Arch Linux

fdrebin

Member

Registered: 2005-04-25

Posts: 152

music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

this is strange:
when playing a mp3 in xmms (other app doesn't make a difference i think) - using alsa - with the volume set to 80% everything sounds fine but when i increase the volume to 100% it sounds "scratchy".
and no it has nothing to do with my boxes.

T-Dawg

Forum Fellow

From: Charlotte, NC

Registered: 2005-01-29

Posts: 2,736

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

Scratchy or distorted? Can you reproduce the sound for me? Normally you don't turn them up all the way, they're kind of like gains on an amplifier...

Cam

Member

From: Brisbane, Aus

Registered: 2004-12-21

Posts: 658

Website

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

If it's distorted then I get the same thing. No drama, just set your PCM volume in a mixer app to 80-90% and tell XMMS or BMP or whatever to adjust volume via the Master control. Having Master at 100% doesn't make it go bad, just PCM

---

DON'T CLICK THIS

fdrebin

Member

Registered: 2005-04-25

Posts: 152

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

i don't know what's the best word to describe it....
it sounds like a box with a defect bass and you listen to a song with much bass
(my boxes are ok)

ivi3

Member

Registered: 2005-10-06

Posts: 62

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

Same here. Fix your PCM (eventually also WAVE) Level to around 80% and Control the sound level through MASTER.

This issue depends on the Soundchip your are using. On my Desktop I set PCM an WAVE Level to 90% with a soundblaster live (probably the best soundcard for linux users). On my notebook I have to set PCM/WAVE to 80% to get the best sound out of the AC97 chip (this soundchip sucks but the boxes of my thinkpad are bad too so I can live with it).

Mathias

Andromea

Member

Registered: 2005-03-19

Posts: 25

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

I know what you mean. It sounds like listening to a speaker wich is about to blow.
I have it too on my onboard sound, wich produces low quality sound in general, but it becomes unbearable with the volume all the way up. But with my audigy card I can put everything at max volume without loosing quality.

Romashka

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2005-12-07

Posts: 1,054

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

Launch alsamixer and make sure no indicator has value more than 0.0 dB !
If there is +x.x dB then sound will be noticeably distorted.

---

to live is to die

junglepeanut

Member

From: California

Registered: 2007-01-24

Posts: 145

Website

Re: music looses quality when volume from 80 to 100%

Just to post, on my 8510GZ it is opposite. Master needs to be at 80-95%  and PCM can go anywhere. Which is actually nice since mostly I only use sound when using mplayer and mplayer controls PCM on my machine so I can set master and forget.