Arch Linux

shlomomofo

Member

Registered: 2008-01-14

Posts: 8

there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

i've got a fresh minimal install of arch (some "support" packages). i want to use this pc as a a jukebox, but alsamixer won't control the volume (i.e. changing the volume or muting pcm has no effect).  there is only one channel present (pcm)... from what i've read, a master should be present.  i followed the steps in the beginner's guide when setting up this system, which essentially just said to install alsa-utils.  am i missing steps?

i am using a usb-spdif converter, and i have tried mpd and gstreamer based players (exaile, decibel).  i've searched the forums and combed the wiki, but i can't figure it out...

thanks for any info!

wyvern

Member

From: 'Old' Scottish/English border.

Registered: 2008-01-06

Posts: 70

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

Could you post the output of

lsmod|grep '^snd'

please?
I presume you also did a

pacman -S alsa-lib

and added any necessary modules to the MODULES line as well as 'alsa' on the DAEMONS line in  /etc/rc.conf?

peart

Member

From: Kanuckistan

Registered: 2003-07-28

Posts: 510

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

I think those things happen when your user is not part of the audio group.

shlomomofo

Member

Registered: 2008-01-14

Posts: 8

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

thanks for jumping in.  i'll post the lsmod info when i get home later today.  i did indeed do a "pacman -S alsa-lib" and add alsa to rc.conf.  i also added my user to the audio group, but i will check again.

wyvern

Member

From: 'Old' Scottish/English border.

Registered: 2008-01-06

Posts: 70

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

Additionally, the wiki does have the following info, specifically for SPDIF:

Edit /etc/asound.state. This file is where alsasound stores your mixer settings.
Find a line that says: 'IEC958 Playback Switch'. Near it you will find a line saying value:false. Change it to value:true.
Now find this line: 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA'. Change its value to 0.
Restart ALSA.

shlomomofo

Member

Registered: 2008-01-14

Posts: 8

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

ok, here's the lsmod info

snd_usb_audio          76512  1 
snd_usb_lib            15232  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_rawmidi            19232  1 snd_usb_lib
snd_hwdep               7428  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_seq_oss            29568  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      6656  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                47056  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          7052  3 snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            37152  0 
snd_pcm                69124  2 snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              19332  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc          8200  1 snd_pcm
snd_mixer_oss          14592  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd                    45476  12 snd_usb_audio,snd_rawmidi,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mixer_oss

i have tried using both oss output and alsa (from moc, confirmed by looking at moc server output messages)... neither will allow me to control the volume.  could this be an issue with my hardware?  do i need to have hardware mixing capabilities to use alsamixer in it's default config?  my "sound card" is a simple usb dac (hagUSB) with spdif output.

wyvern: i tried messing with the asound.state settings as per the wiki... no dice.  setting PCM Playback Switch to false has no effect.  in any case, i am getting sound from the spdif... it goes to an outboard dac and i do get sound from my speakers. interestingly, i have no Master component in alsamixer.  everything i have read mentions the Master component.  maybe i need to do something with the alsa.conf? asound.state file contents are:

state.default {
    control.1 {
        comment.access 'read write'
        comment.type BOOLEAN
        comment.count 1
        iface MIXER
        name 'PCM Playback Switch'
        value true
    }
    control.2 {
        comment.access 'read write'
        comment.type INTEGER
        comment.count 2
        comment.range '0 - 128'
        iface MIXER
        name 'PCM Playback Volume'
        value.0 128
        value.1 128
    }
}

wyvern

Member

From: 'Old' Scottish/English border.

Registered: 2008-01-06

Posts: 70

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

i have tried using both oss output and alsa (from moc, confirmed by looking at moc server output messages)... neither will allow me to control the volume.  could this be an issue with my hardware?

Right, have you tried amixer itself? It maybe more helpful in this situation. Usually the command

amixer

will tell you what it's recognising as your input/output. If there's nothing, it could well be that the setup just isn't being recognised at all.

If it returns anything that looks like the card you have plugged in (IEC958 Optical), try these

amixer set 'IEC958 Optical' 100 unmute
 amixer set 'Digital Output Jack' on

Let me know if you have any more success with them.

do i need to have hardware mixing capabilities to use alsamixer in it's default config?  my "sound card" is a simple usb dac (hagUSB) with spdif output.

As far as I am aware, alsamixer should be doing something. If the above didn't work, there's always the 'alsaconf' command, then retry the above with amixer...

Failing that, I'm running short of ideas (not having a similar setup I cannot offer more help) and googling isn't helping

shlomomofo

Member

Registered: 2008-01-14

Posts: 8

Re: there is sound, but ALSA mixer won't control volume

i'll try that later and let you know.  i'm thinking that it is a hardware incompatibility issue... i have also had similar trouble getting oss to work, where oss won't detect the hardware and install a mixer.  in any case, at least i am not having the opposite problem (i.e. no sound at all). i've been using moc for playing music, and the latest build has a software mixer that might do in a pinch.

Failing that, I'm running short of ideas (not having a similar setup I cannot offer more help) and googling isn't helping sad

i hear that!   thanks for helping out though.

i'd still like to figure this out, so if there are any alsa configuration wizards out there....  i can post the contents of any other conf files you need.