audio question: setting the "master channel"?

nsw42 · 2011-05-06 05:44:30

Hello there,

when I press the volume control buttons on my laptop / USB headset xfce shows
me a nice little window with a volume bar and a speaker. My +/- buttons work
fine ... for changing the volume bar.

Unfortunately the changing volume bar has no effect whatsoever on the
actual volume of my headset. In order to REALLY change the volume,
I have to click the speaker icon in the notification area; only pushing
that volume bar effects the sound in my headset.

With KDE one could select the "master channel" ... then volume
buttons would work. How can I do that with xfce?

(xubuntu 11.04 this is)

wkr · 2011-05-07 16:31:36

It's in Menu>multimedia>Mixer

nsw42 · 2011-05-09 06:55:10

wkr wrote:

It's in Menu>multimedia>Mixer

Please explain. When i open the xfce alsa mixer; well it shows me all the available devices;
and when i select one of the devices, I can then go for "select controls".

I just did so ... yeah, there is another volume bar that I can use to control the volume of
my headset.

But this doesnt in any way allow me to control the volume of the headset with the
volume buttons on my keyboard.

Again: there are volume buttons on my keyboard. How can I make sure that
they control "that" device that I am currently using?

sng · 2011-05-09 09:44:48

I have done something similar using keyboard shortcuts and amixer

Go to "Menu > Settings > Keyboard > Application shortcuts" (I hope this is correct, my environment is localized).

Press add and insert "amixer set Master 1-" and press ok. When the next window appears press your "volume down" button.

Press add and insert "amixer set Master 1+" and press ok. When the next window appears press your "volume up" button.

These settings are using the Master channel but it's easy to change

Hope this helps

nsw42 · 2011-05-09 13:46:58

sng wrote:

I have done something similar using keyboard shortcuts and amixer
...
These settings are using the Master channel but it's easy to change
Hope this helps

Well, it was pretty easy setting up the short cuts. Its just ... still no change to the
sound volume. When i ran amixer alone, I see:

Simple mixer control 'Master',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 74
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 6 [8%] [-68.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 6 [8%] [-68.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Capabilities: pvolume penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 255
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 60 [24%] [-39.00dB]
Front Right: Playback 60 [24%] [-39.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Beep',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 7
Mono: Playback 1 [14%] [-24.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch penum
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 80
Front Left: Capture 80 [100%] [6.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 80 [100%] [6.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Analog Mic Boost',0
Capabilities: cenum
Items: '0dB' '10dB' '20dB' '30dB' '40dB'
Item0: '20dB'

I tried master and PCM ... no effect.

WTF?

Nick · 2011-05-09 16:23:18

The proper commands are something like:

amixer -q set Master 5%-
amixer -q set Master 5%+

nsw42 · 2011-05-10 11:04:35

Nick wrote:

The proper commands are something like:
amixer -q set Master 5%-
amixer -q set Master 5%+

Well, i found that
amixer sset Master 5%-

or for PCM ... would change the % numbers I see for the corresponding
control. Master would also raise the notification display that is shown
when i press the volume buttons on the keyboard.

But again ... no effect on the actual volume within my headset ...

alexkuehne · 2011-05-14 14:04:26

Same here! I'm using an external monitor with USB speakers.

Feature request: It would be nice to automatically control the currently active soundcard - instead of hardcoding them in the xfce4-mixer settings each time (and logout to apply changes)...

nsw42 · 2011-05-15 14:04:14

alexkuehne wrote:

Same here! I'm using an external monitor with USB speakers.
Feature request: It would be nice to automatically control the currently active soundcard - instead of hardcoding them in the xfce4-mixer settings each time (and logout to apply changes)...

I second that. I fear that any such requests are futile; but I have to admit: xfce/xubuntu and audio UI sucks big time.

That would be one kewl differentiator for xfce ... come up with something that is better than the
still-too-simply audio setup from gnome ... but more straight forward than the overly full KDE
audio settings thing.

Wondering - is anything like that on any of the xfce plans; or do the developers think that the
stylish version of alsamixer that comes with xfce is good enough for all times? Where would
be a good place to really discuss this topic?

Nick · 2011-05-16 06:34:49

Xfce4-mixer could be a bit smarter and also support command line options we can add by default in the keyboard settings. We don't want stuff all kinds of stuff in a daemon where users have hardly any control over it.

nsw42 · 2011-05-16 07:56:53

Nick wrote:

Xfce4-mixer could be a bit smarter and also support command line options we can add by default in the keyboard settings. We don't want stuff all kinds of stuff in a daemon where users have hardly any control over it.

Well, at least for me, the xfce4-mixer _should_ be a whole lot smarter to make it really usable.
That mixer is of no use to me; as it lacks all the things I need ;-(

From what I understood by now ... xfce4-mixer is just a more stylish looking version of the
alsa mixer command line mixer. It shows me too many things I dont care about; and
it doesnt allow me to control the things I have to control.

I understand that there are different usage patterns; but at least mine is a nightmare with that mixer:

- i am regularly switching between single usage of my thinkpad ... or having it docked
- i am using several different headsets (but just one at a time)

So the things I a need (and that are COMPLETELY missing with the xfce mixer):

- the ability to setup a "profile" for audio devices
- a SIMPLE interface that shows all available sources / sinks and allows
me to make a selection (like gnome sound preferences). Or better,
KDE style ... where the system remembers the order that you select
for your devices ... so that when I unplug and replug a headset ... you
dont have to go in and AGAIN tell the computer that yes, the USB headset
is now the default again.
- the ability to select the master channel ... so, when the USB headset is
plugged, I can tell the system that its volume keys should be used to control
its own volume; and not the volume of the Laptop-internal sound.

I understand that this is a lot I am suggesting here ... but as I said:
it would be real differentiator if xfce would put some energy here.

Nick · 2011-05-16 11:02:42

Well you can at least submit this thinks in individual bug reports in the Xfce bug tracker, however, resources are limited, so don't expect this to be fixed soon.

nsw42 · 2011-05-16 12:44:05

I will do that.

At least there are not so many tickets around ... as compared to KDE for example.

Just wondering: what turnaround time can I hope to see in general? I mean - how
long does it take before a ticket is at least updated/commented?

Edit: well, well, not much hope. I checked the bug tracker for xfce4-mixer.
18 tickets, 16 new, 2 in assigned. So, forget about it.

I can understand when the KDE folks stop looking at tickets, with hundreds and
hundreds open ... and 20 new tickets per day.

But hey, less than 20 open tickets; and still it looks like they are not actively
maintained? Probably there are other ways to communicate between developers and users;
but if so: then drop the bug tracker. But dont have tickets hanging around
for YEARS without touching them. Thats gnome-style ;-(

Last edited by nsw42 (2011-05-16 12:55:30)

Nick · 2011-05-16 14:14:00

If you want to report features use the bug tracker, that's the only place it doesn't get lost. Looking at the bug, you apparently don't care a lot about it, because you stuffed a hand full of requests in a single bug: none of the few devs care about those bugs, so yeah, it will hand around for quite some time that way.

If you really want a change, submit patches.

sandor · 2011-05-19 21:35:27

Here is how you can do it:
Menu -> Multimedia -> Mixer
Select Alsa Mixer, then click "Select Controls..." at the bottom.
Check "Headphone Jack Sense" checkbox and close.

nsw42 · 2011-05-20 10:16:44

Hello sandor,

unfortunately there is no "headphone jack sense" checkbox. No nowhere.
I checked all the various mixers; the xfce mixer, gnome alsa mixer.
Alsa mixer from command line; none of them shows what you are talking about ;-(

I tried other mixers (installed kmix and alsamixergui) ... not much help either.
The kmix actually shows the "select master channel"; i can select that and find
that the current mixer is my USB headset. Unfortunately, neither buttons
on the headset nor on the keyboard work to control the volume.

Last edited by nsw42 (2011-05-20 10:37:36)

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#1 2011-05-06 05:44:30

audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#2 2011-05-07 16:31:36

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#3 2011-05-09 06:55:10

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#4 2011-05-09 09:44:48

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#5 2011-05-09 13:46:58

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#6 2011-05-09 16:23:18

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#7 2011-05-10 11:04:35

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#8 2011-05-14 14:04:26

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#9 2011-05-15 14:04:14

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#10 2011-05-16 06:34:49

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#11 2011-05-16 07:56:53

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#12 2011-05-16 11:02:42

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#13 2011-05-16 12:44:05

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#14 2011-05-16 14:14:00

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#15 2011-05-19 21:35:27

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

#16 2011-05-20 10:16:44

Re: audio question: setting the "master channel"?

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