Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

anakinsky · 2026-10-16 13:46:32

# Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux (HP, Ryzen 5 5500U, ALC236)

## Problem

The built-in speakers on my HP laptop sound noticeably thinner and less full on Arch Linux than they do on Windows. The difference is most noticeable in bass/fullness. This is not simply a volume issue: increasing the speaker level makes the audio louder, but does not restore the sound character I expect.

I remember the sound being better on Fedora, but I can no longer boot into that installation to make a direct comparison. I’m trying to determine whether this is a PipeWire/UCM profile issue, an ALSA/codec configuration issue, or a difference in HP’s Windows audio processing/tuning.

## Hardware and software

- Laptop: HP 15s-eq2xxx (SKU reported as `6K7U2PA#ACJ`)
- CPU/GPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U with integrated Radeon Vega 7
- Audio codec: Realtek ALC236
- Codec vendor ID: `10ec:0236`
- Codec subsystem ID: `103c:887a`
- OS: Arch Linux, running Hyprland/HyDE
- Kernel: `7.2.9-arch1-1`
- Audio stack: PipeWire + WirePlumber
- PipeWire version reported: `1.6.9`

## What I have checked

### PipeWire output

The active sink was:

```text
alsa_output.pci-0000_03_00.6.HiFi__Speaker__sink
```

It was using 32-bit stereo at 48 kHz, with the Speaker port active and audio routed to the ALC236 analog playback channels.

### ALSA mixer

The relevant controls shown by `amixer -c 1 scontents` were:

```text
Master
Headphone
Speaker
Mic Boost
Capture
Auto-Mute Mode
```

There were no separate Bass or Treble controls.

At one point, the ALSA Speaker control was at `37/87` (about 43%) and unmuted. Master was at 100 and unmuted; Headphone was muted; Auto-Mute was enabled. I also saw a PipeWire sink volume around 23% in an earlier output, so the ALSA mixer and PipeWire volume should not be treated as the same control.

I understand that changing the Speaker level primarily changes loudness; it has not fixed the tonal difference.

### Codec detection / kernel messages

The codec is detected as Realtek ALC236. Kernel output included:

```text
ALC236: picked fixup for PCI SSID 103c:887a
autoconfig: line_outs=1 (0x14) type:speaker
speaker_outs=0
hp_outs=1 (0x21)
Mic=0x19
```

The internal speaker appears to be associated with pin `0x14`. The codec dump also showed an “Invalid AFG subtree” message, but audio works. I don’t know whether that message is relevant.

I did not see an obvious audio-firmware failure in the kernel logs. There was a missing `regulatory.db` message, which appears unrelated to audio.

### Other attempts

- Installed EasyEffects and tried EQ, but I did not get a useful improvement; I have since removed it.
- Checked the ALSA controls; no hardware Bass/Treble controls were available.
- Looked at `hdajackretask`, but did not apply pin overrides.
- I have not deliberately changed codec pin assignments or added a custom `/etc/asound.conf`.

Last edited by anakinsky (Yesterday 06:54:33)

seth · 2026-10-16 15:12:53

https://markdown.org/tools/converters/md-to-bbcode/

than they do on Windows

3rd link below. Mandatory.
Disable it (it's NOT the BIOS setting!) and reboot windows and linux twice for voodo reasons.

Are there one or two speaker sets on windows (is the bass coming from the same location as the upper frequencies)?
(Though google suggests no subwoofer present)
Headphone sound is ok?

- Installed EasyEffects and tried EQ, but I did not get a useful improvement; I have since removed it.

Did you get a *change* at all?

anakinsky · 2026-10-16 15:30:34

Did you get a *change* at all?

the only change was certain new options did get unlocked

but I got the solution to the problem

In windows by default audio enhancements were turned on....which made the audio louder and the kinda clearer.....................once I turned it off I could feel the quality same as on Linux ig which is the native quality .........so it was that all time

thanks for taking the time to reply

Last edited by anakinsky (2026-10-16 15:32:18)

seth · 2026-10-16 15:46:30

How does that solve the problem? You now have poor sound everywhere?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWi … processing

dimich · 2026-10-16 19:56:38

anakinsky wrote:

In windows by default audio enhancements were turned on

Out of curiosity, is this standard windows feature or something provided by laptop vendor? I mean, it can be some filter equalizing frequency response for this particular laptop model.

anakinsky · Yesterday 04:32:11

dimich wrote:

anakinsky wrote:
In windows by default audio enhancements were turned on
Out of curiosity, is this standard windows feature or something provided by laptop vendor? I mean, it can be some filter equalizing frequency response for this particular laptop model.

It was a normal windows feature, under sound settings , there is enhancements section, where two options are there
1) Windows Default bass enhancement
2) Off

When I turned it off, it sounded same as Linux.......so I believe that is the natural audio quality

but the thing is that enhancement was actually really good........Seth replied here about changing my pipewire config to get those enhancements , but unfortunately, I had to increase volume upto 100 to hear anything so I went back to deafult

easyeffects is also there, but that program need to be run in background to do its work

currently I am satisfied that there was no downgrade in audio it was enhancement, which I will someday figure out

Last edited by anakinsky (Yesterday 04:35:20)

kokoko3k · Yesterday 06:28:44

JamesDSP is also very good and probably lighter than easyeffects. It's in AUR.

anakinsky · Yesterday 06:48:22

kokoko3k wrote:

JamesDSP is also very good and probably lighter than easyeffects. It's in AUR.

will try that, thanks a lot

Arch Linux

#1 2026-10-16 13:46:32

Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#2 2026-10-16 15:12:53

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#3 2026-10-16 15:30:34

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#4 2026-10-16 15:46:30

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#5 2026-10-16 19:56:38

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#6 Yesterday 04:32:11

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#7 Yesterday 06:28:44

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

#8 Yesterday 06:48:22

Re: Built-in laptop speakers sound thin / lack bass on Arch Linux

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