I recently purchased a USB headset to use for music listening, recording and Skype. I couldn't get it to work under my Ubuntu 9.04 installation. After several days searching the net, forums, etc., for answers, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Alsa drivers, PulseAudio, Jack...but failed to solve the problem. Finally I upgraded to Ubuntu 9.10 yesterday and--bingo!--my sound system and devices worked flawlessly.
An upgrade may not be everybody's answer to sound configuration problems under earlier Ubuntu releases, but it sure solved mine in nothing flat. I hope others find this bit of information helpful.

Hi ishipaco,

This is just a quick reply... but have you tried to install skype? I did also upgrade my Ubuntu to 9.10 and my Skype didn't work out of the box.
In fact, the test call fails. I can here the voice of that pretty girl in perfect British English, but I cannot not here my ugly voice after that.
There is something wrong with my recording settings. Did you have that problem?

Any suggestion is welcome. Perhaps you can direct me towards solving this problem.

Thanks,
David.

this is so simple it's worth trying-
go to: System >>Preferences >>Sound >>Input
..and see if the volume slider is very low ,or at'mute',
-as mine was-and raise the volume!
wishingwell,azeite.

I think one of two things happened to me to cause my problem: (1) I might have configured my sound preferences incorrectly before I upgraded to 9.10, and the configuration was restored to default settings during the upgrade, which then worked, or (2) my new USB headset (ABS Mod AZ-1) is defective.

After posting my "cure", I discovered that I couldn't get the headset to record anymore. I spent a whole evening trying every combination of preference settings, with no luck. I was able to hear, but the volume was very loud, even with the volume sliders turned way down. Also, the headset has an inline control device for (1) muting the headset volume, (2) muting the mic and (3) two buttons for adjusting volume up and down. They have never worked. I suspect that they may only work right if I install the accompanying software from the CD that came with it. Of course, that software only works on Windose (sigh!) and I haven't tried it yet.

Tonight, however, the headset is working fine again, so I am more suspecting problems with the (cheap!) new headset. I should add that I have a dual-boot system with Windows XP(SP3) and when I couldn't get the headset to work in Ubuntu, I booted up in Windows and had the same failure. Again, that leads me to suspect a problem with my headset. Finally, I'm using the sound chip on the motherboard, with no add-in sound card at the moment. You can't get more simple than that.

With all that said, here's the configuration that is working for me at the present time:

Yes, I have Skype. However, for testing I use the Sound Recorder program under Applications>Sound&Video. I've found that if you can do recording there, you should be able to transmit your voice in Skype.

As you may know, you can access the preferences menu for your sound system in at least two ways from the GUI: (1) right-click on the speaker icon in the top panel and choose "Sound Preferences" or (2) go to the System>Preferences>Sound, as azeite suggested.

In the preferences window, click first on the "Hardware" tab. You should see all sound devices there. At a minimum, you'll probably have an "Internal Audio" (the MB sound device, or something similar representing your sound card if you have one and have disabled your onboard sound), and something like a "USB_PnP_Sound_Device," which is your headset. Click on the Internal Audio device to select it and then, under the "Settings for the selected device," choose Analog Stereo Duplex. Then select the USB_PnP_Sound_Device and do the same: choose Analog Stereo Duplex. This should result in both of the devices indicating they have "1 Output/1 Input." Be advised that you CAN set up different configurations, but what I'm describing should get all the basic analog stuff working. Try this first and experiment later.

Next, click on the "Input" tab at the top of the configuration menu. There should be two items listed in the Window: your "Internal Audio Analog Stereo" and the "USB...Analog Stereo". This is where you decide which you want to use for your mic/recording input. To use your USB mic for input, select the USB_PnP_Sound_Device..., and adjust the slider for the input volume. Getting thie input volume approximately right is most quickly done using the Sound Recorder program I mentioned earlier. If you wanted to use the mini-jack inputs on the back (or front panel) of your computer to record from line-in or a non-USB mic, you would select the "Internal Audio Analog Stereo" device here. Then you will be shown a new list window, where you can choose from several input sources. In my case, I can choose between "Microphone 1," Microphone 2" and "Line-in." Typically, one of those mic inputs will be the minijack from the MB on the back of your computer and the other mic input will be from a minijack on the front panel of your computer case (they're both pink-colored jacks). You should also adjust the input volume with the slider, and you'll have to play with that to get it right; again, that's where using the Sound Recorder program saves a lot of time.

Finally, click on the "Output" tab at the top of the configuration menu. You should see listings for the same two devices: the USB device and the Internal sound device. And, again, you must choose where you want your sound output to go. If you choose the USB device, you should hear sound (e.g., from the Skype test call lady) in your headset earphones. You should also adjust the volume and balance with the sliders, and check that the output isn't muted. If you want the sound to come out of your sound card connections, then select the Internal Audio Analog Stereo device. Again, adjust volume and make sure the output isn't muted.

Well, that's what works on my system. I've probably gone into more detail than you need, but it never hurts to be as complete as possible with these kind of explanations. Let me know if this works for you.

--Cheers

ishipaco,
Thank you very much for your detailed answer. Problem solved!!!
David.

Thanks Ishipace for instructions and I realize I've done the right way with my logitech USB headset but though most of the time my USB headset doesn't work. At the moment I have no clue what could be the problem. I had worse problems with 9.04 but with upgrade 9.10 it works sometimes and though the headset works on windows.

I have also some issues with sounds in uBuntu 9.10.

I have a netbook vaio w. it has XP previously and sound systems were good.Like I can talk through skype without using any head-phone/ speaker phone......sound quality was very nice.
Now , I have installed ubuntu 9.10 and my netbook is murmuring....but I want it to shout. Also sound input is very low even if I use speaker phone. But I want it to use without using any speaker phone. what should I do?