Sound volume too low with STAC9228 / Dell Inspiron 1526

[Nikolaus Rath]

With Dell Inspiron 1526, the sound volume is way too low. With all mixer controls set to maximum, the volume is still below normal. Loading the snd-hda-intel module with different parameters (model set to 3stack, 5stack, ref or dell-3stack) does not make a difference.

[Nikolaus Rath (nikratio)]

Output of alsa-info.sh is available at http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=156e0c114df489566677ae175decf4717af0bb9d

Output of lspc -vvn, asoundconf list and amixer attached.

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

Hi Nikolaus,

I see you are running Hardy. The Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release just came out last week. Just curious if you'd be able to reproduce this issue with Intrepid? You should be able to test using a LiveCD. You may also want to try using the "model=auto" option to see if that may help?

[Nikolaus Rath (nikratio)]

I can reproduce the problem in intrepid. I assume the "auto" setting is equivalent to simply not giving a specified model? Yes, I already tried that (it was actually the default configuation).

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

When running Intrepid, can you run the alsa-info.sh script - http://alsa-project.org/alsa-info.sh - and attach the resulting alsa-info.txt file:

./alsa-info.sh --no-upload

Thanks

[Nikolaus Rath (nikratio)]

Does it really have to be run under intrepid? I run the same script under hardy and already attached it above.

[Rick Collette (rcollet)]

I am also having the same issue; with an Inspiron 1526 - I have not tried to dig into it too much, I just happened across this thread, and decided to add my alsa-info output as well..

[hackel (hackel)]

I still have this issue in Ubuntu 9.04. I'm not sure if it is the card, or if the speakers on this laptop (Dell XPS M1530) are simply not capable of getting any louder, since I've never run another operating system on it. I've attached my alsa-info below. I can barely hear the sound sometimes, it's very frustrating! I've tried various model= parameters (dell-3stack, etc.) but none have made any difference. Let me know if I can provide any additional information.

[Carl Fink (carl-finknetwork)]

I'm having the same issue on two different computers (ASUS Eee PC 1000H and eMachines T3101). I'll be glad to provide any files or information that may help. Ubuntu 9.04.

[jasonroberts (jasoncharlesroberts)]

I've had the same problem with a Dell XPS M1530 running 9.04. Music playback was quiet but just about usable, DVD playback volume barely audible (unusable). After a visit to the ALSA project site I used the alsamixer command and maxed out all the settings. This seems to have sorted or at least improved the situation - will need to boot into Vista to compare the volume but is much better both for music files and DVD playback. I'm new to Linux, trying to decide if it is a real alternative to Windows for home desktop use. My initial impressions have been very good and I already hate having to boot back into Vista so I've been fairly determined to overcome the glitches I've had but this one in particular would, if its widespread, be a real barrier to anyone either less determined or less technical adopting Linux as their OS of choice.

[[e-mail] (shashi545)]

Hi,

I had the same pbm with my Dell inspiron 1525 laptop on Ubuntu 9.04 which was RESOLVED following this:
http://agnipulse.com/2009/07/fix-low-volume-issues-in-ubuntu/

ENJOY!!
Shashi

[Nikolaus Rath (nikratio)]

Hi Shashi545,

Thank you for the link. Unfortunately it is not relevant to this bug, since it only describes how to adjust the mixer settings (this bug is about volume being too low even if all mixers are maxed out).

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

This bug report was marked as Triaged a while ago but has not had any updated comments for quite some time. Please let us know if this issue remains in the current Ubuntu release, http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . If the issue remains, click on the current status under the Status column and change the status back to "New". Thanks.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Nikolaus Rath (nikratio)]

Problem still there in Karmic.

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

@Nikolaus

Please, if you are still having issues, test with the latest development release of Ubuntu. ISO CD images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/ .

If it remains an issue, could you run the following command from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal). It will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report.

apport-collect -p alsa-base %BUG_ID%

Also, if you could test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds .

Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text.

Please let us know your results.

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

@Nikolaus

Hmm, that could have been done better.. The apport-collect line shoud be:

apport-collect -p alsa-base 291240

The reason we are asking is to see if this has already been fixed upstream.

Thanks

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Nikolaus Rath, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? Can you try with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO CD images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/ .

If it remains an issue, could you run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal). It will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report.

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, if you could test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please do not test the kernel in the daily folder, but the one all the way at the bottom. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. As well, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested.

If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tag 'kernel-fixed-upstream'.

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the tag: 'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, for example it will not boot, please add the tag: 'kernel-unable-to-test-upstream', and comment as to why specifically you were unable to test it.

Please let us know your results. Thanks in advance.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[KeithG (grider-4)]

I have an Inspiron 1525 and among its many problems is low volume. Max volume feels like half volume at best. Running 14.04 with recent kernel:
3.13.0-40-generic

$ cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec
Codec: Conexant ID 2c06
Codec: Silicon Image SiI1392 HDMI
Codec: SigmaTel STAC9228

$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: STAC9228 Analog [STAC9228 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 7: STAC9228 Digital [STAC9228 Digital]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

[penalvch (penalvch)]

KeithG, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, this report is not scoped to you, your hardware, or your problem. So your problem and hardware may be tracked, could you to please file a new report by executing the following in a terminal:
ubuntu-bug sound

For more on this, please see the Ubuntu Audio Developer team article:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingSoundProblems

Ubuntu Kernel Team articles:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/KernelTeamBugPolicies#Filing_Kernel_Bug_reports
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Policies/DuplicateBugs

the Ubuntu Bug Control team and Ubuntu Bug Squad team article:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/BestPractices#X.2BAC8-Reporting.Focus_on_One_Issue

and Ubuntu Community article:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Bug_reporting_etiquette

When opening up the new report, please feel free to subscribe me to it.

As well, please do not announce in this report you created a new bug report.

Thank you for your understanding.