HOWTO: PulseAudio Fixes & System-Wide Equalizer Support

[psyke83]

First of all thanks for that great howto.

I followed parts A and C of your instructions and actually got skype playback to run. There's a new problem now though and if I remember correctly it didn't exist before:

Recording volume in skype and other apps (like Sound Recorder) is very low. If I raise input device volume above 60% in PA Volume Control, it distorts really hard so that my recorded voice sounds unbearably bad and the "Right" bar in PA Input Volume Meter goes crazy while the left one does nothing.

Even if I choose lower input volumes, I sound crappy, just a little better.

Recorded sound seems to be crappier in Skype than in Sound Recorder. Skype sounds even crappier when I select "pulse" instead of my hardware input device.

Also, there's still a little playback stuttering left in Skype, although I did follow Part C of your howto.

Look at Appendix A, it tells you how to configure Skype correctly. As for stuttering playback, try adjusting the fragment sizes/amounts. Each time you make adjustments, kill pulseaudio and restart it, i.e.:

pulseaudio -k; sleep 3; pulseaudio

[estyles]

Flash 9 needs to have the "libflashsupport" package installed to work correctly with PulseAudio. Unfortunately, that can also cause system instability. There's no proper fix yet.

Fair enough. Thanks. I'm pretty sure I can live with no sound in Firefox until Flash 10 is released. Hopefully that will fix my problem. It's enough that I can play music that doesn't sound like it's being played out of a helicopter.

[mriedel]

Look at Appendix A, it tells you how to configure Skype correctly. As for stuttering playback, try adjusting the fragment sizes/amounts. Each time you make adjustments, kill pulseaudio and restart it, i.e.:

pulseaudio -k; sleep 3; pulseaudio

Forgot to say I had followed the instructions in Appendix A too. I did say, though, that the problem persists whichever input device I choose in Skype and which devices to select is pretty much all you say about skype in the appendix.

[smokiemac]

great thread thanks to all of u who took the time to help here and be so specific so that even newbies could follow

[jaklumen]

Pulling my hair out on this one!

Audacity: Result B
Everything else will not play audio, but will register an entry.
Things go back to "normal" when I set up everything as OSS in System -> Preferences -> Sound. Alsa settings do not work.

jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu:~$ pulseaudio -k; sleep 4; pulseaudio -vv
I: main.c: We're in the group 'pulse-rt', allowing real-time and high-priority scheduling.
I: core-util.c: Successfully gained nice level -11.
I: main.c: setrlimit(RLIMIT_NICE, (31, 31)) failed: Operation not permitted
I: main.c: setrlimit(RLIMIT_RTPRIO, (9, 9)) failed: Operation not permitted
I: main.c: This is PulseAudio 0.9.10
I: main.c: Page size is 4096 bytes
I: main.c: Fresh high-resolution timers available! Bon appetit!
D: cli-command.c: Checking for existance of '/usr/lib/pulse-0.9/modules/module-hal-detect.so': success
I: module-hal-detect.c: Trying capability alsa
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/computer_alsa_timer
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/computer_alsa_sequencer
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_2
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_1
D: module-hal-detect.c: Loading module-alsa-sink with arguments 'device_id=1 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_a lsa_playback_0'
D: alsa-util.c: Trying front:1...
W: alsa-util.c: Device front:1 doesn't support 44100 Hz, changed to 48000 Hz.
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Successfully opened device front:1.
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Successfully enabled mmap() mode.
ALSA lib control.c:909snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL front:1
I: alsa-util.c: Unable to attach to mixer front:1: No such file or directory
I: alsa-util.c: Successfully attached to mixer 'hw:1'
I: alsa-util.c: Using mixer control "Master".
I: sink.c: Created sink 0 "alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playb ack_0" with sample spec "s16le 2ch 48000Hz"
I: source.c: Created source 0 "alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playb ack_0.monitor" with sample spec "s16le 2ch 48000Hz"
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Using 4 fragments of size 4408 bytes.
I: alsa-util.c: All 2 channels can be mapped to mixer channels. Using hardware volume control.
D: module-alsa-sink.c: Thread starting up
D: rtpoll.c: Acquired POSIX realtime signal SIGRTMIN+29
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Starting playback.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-alsa-sink" (index: #0; argument: "device_id=1 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_a lsa_playback_0").
D: module-hal-detect.c: Loading module-alsa-source with arguments 'device_id=1 source_name=alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_ alsa_capture_0'
D: alsa-util.c: Trying front:1...
W: alsa-util.c: Device front:1 doesn't support 44100 Hz, changed to 48000 Hz.
I: module-alsa-source.c: Successfully opened device front:1.
I: module-alsa-source.c: Successfully enabled mmap() mode.
ALSA lib control.c:909snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL front:1
I: alsa-util.c: Unable to attach to mixer front:1: No such file or directory
I: alsa-util.c: Successfully attached to mixer 'hw:1'
I: alsa-util.c: Using mixer control "Capture".
I: source.c: Created source 1 "alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_captur e_0" with sample spec "s16le 2ch 48000Hz"
I: module-alsa-source.c: Using 4 fragments of size 4408 bytes.
I: alsa-util.c: All 2 channels can be mapped to mixer channels. Using hardware volume control.
D: module-alsa-source.c: Thread starting up
D: rtpoll.c: Acquired POSIX realtime signal SIGRTMIN+28
I: module.c: Loaded "module-alsa-source" (index: #1; argument: "device_id=1 source_name=alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_ alsa_capture_0").
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_control__1
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_3
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_3
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_2
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_2
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_1
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_1
D: module-hal-detect.c: Loading module-alsa-sink with arguments 'device_id=0 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa _playback_0'
D: alsa-util.c: Trying front:0...
W: alsa-util.c: Device front:0 doesn't support 44100 Hz, changed to 48000 Hz.
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Successfully opened device front:0.
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Successfully enabled mmap() mode.
ALSA lib control.c:909snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL front:0
I: alsa-util.c: Unable to attach to mixer front:0: No such file or directory
I: alsa-util.c: Successfully attached to mixer 'hw:0'
I: alsa-util.c: Cannot find mixer control "Master".
W: alsa-util.c: Cannot find fallback mixer control "PCM".
I: sink.c: Created sink 1 "alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback _0" with sample spec "s16le 2ch 48000Hz"
I: source.c: Created source 2 "alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback _0.monitor" with sample spec "s16le 2ch 48000Hz"
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Using 4 fragments of size 4416 bytes.
D: module-alsa-sink.c: Thread starting up
D: rtpoll.c: Acquired POSIX realtime signal SIGRTMIN+27
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Starting playback.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-alsa-sink" (index: #2; argument: "device_id=0 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa _playback_0").
D: module-hal-detect.c: Loading module-alsa-source with arguments 'device_id=0 source_name=alsa_input.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_als a_capture_0'
D: alsa-util.c: Trying front:0...
I: module-alsa-source.c: Successfully opened device front:0.
I: module-alsa-source.c: Successfully enabled mmap() mode.
ALSA lib control.c:909snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL front:0
I: alsa-util.c: Unable to attach to mixer front:0: No such file or directory
I: alsa-util.c: Successfully attached to mixer 'hw:0'
I: alsa-util.c: Cannot find mixer control "Capture".
I: alsa-util.c: Using mixer control "Mic".
I: source.c: Created source 3 "alsa_input.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_0 " with sample spec "s16le 2ch 44100Hz"
I: module-alsa-source.c: Using 2 fragments of size 4416 bytes.
I: alsa-util.c: All 2 channels can be mapped to mixer channels. Using hardware volume control.
D: module-alsa-source.c: Thread starting up
D: rtpoll.c: Acquired POSIX realtime signal SIGRTMIN+26
I: module.c: Loaded "module-alsa-source" (index: #3; argument: "device_id=0 source_name=alsa_input.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_als a_capture_0").
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_midi_0
D: module-hal-detect.c: Not loaded device /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_control__1
I: module-hal-detect.c: Loaded 4 modules.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-hal-detect" (index: #4; argument: "").
D: cli-command.c: Checking for existance of '/usr/lib/pulse-0.9/modules/module-esound-protocol-unix.so': success
I: module.c: Loaded "module-esound-protocol-unix" (index: #5; argument: "").
I: protocol-native.c: loading cookie from disk.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-native-protocol-unix" (index: #6; argument: "").
I: module.c: Loaded "module-volume-restore" (index: #7; argument: "").
D: module-default-device-restore.c: Restored default sink 'alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playb ack_0'.
D: core-subscribe.c: dropped redundant event.
D: module-default-device-restore.c: Restored default source 'alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_captur e_0'.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-default-device-restore" (index: #8; argument: "").
I: module.c: Loaded "module-rescue-streams" (index: #9; argument: "").
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playba ck_0 becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_ 0 becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playba ck_0.monitor becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_capture _0 becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_ 0.monitor becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_input.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_0 becomes idle.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-suspend-on-idle" (index: #10; argument: "").
D: cli-command.c: Checking for existance of '/usr/lib/pulse-0.9/modules/module-gconf.so': success
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-null-sink' with args 'sink_name=rtp format=s16be channels=2 rate=44100 description="RTP Multicast Sink"' due to GConf configuration.
I: sink.c: Created sink 2 "rtp" with sample spec "s16be 2ch 44100Hz"
I: source.c: Created source 4 "rtp.monitor" with sample spec "s16be 2ch 44100Hz"
D: module-null-sink.c: Thread starting up
D: rtpoll.c: Acquired POSIX realtime signal SIGRTMIN+25
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source rtp.monitor becomes idle.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink rtp becomes idle.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-null-sink" (index: #11; argument: "sink_name=rtp format=s16be channels=2 rate=44100 description="RTP Multicast Sink"").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-rtp-send' with args 'source=rtp.monitor loop=0' due to GConf configuration.
D: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source rtp.monitor becomes busy.
I: source-output.c: Created output 0 "RTP Monitor Stream" on rtp.monitor with sample spec s16be 2ch 44100Hz and channel map front-left,front-right
D: memblockq.c: memblockq requested: maxlength=174080, tlength=174080, base=4, prebuf=1, minreq=0
D: memblockq.c: memblockq sanitized: maxlength=174080, tlength=174080, base=4, prebuf=4, minreq=4
I: module-rtp-send.c: RTP stream initialized with mtu 1280 on 224.0.0.56:46290, SSRC=0xce7e3e18, payload=10, initial sequence #59648
I: module-rtp-send.c: SDP-Data:
I: module-rtp-send.c: v=0
I: module-rtp-send.c: o=jaklumen 3425240663 0 IN IP4 192.168.2.100
I: module-rtp-send.c: s=PulseAudio RTP Stream on jaklumen-ubuntu.myhome.westell.com
I: module-rtp-send.c: c=IN IP4 224.0.0.56
I: module-rtp-send.c: t=3425240663 0
I: module-rtp-send.c: a=recvonly
I: module-rtp-send.c: m=audio 46290 RTP/AVP 10
I: module-rtp-send.c: a=rtpmap:10 L16/44100/2
I: module-rtp-send.c: a=type:broadcast
I: module-rtp-send.c: EOF
I: module.c: Loaded "module-rtp-send" (index: #12; argument: "source=rtp.monitor loop=0").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-rtp-recv' with args '' due to GConf configuration.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-rtp-recv" (index: #13; argument: "").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-native-protocol-tcp' with args 'auth-anonymous=1' due to GConf configuration.
I: protocol-native.c: using already loaded auth cookie.
I: protocol-native.c: using already loaded auth cookie.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-native-protocol-tcp" (index: #14; argument: "auth-anonymous=1").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-esound-protocol-tcp' with args 'auth-anonymous=1' due to GConf configuration.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-esound-protocol-tcp" (index: #15; argument: "auth-anonymous=1").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-zeroconf-publish' with args '' due to GConf configuration.
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Publishing services in Zeroconf
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully created entry group for jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:1 (ALi M5455) via D.
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully created entry group for jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:0 (CA0106) via DMA.
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully created entry group for jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: RTP Multicast Sink.
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully created entry group for jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:1 (ALi M5455) via D.
D: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully created entry group for jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:0 (CA0106) via DMA.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-zeroconf-publish" (index: #16; argument: "").
D: module-gconf.c: Loading module 'module-zeroconf-discover' with args '' due to GConf configuration.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-zeroconf-discover" (index: #17; argument: "").
I: module.c: Loaded "module-gconf" (index: #18; argument: "").
D: cli-command.c: Checking for existance of '/usr/lib/pulse-0.9/modules/module-x11-publish.so': success
D: module-x11-publish.c: using already loaded auth cookie.
I: module.c: Loaded "module-x11-publish" (index: #19; argument: "").
I: main.c: Daemon startup complete.
D: module-hal-detect.c: dbus: interface=org.freedesktop.DBus, path=/org/freedesktop/DBus, member=NameAcquired
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established service jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:1 (ALi M5455) via D.
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established service jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:0 (CA0106) via DMA.
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established service jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: RTP Multicast Sink.
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established service jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:1 (ALi M5455) via D.
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established service jaklumen@jaklumen-ubuntu: ALSA PCM on front:0 (CA0106) via DMA.
I: module-zeroconf-publish.c: Successfully established main service.
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playba ck_0 idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Device suspended...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_ 0.monitor idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_input.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_capture _0 idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-alsa-source.c: Device suspended...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_output.pci_10b9_5455_sound_card_0_alsa_playba ck_0.monitor idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink alsa_output.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_playback_ 0 idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-alsa-sink.c: Device suspended...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Source alsa_input.pci_1102_7_sound_card_0_alsa_capture_0 idle for too long, suspending ...
I: module-alsa-source.c: Device suspended...
I: module-suspend-on-idle.c: Sink rtp idle for too long, suspending ...
D: module-rtp-recv.c: Checking for dead streams ...
(and so on)

[psyke83]

Pulling my hair out on this one!

Audacity: Result B
Everything else will not play audio, but will register an entry.
Things go back to "normal" when I set up everything as OSS in System -> Preferences -> Sound. Alsa settings do not work.

Can you clarify something for me, please? When you say "everything else will not play audio", do you mean that everything else will not play audio only when Audacious is running?

Anyway, I have some bad news. Audacity doesn't support PulseAudio properly. You can still use it if you use "pasuspender" (PulseAudio suspender). Set everything in System/Preferences/Sound back to Autodetect, and run Audacity like so:

$ pasuspender audacity

Audacity will work only if no other applications are playing sound, unfortunately.

This is the bug you should subscribe to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...ty/+bug/178895

[sancho panza]

This was a really useful post and worked well for me. But I finally had to undo everything because the version(s) of flash till date have issues with quite a few of the websites, probably because its beta flash. On many websites, the images in the graphics are very noisy/dirty, while some others dont work at all, and some others have flash unresponsive to keyboard inputs.

It would be helpful if you can include update(s) on the status of this problem in the Howto so that we can know when these issues have been fixed and can have a fully functional setup.

[satet]

I followed all four steps to get PulseAudio working (even Skype) and was very pleased with the results - until I was prompted by Ubuntu (Hardy) that an update to Flash was available (Flash 10). After the update, flash no longer has sound, but other applications still seem to work as before with PulseAudio. Any suggestions? Is there, for example, a setting in FireFox that must be set to enable sound through PulseAudio? I apologize if this question has already been answered, I couldn't find it.

[psyke83]

This was a really useful post and worked well for me. But I finally had to undo everything because the version(s) of flash till date have issues with quite a few of the websites, probably because its beta flash. On many websites, the images in the graphics are very noisy/dirty, while some others dont work at all, and some others have flash unresponsive to keyboard inputs.

It would be helpful if you can include update(s) on the status of this problem in the Howto so that we can know when these issues have been fixed and can have a fully functional setup.

I assume you're using 32bit Ubuntu, right? Here's my current thoughts on Flash:

• Flash 10 beta 2 is fairly buggy, causing Firefox to crash on many common sites - although for once it's caused by a bug in Firefox, and the problem exists irrespective of PulseAudio. It's a problem with Firefox's "windowless mode" support, and it causes problems with Flash and the newest versions of swfdec (that has also implemented wmode). Once the appropriate fix makes it into Firefox (possibly 3.0.2), this version of Flash will work better. This is the bug to watch: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s....0/+bug/239182
• Flash 10 beta 1 is pretty stable and works perfectly with PulseAudio, though some websites use faulty heuristics to detect the correct Flash version. You will encounter sites that refuse to play Flash, warning that your version of Flash is "outdated" - pretty annoying.
• Flash 9 has PulseAudio issues. It does not work properly with the pcm_pulse ALSA plugins (the bug is mentioned in the guide), so you are required to install the package "libflashsupport". Unfortunately, using this support library introduces instability, causing Firefox to crash regularly when closing/reloading pages with Flash content.

One solution to the last point is to use Flash 9 + libflashsupport + nspluginwrapper (yes, for the 32bit version of Ubuntu - you can find the deb I built attached to the relevant bug on Launchpad). Unfortunately that does not prevent Flash from crashing; Firefox remains running, but Flash content becomes "greyed out" and you need to restart Firefox to get Flash working again.

However, I noticed on the nspluginwrapper site there is a new version with support for auto-restarting of crashed plugins - this may be the solution we need. I'm going to try to package the latest version for 32bit systems, and if it works well, I'll include it here in my guide.

[onero]

I followed all four steps to get PulseAudio working (even Skype) and was very pleased with the results - until I was prompted by Ubuntu (Hardy) that an update to Flash was available (Flash 10). After the update, flash no longer has sound, but other applications still seem to work as before with PulseAudio. Any suggestions? Is there, for example, a setting in FireFox that must be set to enable sound through PulseAudio? I apologize if this question has already been answered, I couldn't find it.

Just reinstall the Flash 10 Beta, et. al. I think the Ubuntu backport installs Flash 9 even if the package says its a higher version. Just ignore any upgrades to flashplugin-nonfree until they package flash 10 final.