Arch Linux

orlfman

Member

Registered: 2007-11-20

Posts: 145

odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

so i have both a sound blaster ae5 and the new sound blaster fx v2. both sound cards suffer the same exact problem. when audio starts, let it be a desktop notification or audio from any source begins to play, for the first one or two seconds, there is nasty crackling / corrupted sound but as the sound goes on, its ok. after all sound end, and start a new sound like a minute later, all is good. but if enough time passes, like say five minutes, any new sound will start crackling / corrupted again. i am now using my onboard audio on my msi b550 tomahawk. what i find interesting is my motherboard's audio is the reversion that has the better alc1220 instead of the alc1200. the alc1220 is the same codec that the fx v2 uses. the only difference between the two is the controller. the fx v2 uses the same creative controller that's on the ae5. while my motherboard just goes through the chipset and the sound is for the most part perfect with it. no crackling / corrupted sound but instead i have noticed, there is a bit of silence when new audio starts playing for about a second. which got me thinking, maybe its a power saving thing? does linux "turn off" the sound card when its idle for long enough? if so, is there a way to disable this? i'm thinking the crackling / corrupted sound could be from the sound card "powering back on" after being "off."

Last edited by orlfman (2022-08-22 04:21:32)

Irets

Member

Registered: 2019-02-01

Posts: 143

Re: odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

What's the value of

cat /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

If not zero, echo zero into the file and test.
This change very likely does not presist across reboots but gives you a way to see if it's because of powersaving.

Edit: ^ That is if I understood your sound setup. ^

Last edited by Irets (2022-08-22 13:39:22)

orlfman

Member

Registered: 2007-11-20

Posts: 145

Re: odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

What's the value of

cat /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

If not zero, echo zero into the file and test.
This change very likely does not presist across reboots but gives you a way to see if it's because of powersaving.

Edit: ^ That is if I understood your sound setup. ^

hah! i knew there was some power saving feature. thank you! when i get off work ill pop my ae5 back in and see if that does it.

orlfman

Member

Registered: 2007-11-20

Posts: 145

Re: odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

unfortunately my power management theory was incorrect. still making the crackling / corrupted sound...

Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=4194304, period=131072
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=4194304, period=131072
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=4194304, period=131072
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=2097152, period=65536
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=1048576, period=32768
Aug 22 20:54:58 archlinux kernel: snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.0: Too many BDL entries: buffer=4194304, period=131072

i am getting these spammed in journalctl with both the ae5 and fx v2. what else could cause this?

though i will say, my motherboards audio is surprisingly good.. the alc1220 on it i would argue is as good as my fx v2. so even if i can't possibly "fix" this issue, i honestly don't mind sticking to my motherboard audio since it just works.

Maniaxx

Member

Registered: 2014-05-14

Posts: 761

Re: odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

What are these cards? USB or PCIe?
Try changing ports/slots.

On what hardware do they run?
Which audio server do you use? Try pipewire.

---

sys2064

orlfman

Member

Registered: 2007-11-20

Posts: 145

Re: odd problem of crackling / corrupted sound

What are these cards? USB or PCIe?
Try changing ports/slots.

On what hardware do they run?
Which audio server do you use? Try pipewire.

both the ae5 and the fx v2 are true pci-e 1x cards. i'm using a msi b550 tomahawk. and i've tried pulseaduio and pipewire. and different kernel versions too and even tried booting into different distros like fedora and they all have the same crackling / corrupted sound problem when sound starts. only going away as audio continues.

and its odd, but i have two msi b550 tomahawks. i have the first version that had the alc1200 codec on it and now i am using the newer version that has the alc1220. i got a new one because my old one i kinda the entire tube of thermal paste in the socket problem. eh i used to much paste and a lot of paste dripped off the sides into the socket when i took out my 5800x to replace it with my 5900x. but needless to say, both boards with the ae5 and fx v2 have the same problem. but as i mentioned, the onboard alc1220 on my tomahawk works great.

Last edited by orlfman (2022-08-23 20:21:22)