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Jerycho95

Member

Registered: 2025-05-16

Posts: 5

[AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Hi everyone,

I’m seeking assistance with poor built-in speaker audio quality on my ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 G834JZR laptop running CachyOS. The sound is quiet and lacks bass compared to Windows. Headphone audio is fine.

System Details:

    Host: ROG Strix G18 G834JZR_G814JZR
    OS: CachyOS x86_64
    Kernel: Linux 6.14.6-2-cachyos
    Audio Server: PipeWire 1.4.2
    Codec: Realtek ALC285 (SSID 1043:3a40)
    Amplifiers: 2x Cirrus Logic CS35L41 (SSID 10433A40, driver cs35l41-hda)

Problem Summary: dmesg shows both CS35L41 amplifiers are “Falling back to default firmware,” loading generic cirrus/cs35l41-dsp1-spk-prot.wmfw and .bin files. This occurs despite /usr/lib/firmware/cirrus/ containing symbolic links like cs35l41-dsp1-spk-prot-10433a40-* pointing to ...-10433a30-... firmware. The linux-firmware package is current.

ALSA auto-config for ALC285 indicates a 2.0 speaker setup (line_outs=2 type:speaker, speaker_outs=0). In alsamixer, the Bass Speaker control is an non-adjustable On/Off toggle. In pavucontrol, only “Analog Stereo Output” works for speakers; surround profiles are silent.

It appears the system isn’t loading optimal, model-specific firmware for the CS35L41 amplifiers (for SSID 10433A40) and/or ALSA isn’t correctly configuring the 4-speaker system.

I would be very grateful for any guidance or known solutions to get the correct firmware loaded and the speaker system configured properly for better audio quality on this hardware.

Thank you.

topcat01

Member

Registered: 2019-09-17

Posts: 182

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Can you please post the entire dmesg (use code tags) after a fresh boot? ALSA prints a lot of info and it’s not all in one place.

Last edited by topcat01 (2025-05-17 00:42:23)

Jerycho95

Member

Registered: 2025-05-16

Posts: 5

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Complete dmesg log file is to large. Link do dmesg:

https://pastebin.com/JHZvWNNM

Password: suHwsu8zDt

Last edited by Jerycho95 (2025-05-17 10:34:58)

topcat01

Member

Registered: 2019-09-17

Posts: 182

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

I did some reading on the web, and it seems related to this patch set, which also explains the issue:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20231218151 … irrus.com/

Basically your model might need a quirk/patch from Cirrus. It might be too new. You can request one here:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/002101da924 … irrus.com/

Jerycho95

Member

Registered: 2025-05-16

Posts: 5

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

It appears there isn't a solution available yet, and no one seems to have reported this issue specifically for this hardware. I've submitted a bug report on kernel Bugzilla.

topcat01

Member

Registered: 2019-09-17

Posts: 182

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Can you also link the bug report here? Thanks!

Jerycho95

Member

Registered: 2025-05-16

Posts: 5

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Sure !
Thank you for your commitment.

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=220135

Last edited by Jerycho95 (2025-05-19 14:34:43)

topcat01

Member

Registered: 2019-09-17

Posts: 182

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Thanks! Did you also cc to Cirrus?

Jerycho95

Member

Registered: 2025-05-16

Posts: 5

Re: [AUDIO PROBLEM] ASUS ROG G834JZR - Poor Speaker Sound & Firmware Issue

Thanks! Did you also cc to Cirrus?

Yes, today via support ticket and CC list on kernel bugzilla.