Audible clicks with ICH4 AC'97

[martinko]

Hi list,

I've upgraded from 6.4 to 8.0 and hoped that my long-time issue will be
gone but no, I'm still experiencing the same audio distortion --
Playing music on FreeBSD reminds me of old tapes while listening to the
same files on MS Windows produces no acoustic clicks etc at all.
Well, I cannot hear these clicks during music but throughout low volume
passages they are quite audible and they stop when playback stops.

I still hope something can be done about it.
Any suggestions / ideas please ?

Cheers,

Martin

--

$ uname -a
FreeBSD mb-aw1n-bsd 8.0-RELEASE FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE #0: Sat Nov 21
15:48:17 UTC 2009
***@almeida.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC i386

$ pciconf -lv | grep -B 4 audio
***@pci0:0:31:5: class=0x040100 card=0x18431043 chip=0x24c58086
rev=0x03 hdr=0x00
vendor = 'Intel Corporation'
device = 'Realtek AC97 Audio (82801DBM SoundMAXController
(ICH4-M B0 step))'
class = multimedia
subclass = audio

$ cat /dev/sndstat
FreeBSD Audio Driver (newpcm: 32bit 2009061500/i386)
Installed devices:
pcm0: <Intel ICH4 (82801DB)> at io 0xffaff800, 0xffaff400 irq 5 bufsz
16384 kld snd_ich [MPSAFE] (1p:4v/1r:1v channels duplex default)

$ sysctl hw.snd dev.pcm
hw.snd.feeder_rate_quality: 1
hw.snd.feeder_rate_round: 25
hw.snd.feeder_rate_max: 2016000
hw.snd.feeder_rate_min: 1
hw.snd.feeder_rate_polyphase_max: 183040
hw.snd.feeder_rate_presets: 100:8:0.85 100:36:0.92 100:164:0.97
hw.snd.feeder_eq_exact_rate: 0
hw.snd.feeder_eq_presets:
PEQ:16000,0.2500,62,0.2500:-9,9,1.0:44100,48000,88200,96000,176400,192000
hw.snd.vpc_reset: 0
hw.snd.vpc_0db: 45
hw.snd.vpc_autoreset: 1
hw.snd.latency_profile: 1
hw.snd.latency: 5
hw.snd.report_soft_matrix: 1
hw.snd.report_soft_formats: 1
hw.snd.compat_linux_mmap: 0
hw.snd.vpc_mixer_bypass: 1
hw.snd.verbose: 1
hw.snd.maxautovchans: 16
hw.snd.default_unit: 0
hw.snd.version: 2009061500/i386
hw.snd.default_auto: 0
dev.pcm.0.%desc: Intel ICH4 (82801DB)
dev.pcm.0.%driver: pcm
dev.pcm.0.%location: slot=31 function=5 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.AUDI
dev.pcm.0.%pnpinfo: vendor=0x8086 device=0x24c5 subvendor=0x1043
subdevice=0x1843 class=0x040100
dev.pcm.0.%parent: pci0
dev.pcm.0.eapd: 1
dev.pcm.0.play.vchans: 4
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanmode: fixed
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanrate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanformat: s16le:2.0
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchans: 1
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanmode: fixed
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanrate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanformat: s16le:2.0
dev.pcm.0.buffersize: 16384
dev.pcm.0.bitperfect: 0
dev.pcm.0.ac97rate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.wake: 0

$ mixer
Mixer vol is currently set to 75:75
Mixer pcm is currently set to 25:25
Mixer speaker is currently set to 40:40
Mixer line is currently set to 75:75
Mixer mic is currently set to 0:0
Mixer cd is currently set to 75:75
Mixer rec is currently set to 0:0
Mixer igain is currently set to 0:0
Mixer ogain is currently set to 50:50
Mixer line1 is currently set to 75:75
Mixer phin is currently set to 0:0
Mixer phout is currently set to 0:0
Mixer video is currently set to 75:75
Recording source: mic

[WATANABE Kazuhiro]

Hi.

Can you hear any differences when you run the following commands (as
root) ?

# sysctl dev.pcm.0.eapd=0
# sysctl dev.pcm.0.eapd=1

At Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:30:29 +0100,

Post by martinko
Hi list,
I've upgraded from 6.4 to 8.0 and hoped that my long-time issue will be
gone but no, I'm still experiencing the same audio distortion --
Playing music on FreeBSD reminds me of old tapes while listening to the
same files on MS Windows produces no acoustic clicks etc at all.
Well, I cannot hear these clicks during music but throughout low volume
passages they are quite audible and they stop when playback stops.
I still hope something can be done about it.
Any suggestions / ideas please ?
Cheers,
Martin
--
$ uname -a
FreeBSD mb-aw1n-bsd 8.0-RELEASE FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE #0: Sat Nov 21
15:48:17 UTC 2009
$ pciconf -lv | grep -B 4 audio
rev=0x03 hdr=0x00
vendor = 'Intel Corporation'
device = 'Realtek AC97 Audio (82801DBM SoundMAXController
(ICH4-M B0 step))'
class = multimedia
subclass = audio
$ cat /dev/sndstat
FreeBSD Audio Driver (newpcm: 32bit 2009061500/i386)
pcm0: <Intel ICH4 (82801DB)> at io 0xffaff800, 0xffaff400 irq 5 bufsz
16384 kld snd_ich [MPSAFE] (1p:4v/1r:1v channels duplex default)
$ sysctl hw.snd dev.pcm
hw.snd.feeder_rate_quality: 1
hw.snd.feeder_rate_round: 25
hw.snd.feeder_rate_max: 2016000
hw.snd.feeder_rate_min: 1
hw.snd.feeder_rate_polyphase_max: 183040
hw.snd.feeder_rate_presets: 100:8:0.85 100:36:0.92 100:164:0.97
hw.snd.feeder_eq_exact_rate: 0
PEQ:16000,0.2500,62,0.2500:-9,9,1.0:44100,48000,88200,96000,176400,192000
hw.snd.vpc_reset: 0
hw.snd.vpc_0db: 45
hw.snd.vpc_autoreset: 1
hw.snd.latency_profile: 1
hw.snd.latency: 5
hw.snd.report_soft_matrix: 1
hw.snd.report_soft_formats: 1
hw.snd.compat_linux_mmap: 0
hw.snd.vpc_mixer_bypass: 1
hw.snd.verbose: 1
hw.snd.maxautovchans: 16
hw.snd.default_unit: 0
hw.snd.version: 2009061500/i386
hw.snd.default_auto: 0
dev.pcm.0.%desc: Intel ICH4 (82801DB)
dev.pcm.0.%driver: pcm
dev.pcm.0.%location: slot=31 function=5 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.AUDI
dev.pcm.0.%pnpinfo: vendor=0x8086 device=0x24c5 subvendor=0x1043
subdevice=0x1843 class=0x040100
dev.pcm.0.%parent: pci0
dev.pcm.0.eapd: 1
dev.pcm.0.play.vchans: 4
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanmode: fixed
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanrate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.play.vchanformat: s16le:2.0
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchans: 1
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanmode: fixed
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanrate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.rec.vchanformat: s16le:2.0
dev.pcm.0.buffersize: 16384
dev.pcm.0.bitperfect: 0
dev.pcm.0.ac97rate: 48000
dev.pcm.0.wake: 0
$ mixer
Mixer vol is currently set to 75:75
Mixer pcm is currently set to 25:25
Mixer speaker is currently set to 40:40
Mixer line is currently set to 75:75
Mixer mic is currently set to 0:0
Mixer cd is currently set to 75:75
Mixer rec is currently set to 0:0
Mixer igain is currently set to 0:0
Mixer ogain is currently set to 50:50
Mixer line1 is currently set to 75:75
Mixer phin is currently set to 0:0
Mixer phout is currently set to 0:0
Mixer video is currently set to 75:75
Recording source: mic

---
WATANABE Kazuhiro (***@nifty.ne.jp)

[martinko]

Post by WATANABE Kazuhiro
Hi.
Can you hear any differences when you run the following commands (as
root) ?
# sysctl dev.pcm.0.eapd=0
# sysctl dev.pcm.0.eapd=1

Hi,

I'm afraid it did not help. :-(

Note that I listen to music using headphones if that matters.

And it sounds like static or as if you were listening to vinyls. It's
especially annoying during quiet parts of music. And the same files
played in Windows on the same laptop are without any issues.

Maybe it has something to do with my original issue Ariff helped me to
solve back in 2005 ? -- My speakers did not produce any sound and I've
found in a Linux forum how to enable them and Ariff prepared a quirk.

Hm..?

Cheers,

Martin