=2, cmask=0x3, channels=2, type="S16"
Volume: min=-14080, max=0, dBmin=-5500, dBmax=0
Unit: 9
Control: name="PCM Playback Switch", index=0
Info: id=9, control=1, cmask=0x0, channels=1, type="INV_BOOLEAN"
Volume: min=0, max=1, dBmin=0, dBmax=0
--endcollapse--


!!ALSA Device nodes
!!-----------------

crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 2 Nov 24 22:04 /dev/snd/controlC1
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 3 Nov 24 22:04 /dev/snd/pcmC1D0p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 4 Nov 24 22:07 /dev/snd/pcmC1D1p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 1 Nov 24 19:03 /dev/snd/seq
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 Nov 24 19:03 /dev/snd/timer

/dev/snd/by-id:
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 Nov 24 22:04 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 180 Nov 24 22:04 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 Nov 24 22:04 usb-SAVITECH_Bravo-X_USB_Audio-01 -> ../controlC1

/dev/snd/by-path:
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 Nov 24 22:04 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 180 Nov 24 22:04 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 Nov 24 22:04 pci-0000:00:13.3-usb-0:1:1.1 -> ../controlC1


!!ALSA configuration files
!!------------------------

!!System wide config file (/etc/asound.conf)

defaults.pcm.card 1
defaults.pcm.device 1
defaults.ctl.card 1


!!Aplay/Arecord output
!!--------------------

APLAY

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 1: Audio [Bravo-X USB Audio], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: Audio [Bravo-X USB Audio], device 1: USB Audio [USB Audio #1]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

ARECORD

**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****

!!Amixer output
!!-------------

!!-------Mixer controls for card 1 [Audio]

Card hw:1 'Audio'/'SAVITECH Bravo-X USB Audio at usb-0000:00:13.3-1, full speed'
Mixer name : 'USB Mixer'
Components : 'USB262a:9023'
Controls : 4
Simple ctrls : 1
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 110
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 48 [44%] [-31.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 48 [44%] [-31.00dB] [on]


!!Alsactl output
!!--------------

--startcollapse--
state.Audio {
control.1 {
iface PCM
name 'Playback Channel Map'
value.0 0
value.1 0
comment {
access read
type INTEGER
count 2
range '0 - 36'
}
}
control.2 {
iface PCM
device 1
name 'Playback Channel Map'
value.0 0
value.1 0
comment {
access read
type INTEGER
count 2
range '0 - 36'
}
}
control.3 {
iface MIXER
name 'PCM Playback Switch'
value true
comment {
access 'read write'
type BOOLEAN
count 1
}
}
control.4 {
iface MIXER
name 'PCM Playback Volume'
value.0 48
value.1 48
comment {
access 'read write'
type INTEGER
count 2
range '0 - 110'
dbmin -5500
dbmax 0
dbvalue.0 -3100
dbvalue.1 -3100
}
}
}
--endcollapse--


!!All Loaded Modules
!!------------------

Module
snd_usb_audio
snd_usbmidi_lib
snd_hwdep
xt_pkttype
xt_conntrack
iptable_mangle
iptable_nat
nf_nat_ipv4
iptable_filter
nf_conntrack_irc
nf_nat_ftp
nf_conntrack_ftp
nf_nat
nf_conntrack_ipv4
nf_defrag_ipv4
nf_conntrack
ip_tables
ccm
fan
radeon
snd_pcm_oss
snd_mixer_oss
hwmon
snd_seq_dummy
snd_pcm
snd_seq_oss
i2c_algo_bit
snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event
ttm
snd_rawmidi
snd_seq
snd_seq_device
snd_timer
drm_kms_helper
ath5k
syscopyarea
sysfillrect
snd
8139too
ath
sysimgblt
soundcore
8139cp
mac80211
fb_sys_fops
mii
pcspkr
sg
yenta_socket
cfg80211
drm
i2c_piix4
battery
asus_laptop
rfkill
ac


!!ALSA/HDA dmesg
!!--------------

hid-generic 0003:262A:9023.0001: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [SAVITECH Bravo-X USB Audio] on usb-0000:00:13.3-1/input0
usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
udevd[7172]: Process '/usr/sbin/alsactl -E HOME=/run/alsa restore 1' failed with exit code 99.

[Smithy]

I presume it is a Multimedia USB Class Compliant Device Ferman.
Should just work.
Maybe ALSA is different in Bionic to Tahrpup.
A sample rate slider for the DAC.
Just guessing because your information is not concise about crackles and multiple applications.
Tahrpup was/ is a nice solid distro.

[bigpup]

In that Sound Card Wizard window.

Have you tried selecting the other line entry?
The top one with device 0.

[fernan]

In Multiple sound card wizard, both options refer to the same device, and I don't see any difference selecting one of the other , both work the same way.

What I fond weird is: alsamixer erron in Tahrpup, but volume slider working properly, and alsamixer shown as expected in bionicpup32, but no effect in the volume level when changing it.

Can you see any difference looking at that info posted above?

It seems there is something overriding the alsamixer or retrovol slider in bionicpup, or 2 things overlapping, since the sound works, the pEqualizer app works, it's just the mixer that doesn't change the output volume.

Also, did a try with a fresh Bionicpup64, and the same behaviour: volume tray moves but output level doesn't change.

Perhaps my Tahrpup has all that "oss" audio modules installed, and those are managing the audio output. Tahrpup is not a new install, it was working for several years and for sure many apps installed have installed dependencies not present in my Bionicpup.

The "artifacts", crackling noises in the sound, could be related to high processor usage. I need to do more tests to confirm that.

[fernan]

In that Sound Card Wizard window.

Have you tried selecting the other line entry?
The top one with device 0.

Hello. Installed bionicpup 64, selected the "device 0", and RESTARTED THE AUDIO APPS, and the volume level reacts to the changes.

I'm listening without problems with the built in DeaDbeef. I'll install my usual MPD and check again.

I think I'm staying with bionicpup64 by now, instead of the 32 bit version.

[bigpup]

Well, if you are trying to use Bionicpup32 8.0 for 32bit software.

Bionicpup64 8.0 can run 32bit software, after you download and load the 32bit-compatibility.sfs

Quickpet->Useful can be used to downlaod it.

[fernan]

Yes, my main app that needs 32 bits is the Wine portable. Managed to install the 32bit-compatibility.sfs, but that was the reason to try the 32 bit puppy, I didn't see the sense of running a 64 bit OS and then install another lot of Mb to make it compatible with 32 bit...

But bionicpup 64 seems more stable, less minor bugs (still some little things that don't work and need minor tweaks)