Comment 33 for bug 1203520

In response to various requests by the author of #29:

No luck with 13.04 which keeps repeating mei_me issues on a text console without even booting to the graphical desktop.

In a multi-hour effort, the http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2013/09/27/ubuntu-13-10-saucy-salamander-final-beta-released/ just out though boots from USB, albeit slowly, and then showing only Front Left&Right speakers in Unity's "Systems Settings / Sound" even when set to 5.1 for the GF119 HDMI port.

However, once figuring out the only (sub-)device that works, Saucy 13.10ß2 producing a slightly different ELD (all as attached in this and subsequent posts) can be taken through the command-line speaker-test -c6 motions in pink-noise, sine and wave without provoking the freezes that haunt 12.04 LTS.

pavucontrol is not apt-get installable though in the (USB-booted) beta.