Arch Linux

rg_arc

Member

Registered: 2011-03-20

Posts: 507

Volume is too quiet and the microphone doesn't work in Skype

Hello everyone!

I have had problems with my sound for a while now and I haven't been able to fully fix everything so far. I have been able to adjust many different things to my taste in Arch Linux, but two problems in particular have been elusive. First thing I want to post is the audio device I am using on my computer (Acer Aspire 4810TZ):

$ lspci | grep Audio
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
$ 

The first problem I have is the microphone not working in Skype. I have learned that when I open "pavucontrol" in the terminal I can go to the input devices section and move the sliders opposite of one another so that the two channels don't lock together and cancel out the sound going into the device. Of course, this isn't a permanent fix, it just one workaround I have found that works for a little while until the channels lock together yet again. I found this http://alsa.opensrc.org/.asoundrc#Split … ar_outputs article about the ~/.asoundrc file but I don't know what exactly I need to put into that file to fix this problem, would this section about splitting the outputs help? Also I want to show another file /etc/asound.conf:

# Use PulseAudio by default
pcm.!default {
  type pulse
  fallback "sysdefault"
  hint {
    show on
    description "Default ALSA Output (currently PulseAudio Sound Server)"
  }
}

ctl.!default {
  type pulse
  fallback "sysdefault"
}

# vim:set ft=alsaconf:

I know PulseAudio is used with many applications including Skype, but I have found many issues with pulseaudio.

The volume is really quiet and I do remember my volume being much louder in the past but I am not sure where to look to troubleshoot and what customization I can put into a file to remedy this problem.

Furthermore, I found a few links related to ALSA sound from "brebs" sig:

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 46#p745946
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18371907/asoundrc

I've looked through the asoundrc link but I wasn't sure if that would remedy my problem or not. If am not looking in the right places for resources, is there somewhere else I should look for information regarding these problems? Thanks..

Anders H

Member

From: Reno, NV

Registered: 2011-07-31

Posts: 43

Website

Re: Volume is too quiet and the microphone doesn't work in Skype

Not terribly useful here but you might want to look at this

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Alsa

and if that fails sound look into USB based audio deivces. Not a "perfect" remedy, but it can be a lot easier to work with and can have better sound quality.

---

www.andersherzberg.com

rg_arc

Member

Registered: 2011-03-20

Posts: 507

Re: Volume is too quiet and the microphone doesn't work in Skype

ok so my sound is ok now I can check that off of the list... I just looked around and found some external USB speakers that work just right. My built in computer speakers are just not the best quality.

As for the microphone, I still haven't been able to find out what is causing it to not work. I notice that it isn't actually broken since if I make a really loud noise right next to the input it will register a little but only a little bit.

$ arecord -L
null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
    PulseAudio Sound Server
default
    Default ALSA Output (currently PulseAudio Sound Server)
sysdefault:CARD=Intel
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    Front speakers
surround40:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC269 Analog
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
$ 

here is some additional information about my sound. Also, when I open alsamixer, I find that when I go to "select sound card"(F6) I see default and HDA Intel. If the default is pulseaudio, then is it possible that pulseaudio is causing the problem?