[SOLVED] Arch - distorted sound while using headset
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I used to use earphones until now and they are still working fine, but while using the headset the sound gets distorted.
I tried the headset on windows, and android devices and it worked fine.
These are the specs of the headset:
Fostex x Massdrop
Closed-back design
50 mm dynamic transducer
Magnesium alloy construction
Mahogany earcups, brilliant gloss finish
Leatherette earpads, matte black
Magnetic flux density: >1 tesla
Impedance: 25 ohms
Sensitivity: 94 dB/mW
Maximum input: 1,800 mW
Frequency response: 5–45,000 Hz
10 ft (3 m) thick, braided Y cable
1/4 in (6.3 mm) gold-coated stereo phone plug
Weight, without cable: 12.3 oz (350 g)
Weight, with cable: 17 oz (482 g)
There's a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter that I need to attach to the headset so that I can use it on my devices.
I am not knowledgeable about the audio domain, so I tried out some random solutions that I found in
Are the headphones damaged? They get dropped, left in cars on hot days, wet, and other things.
25 Ohms is the only spec that matters IMO. Long long ago, 4 Ohms was common for cheap headsets. You might need a headphone preamp to drive those. Or at least make the connection easier. Otherwise try "other" headphones / earbuds in the port. TBH, it's kind of hard to find headphones lower than 32 Ohms these days. Which is barely audible in noisy environments.
There are times when linux audio gets odd, normally a reboot or stop/starting pulseaudio can correct those issues. And sometimes you kind of have to treat pulseaudio like a senior with goldfish ram. Forget about that default device, now let me tell you about the default device. AKA disable and re-enable the device you want to use in pavucontrol.
Otherwise you might have sample rate issues and other possibilities (aka configuration). It would be hard to tell without a recording of the sounds that you are hearing.
Looking at your alsamixer levels, most cards (default / not botique) sound bad > 90%. Between 25% - 75% they sound pretty good. Basically the same reasons you get speakers that exceed the range of your hearing perceptions, which is lower distortion at the extremes. AKA headphone preamp, so you can get the best sound, and still have the option to adjust your levels while maintaining the best sound. Plus analog knobs, physical mute button, and other perks. Not that your issue is that, but one of those little things that makes things better.
Are the headphones damaged? They get dropped, left in cars on hot days, wet, and other things.
I got it 2 days ago. I did try it using other devices(android, windows) and it worked pretty fine.
I did also check out the wiki page for pulseaudio, so I was restarting it from time to time while updating the /etc/asound.conf
As for the internal. It's full name is Internal Mic Boost
Last edited by yasserKaddoura; 07-22-2017 at 05:51 AM.
hmm but your screenshot is playback or output not input
I would suggest seeing if you can mute that internal mic boost by arrowing to it and pressing m key
otherwise zero the vol
----maybe your headset has a mic like a gamer's headset and the mic is giving feedback?
Location: Montreal, Quebec and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia CANADA
Distribution: Arch, AntiX, ArtiX
Posts: 1,363
Rep:
Hi yasserKadoura - a couple of questions and suggestions ....
Does the distortion occur when listening to music ?
If so, which player software are you using and are any filters activated (equalizer, extrastereo ..etc. ...). If so, deactivate them all and see if it makes a difference.
If not music, what application are you using when experiencing distortion ? Same suggestions re: filters - check for those.
In Pulseaudio, are you using the equalizer (qpaeq) ? If so, flatten everything to default and check the results.
Does the distortion occur when listening to music ?
Classical music is fine with static noise occurring occasionally. On the other hand, there's a noticeable distortion while hearing another type of music with the actor's voice being pretty low on top of that (The voice of actors in the series that I watch is pretty dim).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickkkk
If so, which player software are you using and are any filters activated (equalizer, extrastereo ..etc. ...). If so, deactivate them all and see if it makes a difference.
I can notice the distortion while using everything that I use for audio that is vlc, rhythmbox and youtube videos on firefox browser.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickkkk
In Pulseaudio, are you using the equalizer (qpaeq) ? If so, flatten everything to default and check the results.
I installed the equalizer thinking that I have to use it to fix this problem, but I removed it not long after noticing that it didn't make much change.
Last edited by yasserKaddoura; 07-22-2017 at 11:06 AM.
in case this is a tower, can you try again using the back green hole. I am thinking if it resolves on the back hole, the tower will need to be opened and you push down the front headers on your motherboard. Depending on your front panel, the panel can come off and it may be possible to remove the whole unit if reseating fails.
It doesn't matter if the mic exists, the input hardware exists and it can have noise that passes through to the speakers, even with nothing physically plugged into the port. Especially on lower end gear. Mic boost should be OFF unless you're recording, and only on if you "need" to. It's more of a make the most of a BAD situation option.
Starting and stopping pulseaudio can be quirky. A clean cold boot might help improve things, once you settle on a setup. Otherwise you can add "autospawn = no" to /etc/pulse/client.conf and $(pulseaudio --kill) to stop using pulseaudio. Some software might want to restart it under certain configurations. Once it's stopped (verify with ps output), you can use alsa directly.
$ speaker-test -c 2 -l 1 -D hw:0
Adjust the 0 to 1, 2, or whatever applies to your desired output device. Which can change between boots. Using $(cat /proc/asound/cards) can help identify which index number applies to which card.
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