USB Sound Card always full volume

[inshadow]

As long as ALSA is the kernel's sound system, .asoundrc will be available. PulseAudio won't change that.

However, there is something that leaves me puzzled: Your card has a working main volume control called "Speaker". If I understand you correctly, your problem is not that this control isn't working but that it isn't called "Master".

Then I haven't been clear enough.
No, I don't have a working main/master volume control. As I write in the bug-report, the one called Speaker doesn't seem to do anything.

In Ubuntu up to version 9.04, the Gnome mixer applet was configurable to use any volume control as the main volume control, regardless of its name. In Ubuntu 9.10, the old mixer applet was replaced with a PulseAudio mixer panel. I see that you filed a bug report to the alsa-driver project. However, if PulseAudio is unable to use "Speaker" as the main volume control, this is clearly not an ALSA problem.

Again that isn't the issue. I haven't any main/master volume. Or if "Speaker" is the master volume - it isn't working. Have noticed though, that if I use the mute button of "Speaker", then sound mutes.

Adding the missing "Master" control is not a big deal, but I doubt that it will work with PulseAudio. If you want to try anyway, here's the .asoundrc:

pcm.!default {
    type asym
    playback.pcm {
        type softvol
        control {
            name "Master"
            card "default"
        }
        slave.pcm {
            type pulse
        }
    }
    capture.pcm {
        type pulse
    }
}

I tried doing this and restarted alsa. But I didn't get a new volume controller.

[tgalati4]

If you run alsamixer in a terminal, what channels have control?

[inshadow]

If you run alsamixer in a terminal, what channels have control?

The speakers are listed like this:
Speaker(2ch)
Speaker(2ch)
Speaker(2ch)
Speaker(1ch)
Speaker(1ch)
Speaker(2ch)

Here the second one reacts.
I guess the first one is one which is called "Speaker" in the Mixer.
And the last 5 is the 7.1 channels of "Speaker1".

I also found now, that I'm not able to completely turn down volume. When the slider is in the bottom, there is still sound. Haven't noticed that before now.

[tgalati4]

Is there both a headphone jack and a line-out (external amplifier) jack?

I'm confused. 7.1 usually means that there are 7 channels, 6 speakers: 2 fronts, 2 mids, 2 rears, and one subwoofer. Sometimes the subwoofer is two channels: LFE--low frequency effect, and normal subwoofer. Is that what the two single (1ch) channels control?

So perhaps 2 channels are for stereo headphones and the other 8 are for 7.1.

Regardless, if you can only control one stereo channel with alsamixer, then the snd-usb-audio driver is not working correctly for your hardware.

[inshadow]

Is there both a headphone jack and a line-out (external amplifier) jack?

1x headphones
1x line-in
4x output (7.1)
1x spdif in
1x spdif out
2xmicrophones (mono or stereo)

I'm confused. 7.1 usually means that there are 7 channels, 6 speakers: 2 fronts, 2 mids, 2 rears, and one subwoofer. Sometimes the subwoofer is two channels: LFE--low frequency effect, and normal subwoofer. Is that what the two single (1ch) channels control?

7.1 is:
7 channels (2 fronts, 2mids, 2 rears and 1 center)
1 sub

So perhaps 2 channels are for stereo headphones and the other 8 are for 7.1.

That was my theory at the beginning as well. But the headphones output volume is adjusted by the 2 fronts.
Haven't found that "Speaker" controls anything yet.

Regardless, if you can only control one stereo channel with alsamixer, then the snd-usb-audio driver is not working correctly for your hardware.

No. Not currently. But this thread gave me hope that someone could help make it work.

[VertexPusher]

Then I haven't been clear enough.
No, I don't have a working main/master volume control. As I write in the bug-report, the one called Speaker doesn't seem to do anything.

Well, in the bug report you wrote:

Speaker1 controls the channels just fine.

The problem is that I don't have any Master Volume to control the output volume.

To me that sounds like you have a working volume control, but its name is not "Master".

Anyway, I can make a .asoundrc file that will add a "Master" control to alsamixer, but that won't help you if you use PulseAudio.

[inshadow]

well, in the bug report you wrote:

speaker1 controls the channels just fine.
The problem is that i don't have any master volume to control the output volume.

to me that sounds like you have a working volume control, but its name is not "master".

To clarify: Speaker1 is the name of all eight channels.

Maybe we don't have the same understanding of what a "master volume" is.
For me, a master volume controls the combined output of all channels of a sound card (all 7.1).
I have a volume control at the top bar in Ubuntu, but it doesn't do anything (I would call this a master volume control).

Am I wrong in this conception?

anyway, i can make a .asoundrc file that will add a "master" control to alsamixer, but that won't help you if you use pulseaudio.

My goal is just to get it working somehow. To be able to control the volume with the hardware master volume buttons on my laptop and the buttons on the sound card box. Also to be able to control the sound from MythTV.
If that means getting rid of PulseAudio, it's fine by me. Unfortunately I don't know how to...