Bad sound in linux

Linux Mint Forums

Forum rules
Before you post please read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.

Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Mon Jun 26, 2017 5:39 pm

After I restart my Linux Mint 18.1 installation on a dual boot PC, the sound is very bad for youtube as well as the sound test in the sound setting panel. How to fix it?

Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.

jimallyn Level 19
Posts: 9075 Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:34 pm Location: Wenatchee, WA USA

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by jimallyn » Mon Jun 26, 2017 8:08 pm

Does this mean after you have booted into your other OS (I assume Windows)? I once had problems with a dual boot system if I selected «restart» or «reboot» (or whatever they called it) from Windows. If I shut it down completely before booting into Linux, all was fine. Apparently Windows left something in an inappropriate condition. It might be good to know a bit more about your system. Open a terminal, enter inxi -Fxz and press Enter, then copy/paste the output of that command here.

“If the government were coming for your TVs and cars, then you’d be upset. But, as it is, they’re only coming for your sons.” — Daniel Berrigan

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:41 pm

Thanks very much for your inputs. I have rebooted it quite few times and the problem still exists. Here is the output of the command.

$ inxi -Fxz
System: Host: oem-Vostro-270s Kernel: 4.4.0-81-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.2.7 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
Distro: Linux Mint 18.1 Serena
Machine: System: Dell product: Vostro 270s
Mobo: Dell model: 0XFWHV v: A00 Bios: Dell v: A11 date: 10/14/2013
CPU: Quad core Intel Core i5-3470S (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 23155
clock speeds: max: 3600 MHz 1: 1623 MHz 2: 1680 MHz 3: 1689 MHz
4: 1684 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller
bus-ID: 00:02.0
Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
Resolution: 1920×1200@59.95hz
GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Ivybridge Desktop
GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 11.2.0 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio: Card-1 Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller
driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-81-generic
Network: Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter
driver: ath9k bus-ID: 03:00.0
IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac:
Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 04:00.0
IF: enp4s0 state: down mac:
Drives: HDD Total Size: 1004.1GB (4.6% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000DM003 size: 1000.2GB
ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: USB_Disk size: 3.9GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 189G used: 39G (22%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
ID-2: swap-1 size: 4.16GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda6
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8C mobo: 27.8C
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 177 Uptime: 12 min Memory: 1993.1/3823.4MB
Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.3.461) inxi: 2.2.35

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 1:31 pm

Can someone help me out on the sound problem? The sournd data is lost in a sound stream as I can tell.

Flemur Level 20
Posts: 10097 Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:41 pm Location: Potemkin Village

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by Flemur » Wed Jun 28, 2017 2:02 pm

Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up. right?

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 9:40 pm

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Fri Jun 30, 2017 2:03 pm

Shall I perform this procedure, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Sound . gProcedure or reinstall pulseaudio?

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by Hoser Rob » Fri Jun 30, 2017 3:30 pm

I’d try what the 1st answer here suggests .

. though where it says «nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf» that assumes a bit too much knowledge maybe.

First, nano may not be your simple text editor. I always install leafpad and use that, so I can never remember which editor comes with each Mint DE version even though I’ve had ’em all installed. Can’t even remember what it is for Mint Xfce without looking and I have that on 2 machines .

So in my case, with leafpad, the command would be .

gksudo leafpad /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

. and substitute the name of your editor. You need to run gksudo because you need sudo provileges to change anything in your root (/) folder, which is always in protected mode. You can read files from there otherwise ut not write to them. gksudo is needed for GUI programs.

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 12:36 pm

Thanks for the info although I am not 100 percent sure they are related.

I don’t’ have any output for the command «lspci -v | grep audio».

The followings are an output for the command «lsmod | grep snd»

snd_hda_codec_hdmi 53248 1 snd_hda_codec_realtek 86016 1 snd_hda_codec_generic 77824 1 snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_intel 40960 3 snd_usb_audio 176128 1 snd_hda_codec 135168 4 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_intel snd_hda_core 73728 5 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel snd_usbmidi_lib 36864 1 snd_usb_audio snd_hwdep 16384 2 snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec snd_seq_midi 16384 0 snd_seq_midi_event 16384 1 snd_seq_midi snd_rawmidi 32768 2 snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_seq_midi snd_seq 69632 2 snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_midi snd_pcm 106496 5 snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_core snd_seq_device 16384 3 snd_seq,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_midi snd_timer 32768 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq snd 81920 21 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_usb_audio,snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_pcm,snd_seq,snd_rawmidi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_seq_device soundcore 16384 1 snd 

/lib/modules/4.4.0-53-generic/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko /lib/modules/4.4.0-77-generic/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko /lib/modules/4.4.0-81-generic/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko 

options snd-hda-intel model=generic

to the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf without a luck.

BTW, I have reinstalled PulseAudio without any improvement.

phd21 Level 20
Posts: 10102 Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:42 pm Location: Florida

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by phd21 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 1:19 pm

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

You could try updating/upgrading your Linux Kernel, which is safe to do because if for some reason the new Linux Kernel did not work well, just reboot into advanced boot options menu and pick a previous one.

You can update/ upgrade the Linux Kernel through your Mint Update Manager, or install «Ukuu», then reboot afterwards. I installed and am running Linux Kernel v4.11.7 without any negative issues.

You can also try installing pulse audio equalizer and pulse audio volume control from the «Synaptic Package Manager (SPM)».

I always install and use «Qasmixer» as well.

Phd21 : Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS’s , Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.

Flemur Level 20
Posts: 10097 Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:41 pm Location: Potemkin Village

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by Flemur » Sat Jul 01, 2017 1:56 pm

Generally when you reinstall packages to correct a problem you should also delete your user files associated with that package; so delete the ~/*pulse* files, IIRC (I don’t have pulseaudio),

Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up. right?

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:27 pm

Generally when you reinstall packages to correct a problem you should also delete your user files associated with that package; so delete the ~/*pulse* files, IIRC (I don’t have pulseaudio),

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:37 pm

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

You could try updating/upgrading your Linux Kernel, which is safe to do because if for some reason the new Linux Kernel did not work well, just reboot into advanced boot options menu and pick a previous one.

You can update/ upgrade the Linux Kernel through your Mint Update Manager, or install «Ukuu», then reboot afterwards. I installed and am running Linux Kernel v4.11.7 without any negative issues.

You can also try installing pulse audio equalizer and pulse audio volume control from the «Synaptic Package Manager (SPM)».

I always install and use «Qasmixer» as well.

My system is updated. And no luck. I get into SPM and don’t know what I can do about pulseaudio other than marking it as reinstallation.

Flemur Level 20
Posts: 10097 Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:41 pm Location: Potemkin Village

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by Flemur » Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:53 pm

Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up. right?

phd21 Level 20
Posts: 10102 Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:42 pm Location: Florida

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by phd21 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:02 pm

According to your «inxi -Fxzd», your kernel is not updated. Update it.

There is nothing wrong with selecting reinstall on pulse audio either.

Phd21 : Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS’s , Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Sun Jul 02, 2017 2:18 pm

According to your «inxi -Fxzd», your kernel is not updated. Update it.

There is nothing wrong with selecting reinstall on pulse audio either.

I did a update yesterday. Right now, I see «Your system is up to date» on the Update Manager. The inxi message was an output I run a few days ago.

phd21 Level 20
Posts: 10102 Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:42 pm Location: Florida

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by phd21 » Sun Jul 02, 2017 2:23 pm

Please re-run and post the new results of «inxi -Fxzd».

Phd21 : Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS’s , Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.

Re: Very Bad Sound Quality

Post by vw98075 » Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:33 pm

Please re-run and post the new results of «inxi -Fxzd».

System: Host: oem-Vostro-270s Kernel: 4.4.0-83-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0) Desktop: Cinnamon 3.4.3 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3) Distro: Linux Mint 18.2 Sonya Machine: System: Dell product: Vostro 270s Mobo: Dell model: 0XFWHV v: A00 Bios: Dell v: A11 date: 10/14/2013 CPU: Quad core Intel Core i5-3470S (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 23155 clock speeds: max: 3600 MHz 1: 3326 MHz 2: 3053 MHz 3: 3298 MHz 4: 3081 MHz Graphics: Card: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0 Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1920x1200@59.95hz GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Ivybridge Desktop GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 11.2.0 Direct Rendering: Yes Audio: Card-1 Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-83-generic Network: Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath9k bus-ID: 03:00.0 IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: Drives: HDD Total Size: 1004.1GB (4.0% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000DM003 size: 1000.2GB ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: USB_Disk size: 3.9GB Optical: /dev/sr0 model: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GHA2N rev: A103 dev-links: cdrom,cdrw,dvd,dvdrw Features: speed: 48x multisession: yes audio: yes dvd: yes rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: running Partition: ID-1: / size: 189G used: 34G (19%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5 ID-2: swap-1 size: 4.16GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda6 RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8C mobo: 27.8C Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A Info: Processes: 209 Uptime: 1 min Memory: 875.1/3823.4MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0 Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

Источник