[SOLVED] No sound from USB Speakers

mfoley · 01-02-2018, 02:31 PM

I have a new Slackware 14.2/KDE system. It has USB speakers. I've configured System Settings > Multimedia > Audio and Video Settings, to have the USB Audio device selected as preferred for 'Notifications' and 'Music'.

On the "Auto Hardware Setup" tab, device Configuration section, it has the Sound Card set to 'USB Audio', profile 'Analog Stereo Output'. Device Configuration has 'Sound Device' set to "Playback (USB AUDIO analog stereo)" and 'Connector' set to "Analog Output". (The Device Configuration section does not show alternate options).

Clicking on the speaker placement and testing buttons gives no sound.

Advice?

enorbet · 01-02-2018, 06:56 PM

ummmm send Leonnart Poeterring (quote - I will break your sound) a flattering letter?

OK OK all "joking" aside, let me try to help. First off it is important to realize that it isn't the speakers that are USB as they are analog. It is the amplifier in Powered Speakers that responds to digital control. In 14.2 and most modern Linux distros, PulseAudio resides above Alsa controlling where inputs and outputs go. In effect it sits between the sound drivers and your ears so in most systems KDE's Multimedia setup needs to prefer Pulse. Pulse may have to be "encouraged" to handle USB sources and destinations and that is handled by "pavucontrol".

The only other "gotcha" might be HDMI sound. Sometimes PA manages to workaround HDMI audio but not always. the simplest solution, assuming you never use your video card's HDMI for audio, is to open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and add

Code:

 blacklist snd_hda_intel

then, either restart PA or reboot

Richard Cranium · 01-03-2018, 10:00 PM

Interesting. I've had no problems getting sound to work with XFCE, but my 5 minutes of messing around with KDE did not result in my USB headset being able to get any sound at all.

Despite the Audio Hardware Setup tab recognizing the headset, all of the options in the Device Preference tab showed the headset grayed out.

Back to XFCE for me. I'm sorry that I can't provide any help.

EDIT: FFS! KDE bleeped my sound setup somehow. Sound that worked just fine prior to bringing KDE up is now as broken as it was under KDE. Goddamn it, I did not want to eff around with this tonight.

EDIT 2: OK, so creating the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf with the contents

Code:

options snd slots=snd-usb-audio,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec

and rebooting put my usb headset as the first card as far as alsa was concerned. I'm able to pick it, use it, and so forth and actually hear stuff. The OP may want to check /var/log/messages for lines similar to

Code:

┌Jan  3 22:28:18 cranium kernel: [  236.634356] snd-usb-audio 4-3.4:1.0: cannot find the slot for index 0 (range 0-1), error: -16                │
│Jan  3 22:28:18 cranium kernel: [  236.634365] usb 4-3.4: cannot create card instance 0                                                         │
└Jan  3 22:28:18 cranium kernel: [  236.634377] snd-usb-audio: probe of 4-3.4:1.0 failed with error -16

which was the problem that I was seeing prior to creating /etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf. I don't know if KDE triggered this somehow and I'm not keen on starting KDE to find out. Sorry.

EDIT 3: Hat's off to https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...g-my-soundcard which is where I found the idea for the modprobe.d entry.

mfoley · 01-15-2018, 03:24 PM

Thanks folks. This is my last hurdle to getting this system into production. It seem like each new system I set up has time consuming idiosyncrasies when it comes to sound. Not ready for Mainstream!

enorbet: I added the blacklist as you suggested and rebooted. That seemed to do nothing at all.

Richard Cranium: Likewise, I created the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf file per your suggestion and rebooted. again, nothing.

In pavucontrol I turned off all devices but the USB Audio. This included the built-in audio and the HDMI.

In system settings > multi-media > Audio and Video Settings > Device Preference, USB Audio is the only one shown enabled. It is set for Notifications, Music, Video, Communication, Games, Accessibility. Clicking the 'Test' button produces no sound.

In Audio and Video Settings > Audio Hardware Setup > USB Audio, no settings are really changable. Clicking 'Left' or 'Right' speaker produces no sound.

/var/log/messages has only:

Code:

Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.552470] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Handle vga_switcheroo audio client
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.569542] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0: autoconfig for VT1708S: line_outs=4 (0x1c/0x19/0x22/0x23/0x0) type:line
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.569905] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:    speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.570244] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:    hp_outs=1 (0x1d/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.570590] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:    mono: mono_out=0x0
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.570790] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:    dig-out=0x20/0x21
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.570989] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:    inputs:
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.571187] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:      Rear Mic=0x1a
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.571397] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:      Front Mic=0x1e
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    4.571611] snd_hda_codec_via hdaudioC1D0:      Line=0x1b
Jan 15 16:10:07 ccarter kernel: [    6.143143] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio

Clicking the 'test' buttons adds no messages to the logfile.

Ideas?

enorbet · 01-15-2018, 08:35 PM

First off, let me qualify my answer by letting you know I hate Pulseaudio. As far as I can tell it's only useful for onboard sound chips and i prefer a real top notch sound card for which pulse is an unnecessary pita. Additionally I never use HDMI sound from my graphics card so I vastly prefer to blacklist it. I want one device to handle all sound so I keep it simple and direct.

While the above may not apply to you and your needs, it is still a good starting point. Get USB audio working with no other options possible and then allow and configure others as you need them. So my recommendation is to use "aplay -l" to list all your sound devices and blacklist any other than USB. Use "alsamixer" to insure pulse can even use it and then "pavucontrol" to frost the cake. Once that works, start putting back any others one by one, if you need them.

Richard Cranium · 01-15-2018, 09:52 PM

On my system, I haven't blacklisted any sound modules. I do have the alsa.conf file that I mentioned above.

Just for you, @mfoley, I logged into KDE. My headphones worked just fine with no fiddling around; they are the first to show up in kmix and I listened to a YouTube video without changing anything at all.

However, I always have to unplug and re-plugin my USB headset after a reboot to get it to work. I only have to do it once after a reboot but I do have to do it. You may have to do the same with your USB speakers.

mfoley · 01-19-2018, 09:46 PM

I've had no luck with either Norbet's blacklisting or Richard Cranium's alsa.conf ideas. Furthermore, it sounds like if I do get the USB speakers to work I may have to unlug/replug them every boot. So, I've taken the coward's way out and for $8 bought a set of new "standard" speakers with the RCA jack. I've got bigger issues to worry about. Thanks for the input.