Xubuntu 22,04 PulseAudio disabled my USB DAC, trying to re-enable

[efricha]

Greetings all,

A week ago I found myself forced to upgrade to 22.04 LTS from 20.04 LTS. It went largely smoothly. Sound worked normally through my USB DAC, which has often been cross-threaded with PulseAudio.

Last Friday, another update went out, and my USB DAC was disabled. So I checked the usual suspects:

/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf did not disable snd-usb.

aplay -l lists the USB DAC.

pacmd list shows the USB DAC and shows it as the default sink.,

alsamixer has it enabled.

/etc/pulsa/default.pa and system.pa currently don't load suspend-on-idle (because it was showing up as suspended), although I did try getting to it via module-alsa-sink, but that got to a different device.

pavucontrol does NOT list the USB DAC as an output device.

So, I'm open to suggestions to get it listed in pavucontrol again.

I'm not a PulseAudio expert. I've learned what little I know because PulseAudio seems by default hostile to USB sound devices.

[&KyT$0P#]

Can aplay play sound out of your USB DAC if you explicitly select its device?

To list devices use

aplay -L
(capital L)

Then replace the red portions in the below command with the appropriate values -

aplay -D <your USB DAC> <some wav file>

[efricha]

I don't even have the syntax right:


$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit,DEV=0 ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit,DEV=0 ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D Multibit,0 ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM Multibit,0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM Multibit
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D usbstream ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib confmisc.c:160:(snd_config_get_card) Invalid field card
ALSA lib pcm_usb_stream.c:482:(_snd_pcm_usb_stream_open) Invalid card 'card'
aplay: main:831: audio open error: Invalid argument
$ aplay -D usbstream:CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D usbstream:CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D usbstream:CARD=Multibit,DEV=0 /home/eric/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib conf.c:5514:(parse_args) Unknown parameter DEV
ALSA lib conf.c:5685:(snd_config_expand) Parse arguments error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM usbstream:CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory

[efricha]

From looking at exmples, I came up with this. What does it tell you?



$ aplay -D usbstream:0 ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
aplay: main:831: audio open error: Permission denied
$ groups
(me) adm tty dialout fax cdrom floppy sudo audio dip plugdev lpadmin lxd sambashare docker wireshark

[&KyT$0P#]

It tells me that there is likely an issue at the ALSA layer, which is deeper than PulseAudio, so you'll need to fix that first. Sorry I don't know how to troubleshoot that further :(

[efricha]

$ sudo aplay -D usbstream:0 ~/Music/The\ Alan\ Parsons\ Project/pauls.wav
Playing WAVE '/home/eric/Music/The Alan Parsons Project/pauls.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Stereo
aplay: set_params:1347: Access type not available



All the device files in /dev/snd look right, /dev/snd itself looks right.

[#&thj^%]

I might not be of help here, I don't use Pulseaudio.
but this may or may not shed something of use:

sudo lsusb -v -s 004:003

I'm very opinionated with pulse, so keep that in mind here. ;)

inxi -Az
Audio:
Device-1: AMD ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor driver: N/A
Device-2: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-3: DisplayLink UOEOS Laptop Dock type: USB
driver: cdc_ncm,snd-usb-audio
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.19.10-1-default running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.58 running: yes


Also I'm not suggesting to dump pulseaudio at this time for you.
But I've never been happier with my set-up.

wpctl status
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, cookie:<snip>]
└─ Clients:
31. xfwm4 [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:3107]
33. pipewire-pulse [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:3119]
34. WirePlumber [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:3118]
35. WirePlumber [export] [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:3118]
62. xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:3237]
63. xdg-desktop-portal [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:19638]
64. wpctl [0.3.58, me@localhost.localdomain, pid:21936]

Audio
├─ Devices:
│ 43. UOEOS Laptop Dock [alsa]
│ 44. Family 17h/19h HD Audio Controller [alsa]
│
├─ Sinks:
│ * 51. UOEOS Laptop Dock Digital Stereo (IEC958) [vol: 0.74]
│ 53. Family 17h/19h HD Audio Controller Pro [vol: 1.00]
│
├─ Sink endpoints:
│
├─ Sources:
│ 52. UOEOS Laptop Dock Digital Stereo (IEC958) [vol: 0.74 MUTED]
│ * 54. Family 17h/19h HD Audio Controller Pro [vol: 1.00]
│
├─ Source endpoints:
│
└─ Streams:

Video
├─ Devices:
│ 41. Integrated Camera [v4l2]
│ 42. Integrated Camera [v4l2]
│
├─ Sinks:
│
├─ Sink endpoints:
│
├─ Sources:
│ * 45. Integrated Camera (V4L2)
│
├─ Source endpoints:
│
└─ Streams:

Settings
└─ Default Configured Node Names:
0. Audio/Sink alsa_output.usb-DisplayLink_UOEOS_Laptop_Dock_4307293310436-02.iec958-stereo
1. Audio/Source alsa_input.pci-0000_05_00.6.pro-input-0

[efricha]

I might not be of help here, I don't use Pulseaudio.
but this may or may not shed something of use:

sudo lsusb -v -s 004:003

I'm very opinionated with pulse, so keep that in mind here. ;)

inxi -Az
Audio:
Device-1: AMD ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor driver: N/A
Device-2: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-3: DisplayLink UOEOS Laptop Dock type: USB
driver: cdc_ncm,snd-usb-audio
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.19.10-1-default running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.58 running: yes


Also I'm not suggesting to dump pulseaudio at this time for you.
But I've never been happier with my set-up.


In my case, it was as follows:


$ sudo lsusb -v -s 2:2

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0d8c:0004 C-Media Electronics, Inc. CM6631A Audio Processor
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 239 Miscellaneous Device
bDeviceSubClass 2
bDeviceProtocol 1 Interface Association
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x0d8c C-Media Electronics, Inc.
idProduct 0x0004 CM6631A Audio Processor
bcdDevice 1.02
iManufacturer 1 Schiit Audio
iProduct 2 Modi Multibit
iSerial 0
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 0x012a
bNumInterfaces 3
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0xc0
Self Powered
MaxPower 100mA
Interface Association:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 11
bFirstInterface 0
bInterfaceCount 2
bFunctionClass 1 Audio
bFunctionSubClass 0
bFunctionProtocol 32
iFunction 0
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 1
bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
bInterfaceSubClass 1 Control Device
bInterfaceProtocol 32
iInterface 0
AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (HEADER)
bcdADC 2.00
bCategory 10
wTotalLength 0x0100
bmControls 0x00
AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
bLength 17
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
bTerminalID 1
wTerminalType 0x0101 USB Streaming
bAssocTerminal 0
bCSourceID 18
bNrChannels 0
bmChannelConfig 0x00000000
iChannelNames 0
bmControls 0x0040
Cluster Control (read-only)
iTerminal 0
AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
bLength 12
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
bTerminalID 7
wTerminalType 0x0301 Speaker
bAssocTerminal 0
bSourceID 13
bCSourceID 18
bmControls 0x0004
Connector Control (read-only)
iTerminal 0
AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 6 (FEATURE_UNIT)
bUnitID 13
bSourceID 1
bmaControls(0) 0x00000003
Mute Control (read/write)
bmaControls(1) 0x00000000
bmaControls(2) 0x00000000
iFeature 0
AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 10 (CLOCK_SOURCE)
bClockID 18
bmAttributes 3 Internal programmable clock
bmControls 0x07
Clock Frequency Control (read/write)
Clock Validity Control (read-only)
bAssocTerminal 0
iClockSource 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x8f EP 15 IN
bmAttributes 3
Transfer Type Interrupt
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0006 1x 6 bytes
bInterval 4
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 1
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 0
bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
bInterfaceProtocol 32
iInterface 0
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 1
bAlternateSetting 1
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
bInterfaceProtocol 32
iInterface 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 16
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (AS_GENERAL)
bTerminalLink 1
bmControls 0x05
Active Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
Valid Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
bFormatType 1
bmFormats 0x00000001
PCM
bNrChannels 2
bmChannelConfig 0x00000003
Front Left (FL)
Front Right (FR)
iChannelNames 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 6
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 2 (FORMAT_TYPE)
bFormatType 1 (FORMAT_TYPE_I)
bSubslotSize 2
bBitResolution 16
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x05 EP 5 OUT
bmAttributes 5
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type Asynchronous
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x00c4 1x 196 bytes
bInterval 1
AudioStreaming Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 37
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (EP_GENERAL)
bmAttributes 0x00
bmControls 0x00
bLockDelayUnits 0 Undefined
wLockDelay 0x0000
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x85 EP 5 IN
bmAttributes 17
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type None
Usage Type Feedback
wMaxPacketSize 0x0004 1x 4 bytes
bInterval 4
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 1
bAlternateSetting 2
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
bInterfaceProtocol 32
iInterface 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 16
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (AS_GENERAL)
bTerminalLink 1
bmControls 0x05
Active Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
Valid Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
bFormatType 1
bmFormats 0x00000001
PCM
bNrChannels 2
bmChannelConfig 0x00000003
Front Left (FL)
Front Right (FR)
iChannelNames 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 6
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 2 (FORMAT_TYPE)
bFormatType 1 (FORMAT_TYPE_I)
bSubslotSize 3
bBitResolution 24
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x05 EP 5 OUT
bmAttributes 5
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type Asynchronous
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0126 1x 294 bytes
bInterval 1
AudioStreaming Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 37
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (EP_GENERAL)
bmAttributes 0x00
bmControls 0x00
bLockDelayUnits 0 Undefined
wLockDelay 0x0000
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x85 EP 5 IN
bmAttributes 17
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type None
Usage Type Feedback
wMaxPacketSize 0x0004 1x 4 bytes
bInterval 4
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 1
bAlternateSetting 3
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
bInterfaceProtocol 32
iInterface 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 16
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (AS_GENERAL)
bTerminalLink 1
bmControls 0x05
Active Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
Valid Alternate Setting Control (read-only)
bFormatType 1
bmFormats 0x00000001
PCM
bNrChannels 2
bmChannelConfig 0x00000003
Front Left (FL)
Front Right (FR)
iChannelNames 0
AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
bLength 6
bDescriptorType 36
bDescriptorSubtype 2 (FORMAT_TYPE)
bFormatType 1 (FORMAT_TYPE_I)
bSubslotSize 4
bBitResolution 32
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x05 EP 5 OUT
bmAttributes 5
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type Asynchronous
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0188 1x 392 bytes
bInterval 1
AudioStreaming Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 37
bDescriptorSubtype 1 (EP_GENERAL)
bmAttributes 0x00
bmControls 0x00
bLockDelayUnits 0 Undefined
wLockDelay 0x0000
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x85 EP 5 IN
bmAttributes 17
Transfer Type Isochronous
Synch Type None
Usage Type Feedback
wMaxPacketSize 0x0004 1x 4 bytes
bInterval 4
Interface Association:
bLength 8
bDescriptorType 11
bFirstInterface 2
bInterfaceCount 1
bFunctionClass 3 Human Interface Device
bFunctionSubClass 0
bFunctionProtocol 0
iFunction 0
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 2
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 1
bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device
bInterfaceSubClass 0
bInterfaceProtocol 0
iInterface 0
HID Device Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 33
bcdHID 1.00
bCountryCode 0 Not supported
bNumDescriptors 1
bDescriptorType 34 Report
wDescriptorLength 50
Report Descriptors:
** UNAVAILABLE **
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x84 EP 4 IN
bmAttributes 3
Transfer Type Interrupt
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0010 1x 16 bytes
bInterval 4
Device Qualifier (for other device speed):
bLength 10
bDescriptorType 6
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 239 Miscellaneous Device
bDeviceSubClass 2
bDeviceProtocol 1 Interface Association
bMaxPacketSize0 64
bNumConfigurations 1
Device Status: 0x0000


And the following:



$ inxi -Az
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Oland/Hainan/Cape Verde/Pitcairn HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 7000
Series]
driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: VIA ICE1712 [Envy24] PCI Multi-Channel I/O driver: snd_ice1712
Device-3: C-Media CM6631A Audio Processor type: USB
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.0-48-generic running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 15.99.1 running: yes
Sound Server-3: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes


As you see, PipeWire is installed, but I'm not using it, nor is wpctl installed on my system. I'm not sure if this brings any new light to the subject at hand.

I have an opinion or two about PulseAudio myself, but my goal is getting it to work at all. When I'm done with work for the day I'll try substituting different hardware in the off chance that it's a hardware failure, given that error from aplay further up in the thread. I think that that is shedding light on the issue.

There is also a suspicious UNAVAILABLE in the lsusb above.

[#&thj^%]

In my case,
given that error from aplay further up in the thread. I think that that is shedding light on the issue.

There is also a suspicious UNAVAILABLE in the lsusb above.
I'm not sure I'd call suspicious but I'd check why:
>>>
"ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit"
Has this DAC worked in Ubuntu ever?
Also is MVP installed on this system?

[efricha]

UPDATE: A different DAC had exactly the same results. Different brand, different everything. It does not appear to be hardware.

[efricha]

I'm not sure I'd call suspicious but I'd check why:
>>>
"ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit"
Has this DAC worked in Ubuntu ever?
Also is MVP installed on this system?

Yes. It even worked on this release/issue, last Thursday (exactly one week ago at this writing).

Another USB DAC has been tried, from a different manufacturer. All three work, stil on Xubuntu 20.04 LTS on my laptop.

[#&thj^%]

UPDATE: A different DAC had exactly the same results. Different brand, different everything. It does not appear to be hardware.

Well I was going to ask on the first device shown here, is there a "/etc/oss4/conf/oss_envy24.conf" file?
Asking a lot of questions is the only way I can trouble shoot from another person's machine.

[#&thj^%]

Yes. It even worked on this release/issue, last Thursday (exactly one week ago at this writing).

Another USB DAC has been tried, from a different manufacturer. All three work, stil on Xubuntu 20.04 LTS on my laptop.

Good to know, I hate doing all this work, only to end-up down the rabbit hole. (I'm sure you understand that)
Can we start again with the fist DAC mentioned here?
Maybe see if this is found:

cat /etc/oss4/conf/oss_envy24.conf

[efricha]

Good to know, I hate doing all this work, only to end-up down the rabbit hole. (I'm sure you understand that)
Can we start again with the fist DAC mentioned here?
Maybe see if this is found:

cat /etc/oss4/conf/oss_envy24.conf

No such directory /etc/oss4

[efricha]

I'm not sure I'd call suspicious but I'd check why:
>>>
"ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit,DEV=0
aplay: main:831: audio open error: No such file or directory
$ aplay -D CARD=Multibit ~/Music/wwv-wwvh.wav
ALSA lib pcm.c:2664:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM CARD=Multibit"
Has this DAC worked in Ubuntu ever?
Also is MVP installed on this system?

The fragment you should pay attention to is this one.



$ sudo aplay -D usbstream:0 ~/Music/The\ Alan\ Parsons\ Project/pauls.wav
Playing WAVE '/home/eric/Music/The Alan Parsons Project/pauls.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Stereo
aplay: set_params:1347: Access type not available

[efricha]

I did more playing around on the working 20.04 LTS system.


$ aplay -L

lists many interfaces for the USB DAC, and usbstream:0 is not the acceptable one to use: "plughw:" appears to be the right one to use, but 'aplay' cannot access it because it is currently busy... in use by PulseAudio.
So I think without killing off PulseAudio, I couldn't test with aplay over there. 'pavucontrol' lists the USB DAC as one of those available while on 22.04 it is no longer listed and appears to be permissions related... but the device files in /dev/snd all look to be correct, as does the directory snd, itself.

It certainly seems that ALSA is blocked from getting at the devices, but I don't know how or why.

[efricha]

Okay, guys, I'm seriously stuck here. It appears to be a "simple" permissions problem, but it's not on a device file.


$ ls -al /dev/snd
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 300 Sep 29 13:01 .
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4960 Sep 29 13:01 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 Sep 29 13:01 by-id
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 100 Sep 29 13:01 by-path
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 6 Sep 29 11:56 controlC0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 3 Sep 29 13:01 controlC1
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 10 Sep 29 11:56 controlC2
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 5 Sep 29 11:56 hwC0D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 9 Sep 29 11:56 midiC2D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 4 Sep 29 11:56 pcmC0D3p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 2 Oct 1 10:59 pcmC1D0p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 8 Sep 29 11:56 pcmC2D0c
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 7 Sep 29 11:56 pcmC2D0p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 1 Sep 29 11:56 seq
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 33 Sep 29 11:56 timer
$ groups
(me) adm tty dialout fax cdrom floppy tape sudo audio dip video plugdev netdev lpadmin scanner lxd sambashare docker wireshark

I don't want to reinstall from distro. Something went wrong, and I'm trying to undo it without using a sledgehammer and rebuilding everything from scratch.

[#&thj^%]

The fragment you should pay attention to is this one.


Should I now? We all have our own methods I suppose.
Mine Looks like:

ls -al /dev/snd
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 400 Oct 1 09:10 .
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4840 Oct 1 11:54 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 60 Oct 1 09:10 by-id
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 100 Oct 1 09:10 by-path
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 8 Oct 1 09:10 controlC0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 12 Oct 1 09:10 controlC1
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 15 Oct 1 09:10 controlC2
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 7 Oct 1 09:10 hwC0D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 11 Oct 1 09:10 hwC1D0
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 6 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC0D10p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 2 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC0D3p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 3 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC0D7p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 4 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC0D8p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 5 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC0D9p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 10 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC1D0c
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 9 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC1D0p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 14 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC2D0c
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 13 Oct 1 09:10 pcmC2D0p
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 1 Oct 1 09:10 seq
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 116, 33 Oct 1 09:10 timer


Non Debian OS shown here:

groups
users firejail nordvpn

Pull up alsamixer and check nothing is Muted.
Also:

systemctl list-unit-files --type service --all | grep alsa
alsa-restore.service static -
alsa-state.service static -
alsasound.service alias -

[efricha]

Should I now? We all have our own methods I suppose.


Well, until I knew better.


Mine Looks like:

Pull up alsamixer and check nothing is Muted.
Also:

systemctl list-unit-files --type service --all | grep alsa
alsa-restore.service static -
alsa-state.service static -
alsasound.service alias -


Nothing muted, however,



$ sudo systemctl list-unit-files --type service --all | grep alsa
alsa-restore.service static -
alsa-state.service static -
alsa-utils.service masked enabled
$


...FWIW. Nothing muted in alsamixer.

[#&thj^%]

This is what sticks out for me here "alsa-utils.service masked enabled"
Is that change made by you?
1st EDIT: I had forgotten that alsa-restore.service is now used from 20.04 through 22.04 instead of alsa-utils.service, so that's probably set by the Devs.
I need to do an install of Xubuntu to run some test's before I can wisely offer any more suggestions.

2nd EDIT I remember now that from time to time, Killing pipewire and then restarting pulseaudio fixed the problem:


systemctl --user stop pipewire.service
systemctl --user restart pulseaudio.service

It appears to be a race between pipewire and pulseaudio. sometimes seems to grab a lock on the USB audio device before pulseaudio can access it.
Give it a try.

[efricha]

This is what sticks out for me here "alsa-utils.service masked enabled"
Is that change made by you?
1st EDIT: I had forgotten that alsa-restore.service is now used from 20.04 through 22.04 instead of alsa-utils.service, so that's probably set by the Devs.
I need to do an install of Xubuntu to run some test's before I can wisely offer any more suggestions.

2nd EDIT I remember now that from time to time, Killing pipewire and then restarting pulseaudio fixed the problem:


systemctl --user stop pipewire.service
systemctl --user restart pulseaudio.service

It appears to be a race between pipewire and pulseaudio. sometimes seems to grab a lock on the USB audio device before pulseaudio can access it.
Give it a try.

No dice. Same same.

EDIT: where does syslog stick logging information? maybe it left breadcrumbs that I can't find. (none in dmesg, I looked.)

[#&thj^%]

No dice. Same same.

one more before I install,

systemctl status alsa-restore
● alsa-restore.service - Save/Restore Sound Card State
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/alsa-restore.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Sun 2022-10-02 12:10:28 MDT; 2h 45min ago
Main PID: 1390 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 2ms

[efricha]

one more before I install,

systemctl status alsa-restore
● alsa-restore.service - Save/Restore Sound Card State
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/alsa-restore.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Sun 2022-10-02 12:10:28 MDT; 2h 45min ago
Main PID: 1390 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 2ms




$ sudo systemctl status alsa-restore
● alsa-restore.service - Save/Restore Sound Card State
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/alsa-restore.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Sun 2022-10-02 14:33:56 MDT; 27min ago
Docs: man:alsactl(1)
Process: 993 ExecStartPre=/bin/mkdir -p /run/alsa (code=exited, status=0/SU>
Process: 1000 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/alsactl -E HOME=/run/alsa -E XDG_RUNTIME_>
Main PID: 1000 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 9ms

Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork systemd[1]: Starting Save/Restore Sound Card State...
Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork systemd[1]: Finished Save/Restore Sound Card State.
Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork alsactl[1000]: alsa-lib main.c:1412:(snd_use_case_mgr>
eric@patchwork:~$ sudo systemctl status alsa-restore
● alsa-restore.service - Save/Restore Sound Card State
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/alsa-restore.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Sun 2022-10-02 14:33:56 MDT; 29min ago
Docs: man:alsactl(1)
Process: 993 ExecStartPre=/bin/mkdir -p /run/alsa (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 1000 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/alsactl -E HOME=/run/alsa -E XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/alsa/runtime restore (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 1000 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 9ms

Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork systemd[1]: Starting Save/Restore Sound Card State...
Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork systemd[1]: Finished Save/Restore Sound Card State.
Oct 02 14:33:56 patchwork alsactl[1000]: alsa-lib main.c:1412:(snd_use_case_mgr_open) error: failed to import hw:1 use case configuration -2


That last line looks interesting.

[#&thj^%]

Sure looks as if you maybe right, a permission problem.
Why?:

Process: 993 ExecStartPre=/bin/mkdir -p /run/alsa (code=exited, status=0/SU>
Process: 1000 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/alsactl -E HOME=/run/alsa -E XDG_RUNTIME_>[
### And This
alsa-lib main.c:1412:(snd_use_case_mgr_open) error: failed to import hw:1 use case configuration -2
and a sample from mine:

sudo systemctl status alsa-restore
[sudo] password for root:
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for root:
● alsa-restore.service - Save/Restore Sound Card State
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/alsa-restore.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Sun 2022-10-02 12:10:28 MDT; 2h 58min ago
Main PID: 1390 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 2ms

Oct 02 12:10:28 localhost systemd[1]: Starting Save/Restore Sound Card State...
Oct 02 12:10:28 localhost systemd[1]: Finished Save/Restore Sound Card State.


It shows start and finish, as expected....hmmm?
This isn't normal outputs shown from your replys.
with your Best Recall have you altered anything with /etc/pulse or Pipewire?

[efricha]

Sure looks as if you maybe right, a permission problem.
Why?:
[...]
This isn't normal outputs shown from your replys.
with your Best Recall have you altered anything with /etc/pulse or Pipewire?

Yeah, we knew that. Okay, permission on what? I don't know what else might have permissions screwed up beyond the device files, and they're good. So, a UDEV setting? alsamixer certainly sees it's there, as does parts of pulseaudio. (See previous output snippets for details.)

[#&thj^%]

Also can I have a look at this please:

dmesg | egrep -i "snd|firmware"
Sample of mine:

[ 0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.19.12-1-default root=/dev/mapper/system-root splash=silent resume=/dev/disk/by-uuid/6b660db4-36b8-49b7-bc9c-1e5d2aac2c23 preempt=full mitigations=auto quiet ipv6.disable=1 i2c-hid.polling_mode=1 nosimplefb=1 security=apparmor snd-acp6x-pdm-dma
[ 0.019392] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.19.12-1-default root=/dev/mapper/system-root splash=silent resume=/dev/disk/by-uuid/6b660db4-36b8-49b7-bc9c-1e5d2aac2c23 preempt=full mitigations=auto quiet ipv6.disable=1 i2c-hid.polling_mode=1 nosimplefb=1 security=apparmor snd-acp6x-pdm-dma
[ 0.019862] Unknown kernel command line parameters "snd-acp6x-pdm-dma BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.19.12-1-default splash=silent", will be passed to user space.
[ 0.087356] Spectre V2 : Enabling Speculation Barrier for firmware calls
[ 0.241944] ACPI: [Firmware Bug]: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
[ 0.294945] acpi PNP0A08:00: [Firmware Info]: MMCONFIG for domain 0000 [bus 00-3f] only partially covers this bridge
[ 0.996244] snd-acp6x-pdm-dma
[ 1.255666] ACPI: video: [Firmware Bug]: ACPI(PEGP) defines _DOD but not _DOS
[ 8.703418] snd_rn_pci_acp3x 0000:05:00.5: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[ 8.844812] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[ 8.844894] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Disabling MSI
[ 8.844898] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Handle vga_switcheroo audio client
[ 8.844971] snd_hda_intel 0000:05:00.6: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[ 8.879671] iwlwifi 0000:04:00.0: loaded firmware version 71.058653f6.0 cc-a0-71.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[ 8.943129] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: autoconfig for ALC257: line_outs=1 (0x14/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:speaker
[ 8.943146] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 8.943148] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: hp_outs=1 (0x21/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 8.943149] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 8.943151] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: inputs:
[ 8.943152] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: Mic=0x19
[ 8.943153] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC1D0: Internal Mic=0x12
[ 10.420128] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 10.420194] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 20-28.22
[ 10.420195] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware already loaded
[ 11.073573] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio

[efricha]

./client.conf.d:
total 8
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Sep 17 14:10 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Sep 24 16:26 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 32 Feb 24 2022 01-enable-autospawn.conf -> /run/pulseaudio-enable-autospawn


That's a dangling link.

[#&thj^%]

Yeah, we knew that. Okay, permission on what?

That is the million dollar question now isn't it. ;)
Slow and steady here, you warned no sludge hammer wanted here, so your patience is required.

[#&thj^%]

./client.conf.d:
total 8
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Sep 17 14:10 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Sep 24 16:26 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 32 Feb 24 2022 01-enable-autospawn.conf -> /run/pulseaudio-enable-autospawn


That's a dangling link.

To what??
I asked to see this:

dmesg | egrep -i "snd|firmware"

I hope that's not the return...

[#&thj^%]

One more for tonite, I'm going offline shortly:

sudo touch /usr/share/pipewire/media-session.d/with-pulseaudio
systemctl --user restart pipewire-session-manager
pipewire-media-session I'm guessing is no longer picking up /etc/pipewire/media-session.d/with-pulseaudio. (could be the permissions we are looking for)

[efricha]

One more for tonite, I'm going offline shortly:

sudo touch /usr/share/pipewire/media-session.d/with-pulseaudio
systemctl --user restart pipewire-session-manager
pipewire-media-session I'm guessing is no longer picking up /etc/pipewire/media-session.d/with-pulseaudio. (could be the permissions we are looking for)

Nothing interesting.

However,


# dmesg | egrep -i "snd|firmware"
[ 0.426693] pci 0000:00:00.0: [Firmware Bug]: reg 0x1c: invalid BAR (can't size)
[ 1.937835] ata1.00: Features: NCQ-sndrcv NCQ-prio
[ 13.237563] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Force to non-snoop mode
[ 13.398447] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
[ 13.499098] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for Keyspan - (without firmware)


This device does not need firmware, btw.

[#&thj^%]

EDIT: where does syslog stick logging information? maybe it left breadcrumbs that I can't find. (none in dmesg, I looked.)
Doubtful but look in:

cd /var/log

I can't for the life of me recreate your problem..
Not what you want to hear but a fresh clean install, will be my last suggestion for you.

[efricha]

Doubtful but look in:

cd /var/log

I can't for the life of me recreate your problem..
Not what you want to hear but a fresh clean install, will be my last suggestion for you.

It'd be nice to know what that exact line is. There is a human readable syslog file, much to my surprise, but no useful context.

[#&thj^%]

It'd be nice to know what that exact line is.
Simply the reply to this: "EDIT: where does syslog stick logging information? "
Your Upgrade doesn't seem to mesh well with Jammy, at least at this level.
my dac:

Settings
└─ Default Configured Node Names:
0. Audio/Sink alsa_output.usb-DisplayLink_UOEOS_Laptop_Dock_4307293310436-02.analog-surround-21
1. Audio/Source alsa_input.pci-0000_05_00.6.pro-input-0

[efricha]

Simply the reply to this: "EDIT: where does syslog stick logging information? "
Your Upgrade doesn't seem to mesh well with Jammy, at least at this level.
my dac:

Settings
└─ Default Configured Node Names:
0. Audio/Sink alsa_output.usb-DisplayLink_UOEOS_Laptop_Dock_4307293310436-02.analog-surround-21
1. Audio/Source alsa_input.pci-0000_05_00.6.pro-input-0



There's a lot of machine readable stuff that you need journalctl to get to. I didn't know that until today.

Anyway... I wanted to thank you for all the effort you put in. I've got a distro ISO ready for nuking the / partition (but not /home). I don't think it will fix it from what I'm seeing in alsa forums, but I have to give it a shot.

[efricha]

Simply the reply to this: "EDIT: where does syslog stick logging information? "
Your Upgrade doesn't seem to mesh well with Jammy, at least at this level.
my dac:

Settings
└─ Default Configured Node Names:
0. Audio/Sink alsa_output.usb-DisplayLink_UOEOS_Laptop_Dock_4307293310436-02.analog-surround-21
1. Audio/Source alsa_input.pci-0000_05_00.6.pro-input-0



And the verdict is...
...no dice. Still the same issue.

[efricha]

Apparently the problem is an ALSA/Pulseaudio interaction, and known (+/-)

Now,


/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Is known for having the lines


options snd-usb-audio index=-2

(note the dashes)
...and notorious for putting it in more than one place when people commented it out (because they liked USB sound). The "index=-2" makes it unavailable to PulseAudio. So the trick is to comment it out.

Until now.
I tried to attach the output of alsa-info to this posting, but for some reason, it wouldn't let me (or I'm too dumb to figure out the interface). The important things are that the library version is 1.2.6.1 and the line "snd_usb_audio: index=-2" (note the underscores) in the modprobe section. Now, there is no setting on the root partition that contains that string, so I'm assuming that it defaults to -2 in the modprobe code of alsa now, in other words, it's hardcoded.

Now, https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/alsa-lib-1-2-5-broke-hdmi-and-displayport-audio-4175695880/ talks about a number of interfaces (including USB) broken in 1.2.5. Their solution is to revert to a previous version of alsa.

So, now, are there any ALSA gurus out there? Mods, can you change my tags to include ALSA? Ubuntu gurus, how do you revert a single package and hold it at the previous version? I;'m not that apt-literate.

[#&thj^%]

before getting off track here, Please try this first:

systemctl --user unmask pulseaudio
systemctl --user --now enable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
EDIT: Dang I keep forgetting to ask for this as well:

cat -n /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
If none of the above leads us to a solution, I have a replacement for audio, the suspense grows...:D

[efricha]

before getting off track here, Please try this first:

systemctl --user unmask pulseaudio
systemctl --user --now enable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
EDIT: Dang I keep forgetting to ask for this as well:

cat -n /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
If none of the above leads us to a solution, I have a replacement for audio, the suspense grows...:D



$ systemctl --user unmask pulseaudio
$ systemctl --user --now enable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
Created symlink (me)/.config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/pulseaudio.service → /usr/lib/systemd/user/pulseaudio.service.
Created symlink (me)/.config/systemd/user/sockets.target.wants/pulseaudio.socket → /usr/lib/systemd/user/pulseaudio.socket.
$

And, this is pure vanilla. Remember, I wiped the root partition.


# This file lists those modules which we don't want to be loaded by
# alias expansion, usually so some other driver will be loaded for the
# device instead.

# evbug is a debug tool that should be loaded explicitly
blacklist evbug

# these drivers are very simple, the HID drivers are usually preferred
blacklist usbmouse
blacklist usbkbd

# replaced by e100
blacklist eepro100

# replaced by tulip
blacklist de4x5

# causes no end of confusion by creating unexpected network interfaces
blacklist eth1394

# snd_intel8x0m can interfere with snd_intel8x0, doesn't seem to support much
# hardware on its own (Ubuntu bug #2011, #6810)
blacklist snd_intel8x0m

# Conflicts with dvb driver (which is better for handling this device)
blacklist snd_aw2

# replaced by p54pci
blacklist prism54

# replaced by b43 and ssb.
blacklist bcm43xx

# most apps now use garmin usb driver directly (Ubuntu: #114565)
blacklist garmin_gps

# replaced by asus-laptop (Ubuntu: #184721)
blacklist asus_acpi

# low-quality, just noise when being used for sound playback, causes
# hangs at desktop session start (Ubuntu: #246969)
blacklist snd_pcsp

# ugly and loud noise, getting on everyone's nerves; this should be done by a
# nice pulseaudio bing (Ubuntu: #77010)
blacklist pcspkr

# EDAC driver for amd76x clashes with the agp driver preventing the aperture
# from being initialised (Ubuntu: #297750). Blacklist so that the driver
# continues to build and is installable for the few cases where its
# really needed.
blacklist amd76x_edac

$


If you already mentioned your alternative a couple pages back, I'm leaning that way, too, knowing that it was loaded -- at least then, it was.

[efricha]

before getting off track here, Please try this first:

systemctl --user unmask pulseaudio
systemctl --user --now enable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
EDIT: Dang I keep forgetting to ask for this as well:

cat -n /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
If none of the above leads us to a solution, I have a replacement for audio, the suspense grows...:D

Are you thinking This? https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replace-pulseaudio-ubuntu-2204/

[#&thj^%]

Are you thinking This? https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replace-pulseaudio-ubuntu-2204/

My formula differs just slightly from your link shown, but I can see no problems following that link.
EDIT: I can confirm the validity of that link:

System:
Host: me-Standard-PC-Q35-ICH9-2009 Kernel: 5.15.0-48-generic x86_64
bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce 4.16.0 Distro: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)

&&

pactl info
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 58
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: me
Host Name: me-Standard-PC-Q35-ICH9-2009
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 0.3.48)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
Default Source: alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
Cookie: ffed:92aa

&&

inxi -A
Audio:
Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.0-48-generic running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes

I'm hoping this will yield good results for you.

[efricha]

My formula differs just slightly from your link shown, but I can see no problems following that link.
EDIT: I can confirm the validity of that link:

System:
Host: me-Standard-PC-Q35-ICH9-2009 Kernel: 5.15.0-48-generic x86_64
bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce 4.16.0 Distro: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)

&&

pactl info
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 58
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: me
Host Name: me-Standard-PC-Q35-ICH9-2009
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 0.3.48)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
Default Source: alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
Cookie: ffed:92aa

&&

inxi -A
Audio:
Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.0-48-generic running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes

I'm hoping this will yield good results for you.

And I get... nada.


pactl info
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 62
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: eric
Host Name: leftover
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 0.3.48)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.usb-Schiit_Audio_Modi_Multibit-00.analog-stereo
Default Source: alsa_input.pci-0000_04_06.0.analog-stereo
Cookie: 064b:6f52


The default sink is exactly what I want it to be, but it still doesn't work.



$ inxi -A
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Oland/Hainan/Cape Verde/Pitcairn HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 7000
Series]
driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: VIA ICE1712 [Envy24] PCI Multi-Channel I/O driver: snd_ice1712
Device-3: C-Media CM6631A Audio Processor type: USB
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.0-48-generic running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes


Device 3 is the one I want.

Interestingly enough, I sort of got alsa to acknowledge the index properly by forcing it:


options snd-usb-audio index=2

Which had alsa-info index snd_usb_audio in -2 AND in 2. Still no availability, though, either way.

[#&thj^%]

I assuming here, a fresh install then the audio session change, but did the sound work from the Live Installer?

[efricha]

I assuming here, a fresh install then the audio session change, but did the sound work from the Live Installer?

I didn't try. Since I've now taken all my addon packages and set them up in a script, I reverted to 20.04 LTS. Voila! Sound.

Alsa library version 1.2.2


Oh, BTW, I suspect that the live CD wouldn't have worked, just because of the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf settings on it. I know I could jump through the hoops of making an ISO with a modified alsa-base.conf, my 22.04 install DID work for a week until the update got pushed.

[efricha]

I don't want to walk away and call this [SOLVED] or even [RESOLVED]. As it stands, the tip of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS distros doesn't work with USB audio. From linuxquestions, it's clearly not a unique problem to me. Over on the ALSA home page, they seem unaware of the problem, or of the interaction with PulseAudio. I suspect that if I file a bug, everyone will point the finger at someone else.

So:
* Any way to bring this issue up with the folks behind Ubuntu? They might be able to use their influence.
* Any thoughts on getting ALSA to pay attention?

[#&thj^%]

I suspect that if I file a bug, everyone will point the finger at someone else.

So:
* Any way to bring this issue up with the folks behind Ubuntu? They might be able to use their influence.

I think a bug should be filed. at least the legwork will be started.


* Any thoughts on getting ALSA to pay attention?
Out of curiosity have you tried to copy or link "/usr/share/doc/pipewire/examples/alsa.conf.d/99-pipewire-default.conf" to "/etc/alsa/conf.d"
Providing that no Pulseaudio enabled and pipewire-audio-client is installed and being used.
BTW Thanks for you willingness and effort to try to get to bottom of this problem.

[efricha]

Out of curiosity have you tried to copy or link "/usr/share/doc/pipewire/examples/alsa.conf.d/99-pipewire-default.conf" to "/etc/alsa/conf.d"
Providing that no Pulseaudio enabled and pipewire-audio-client is installed and being used.
BTW Thanks for you willingness and effort to try to get to bottom of this problem.

Yes. No dice. Dinked around with it a little, too.

Note that this is a problem seen exclusively with USB devices. My on-board sound -- which sucks -- was working happily even as PulseAudio was pointing to the USB DAC as the default sink.