Plasma Speaker volume unsynchronized from Master volme in Alsamixer

Previously, when I was changing speaker/system volume in Plasma, each step was distinct. Now, change between 10-100% is barely noticeable. I can hear volume to go up from 100-150%, or go down between 10-5%, but all between 10-100% is changing barely. In short, it is as if the speaker volume was mostly on 100% all the time or the 5% was more like 90%. I can control volume on the app (Firefox, Spotify, etc.) and that works, but system volume seems to be broken.

I noticed this issue for the first time after testing update in 13.09.2024:

https://forum.manjaro.org/t/testing-update-2024-09-13-kernel-qemu-systemd-plasma-kde-gear-virtualbox/168026/101

Because lack of time to debug this, I decided to roll back my system from a backup and switch to stable branch. Yesterday there was a stable update and I hoped, the fix appeared in the meantime and the stable packages don’t have it. Unfortunately, they still do.

Here is my hardware info:

 michaldybczak  Sirius16-Manjaro  ~  inxi -b
System:
  Host: Sirius16-Manjaro Kernel: 6.11.1-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.1.5 Distro: Manjaro Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: TUXEDO product: TUXEDO Sirius 16 Gen1 v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: NB04 model: APX958 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American
    Megatrends LLC. v: 1.00A00_20240108 date: 01/08/2024
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 80.1 Wh (100.0%) condition: 80.1/80.1 Wh (100.0%)
CPU:
  Info: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics [MT MCP]
    speed (MHz): avg: 722 min/max: 400/5137
Graphics:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Navi 33 [Radeon RX 7600/7600
    XT/7600M XT/7600S/7700S / PRO W7600] driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Phoenix1 driver: amdgpu
    v: kernel
  Device-3: Microdia Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.2
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: amdgpu
    unloaded: modesetting,radeon dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu,amdgpu resolution:
    1: 1920x1080 2: 1969x1108
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 24.2.2-arch1.1
    renderer: AMD Radeon 780M (radeonsi gfx1103_r1 LLVM 18.1.8 DRM 3.58
    6.11.1-1-MANJARO)
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    driver: r8168
  Device-2: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210/AX1675 2x2 [Typhoon Peak] driver: iwlwifi
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.73 TiB used: 730.39 GiB (26.1%)
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 30.58 GiB used: 7.05 GiB (23.0%)
  Processes: 392 Uptime: 29m Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.36
 michaldybczak  Sirius16-Manjaro  ~  inxi -A
Audio:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Navi 31 HDMI/DP Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Rembrandt Radeon High
    Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
  Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor
    driver: snd_pci_ps
  Device-4: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 17h/19h HD Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel
  API: ALSA v: k6.11.1-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.3 status: active

I tried to debug this doing this:

1. Finding volume or sound related packages in the update and downgrading them.

Here is the list of the update packages:

[2024-10-02T16:03:22+0200] [ALPM] upgraded webkitgtk-6.0 (2.44.3-3 -> 2.44.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:22+0200] [ALPM] upgraded webkit2gtk-4.1 (2.44.3-3 -> 2.44.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded webkit2gtk (2.44.3-3 -> 2.44.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded wavemon (0.9.5-1 -> 0.9.6-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded virtualbox (7.0.20-1 -> 7.1.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] installed qt6-scxml (6.7.2-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded update-grub (2.12-4 -> 2.12-5)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded thunderbird-i18n-pl (115.14.0-1 -> 128.2.3-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded thunderbird-i18n-en-us (115.14.0-1 -> 128.2.3-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:21+0200] [ALPM] upgraded thunderbird (115.14.0-1 -> 128.2.3-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:20+0200] [ALPM] upgraded texinfo (7.1-2 -> 7.1.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:20+0200] [ALPM] upgraded telegram-desktop (5.5.0-1 -> 5.5.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:20+0200] [ALPM] upgraded systemd-sysvcompat (256.5-1 -> 256.6-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:20+0200] [ALPM] upgraded systemd-resolvconf (256.5-1 -> 256.6-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:20+0200] [ALPM] upgraded spectacle (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded skanpage (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded sddm-kcm (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby-stdlib (3.2.5-1 -> 3.2.5-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby-default-gems (3.2.5-1 -> 3.2.5-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby-bundled-gems (3.2.5-1 -> 3.2.5-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby-test-unit (3.6.1-3 -> 3.6.2-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby-rexml (3.2.6-2 -> 3.3.2-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ruby (3.2.5-1 -> 3.2.5-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded python-pydantic (2.8.2-2 -> 2.9.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded python-pydantic-core (1:2.20.1-1 -> 1:2.23.2-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded python-protobuf (27.3-2 -> 28.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded python-grpcio (1.65.5-1 -> 1.65.5-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded protobuf-c (1.5.0-4 -> 1.5.0-5)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded print-manager (1:6.1.4-1 -> 1:6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded power-profiles-daemon (0.22-2 -> 0.23-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma5-integration (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-workspace-wallpapers (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-wayland-protocols (1.13.0-1 -> 1.14.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-vault (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-systemmonitor (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-pa (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-nm (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-firewall (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-disks (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:19+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-desktop (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded powerdevil (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded polkit-kde-agent (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-browser-integration (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded partitionmanager (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded oxygen-sounds (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded oxygen (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded opencv (4.10.0-5 -> 4.10.0-7.0)
[2024-10-02T16:03:18+0200] [ALPM] upgraded okular (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded nano (8.1-1 -> 8.2-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded mpd (0.23.15-5 -> 0.23.15-6)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] installed plocate (1.1.22-3)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded mbedtls (3.6.0-1 -> 3.6.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded markdownpart (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded manjaro-release (24.1.0pre1-1 -> 24.1.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded manjaro-hello (0.7.2-6 -> 0.7.2-7)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded mangohud (0.7.2-1 -> 0.7.2-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded luajit (2.1.1723675123-1 -> 2.1.1725453128-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lokalize (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux66-virtualbox-host-modules (7.0.20-11 -> 7.1.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux66-r8168 (8.053.00-25 -> 8.053.00-30)
[2024-10-02T16:03:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux66-headers (6.6.47-1 -> 6.6.52-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:14+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux66 (6.6.47-1 -> 6.6.52-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:13+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux610-virtualbox-host-modules (7.0.20-24 -> 7.1.0-7)
[2024-10-02T16:03:13+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux610-r8168 (8.053.00-22 -> 8.053.00-41)
[2024-10-02T16:03:13+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux610-headers (6.10.6-10 -> 6.10.11-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:10+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux610 (6.10.6-10 -> 6.10.11-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:09+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux-firmware (20240809.59460076-1 -> 20240909.552ed9b8-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:07+0200] [ALPM] upgraded linux-firmware-whence (20240809.59460076-1 -> 20240909.552ed9b8-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:07+0200] [ALPM] upgraded liburcu (0.14.0-2 -> 0.14.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:07+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libreoffice-fresh-pl (24.8.0-1 -> 24.8.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:07+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libreoffice-fresh (24.8.0-3 -> 24.8.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:05+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libpamac-snap-plugin (11.6.4+2+g1421283-1 -> 11.6.4+2+g1421283-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libpamac-flatpak-plugin (11.6.4+2+g1421283-1 -> 11.6.4+2+g1421283-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libpamac (11.6.4+2+g1421283-1 -> 11.6.4+2+g1421283-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libcurl-gnutls (8.9.1-2 -> 8.10.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libcurl-compat (8.9.1-2 -> 8.10.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-vulkan-icd-loader (1.3.279-1 -> 1.3.295-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-libcurl-gnutls (8.9.1-1 -> 8.10.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-libcurl-compat (8.9.1-1 -> 8.10.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-gtk3 (1:3.24.43-1 -> 1:3.24.43-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-gtk2 (2.24.33-3 -> 2.24.33-5)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-systemd (256.5-1 -> 256.6-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-librsvg (2:2.58.3-1 -> 2:2.58.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-curl (8.9.1-1 -> 8.10.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded lib32-gcc-libs (14.2.1+r32+geccf707e5ce-1 -> 14.2.1+r134+gab884fffe3fc-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwrited (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwayland-integration (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet-pam (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ksystemlog (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ksshaskpass (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kscreen (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ksanecore (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kpmcore (24.08.0-2 -> 24.08.1-1.0)
[2024-10-02T16:03:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kpat (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkdegames (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded konversation (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded konsole (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kompare (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkomparediff2 (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kmenuedit (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kio-gdrive (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkgapi (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kio-admin (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kinfocenter (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded systemsettings (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded khelpcenter (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kgamma (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kfind (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded keditbookmarks (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdiff3 (1.11.2-1 -> 1.11.4-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdialog (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdf (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:03+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdeplasma-addons (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-workspace (6.1.4-1.0 -> 6.1.5-1.0)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-integration (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded xdg-desktop-portal-kde (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1.0)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded qqc2-breeze-style (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma5support (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ocean-sound-theme (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded milou (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:02+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ksystemstats (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libksysguard (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kpipewire (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-activities-stats (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwin (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwayland (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kscreenlocker (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkscreen (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded layer-shell-qt (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kglobalacceld (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdenlive (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:01+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdenetwork-filesharing (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded samba (4.20.4-1 -> 2:4.21.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdegraphics-thumbnailers (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdegraphics-mobipocket (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdeconnect (24.08.0-2 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded pulseaudio-qt (1.5.0-1 -> 1.6.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdebugsettings (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kde-gtk-config (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kde-cli-tools (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kcalc (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kate (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kamera (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kactivitymanagerd (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kaccounts-providers (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:03:00+0200] [ALPM] upgraded js115 (115.13.0-1 -> 115.15.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:59+0200] [ALPM] upgraded inkscape (1.3.2-10 -> 1.3.2-11)
[2024-10-02T16:02:59+0200] [ALPM] upgraded poppler-glib (24.08.0-1 -> 24.09.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:59+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gwenview (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:59+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkdcraw (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:59+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gtk2 (2.24.33-4 -> 2.24.33-5)
[2024-10-02T16:02:58+0200] [ALPM] upgraded grub (2.12-4 -> 2.12-7)
[2024-10-02T16:02:58+0200] [ALPM] upgraded graphviz (12.1.0-2 -> 12.1.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:58+0200] [ALPM] upgraded firefox-i18n-pl (130.0-1 -> 131.0-1)
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[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gtk3 (1:3.24.43-1 -> 1:3.24.43-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded filelight (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ffmpegthumbs (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded fastfetch (2.23.0-1 -> 2.24.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ell (0.68-1 -> 0.69-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded elisa (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded easyeffects (7.1.8-1 -> 7.1.8-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded drkonqi (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gc (8.2.6-1 -> 8.2.8-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded python-sentry_sdk (2.13.0-1 -> 2.14.0-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded doxygen (1.12.0-1 -> 1.12.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:57+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gcc (14.2.1+r32+geccf707e5ce-1 -> 14.2.1+r134+gab884fffe3fc-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:55+0200] [ALPM] upgraded dolphin-plugins (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:55+0200] [ALPM] upgraded dolphin (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:55+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kio-extras (24.08.0-2 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:55+0200] [ALPM] upgraded vlc (3.0.21-2 -> 3.0.21-3)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded smbclient (4.20.4-1 -> 2:4.21.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libwbclient (4.20.4-1 -> 2:4.21.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ldb (2:2.9.1-2 -> 2:4.21.0-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libkexiv2 (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded discover (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kaccounts-integration (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded qt6-webengine (6.7.2-2 -> 6.7.2-3)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signon-kwallet-extension (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded cryfs (0.11.4-8 -> 0.11.4-9)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded spdlog (1.14.1-1 -> 1.14.1-3)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ccache (4.10.2-1 -> 4.10.2-2)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded breeze5 (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded breeze-gtk (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:54+0200] [ALPM] upgraded breeze (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kdecoration (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded bluez-utils (5.77-1 -> 5.78-1)
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[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded libplasma (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded plasma-activities (6.1.4-1 -> 6.1.5-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded bison (3.8.2-6 -> 3.8.2-8)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded baloo-widgets (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded ark (24.08.0-1 -> 24.08.1-1)
[2024-10-02T16:02:53+0200] [ALPM] upgraded gettext (0.22.5-1 -> 0.22.5-2)
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I downgraded and rebooted:

pulseaudio-qt
plasma-pa
kpipewire

Didn’t help.

Are there any other sound related packagages I may have missed?

2. I checked test user with vanila configs.

The issue is present on this user as well. That rules out the config issue on users side.

3. Checked if in testing repo there are newer packages that may have fixed it.

I switched to testing branch, did the update, the issue remains.

4. Check if some kernel update didn’t mess things up.

I installed kernel 6.11 and switched to it. After reboot, the problem is still there.

5. Played with Plasma’s sound settings.

Didn’t help.

I can restore my backup, but I guess, it isn’t the best solution long term. I may have to do it, but for now, I try to debug the issue. At this point, I have no idea what package or system component is at fault here, so I can’t submit any bug report.

Yeah, a bunch, depending on what you are actually using.

If using pipewire, as the final package seems it might indicate then you would also have pipewire, pipewire-audio, pipewire-alsa, libpipewire, associated packages with wireplumber, and if using in conjunction with pulseaudio then pipewire-pulse and libpulse… and more …

If using pulseaudio then of course pulseaudio package and probably a few more.

But … as is often said … downgrading is rarely a solution.

But maybe we should start with your packages … are you trying to use pipewire?
Do you have manjaro-pipewire installed ?

I suggest check ALSA mixer settings for onboard audio device

amixer --card=2

Yeah, I’m using pipewire. But since only the mentioned packages changed and the rest of associated ones didn’t, in theory it is enough to downgrade the updated packages and I should get the configuration as before. However, that didn’t help, which makes me confused.

Sound system in Linux is beyond my capacity of understanding, so this is additionally confusing.

If not sound packages themselves, I expected that maybe this is a plasma bug, so I hoped that plasma-pa downgrade will fix it, but still nothing.

I think that I should test a live system with recent packages, to see if this issue happens there as well. If not, that would point into a specific configuration in my packages. Maybe I should uninstall some interfering package? But if that is the case, I need to find out which one.

In the past, each Manjaro iso came with text file, with list of all packages. That was useful, because I could compare or check which packages are there and which I have installed but may not be needed. This is a very old install, so things could happen, but so far, there were no bigger issues like that.

amixer --card=2
Simple mixer control 'Mic ACP LED',0
  Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-joined
  Capture channels: Mono
  Mono: Capture [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
  Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Mono: Playback [off]

Not sure what it suppose to be or what it means.

Data shows ALSA mixer controls for the onboard Audio Coprocessor device for built-in digital microphones that are usually combined with the HD Audio device

amixer --card=3

should show ALSA mixer controls for analog speakers and headphones

Simple mixer control 'Master',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Limits: Playback 0 - 74
  Mono: Playback 70 [95%] [-4.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 74
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 44 [59%] [-30.00dB] [off]
  Front Right: Playback 44 [59%] [-30.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Speaker',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 74
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-74.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-74.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Bass Speaker',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 74
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 74 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Playback 74 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
  Capabilities: pvolume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 255
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 251 [98%] [-0.80dB]
  Front Right: Playback 251 [98%] [-0.80dB]
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
  Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-joined cswitch-exclusive
  Capture exclusive group: 0
  Capture channels: Mono
  Mono: Capture [on]
Simple mixer control 'Mic 1',0
  Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-joined cswitch-exclusive
  Capture exclusive group: 0
  Capture channels: Mono
  Mono: Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'Mic ACP LED',0
  Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-joined
  Capture channels: Mono
  Mono: Capture [on]
Simple mixer control 'Mic Boost',0
  Capabilities: volume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 3
  Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Mic Boost',1
  Capabilities: volume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: 0 - 3
  Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Beep',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Limits: Playback 0 - 7
  Mono: Playback 3 [43%] [-16.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 80
  Front Left: Capture 48 [60%] [-26.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Capture 48 [60%] [-26.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Auto-Mute Mode',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'Disabled' 'Enabled'
  Item0: 'Disabled'

ALSA mixer control for Bass Speaker is set to 100%
but mixer control for Speaker is set to 0%

To increase Speaker level to 100%

amixer --card=3 sset 'Speaker' 100%
1 Like

Thanks! I applied this while watching video and… this didn’t change the volume but changed the quality of the sound, making it more dynamic (added some hearable bass).

Still, this doesn’t change the fact that changing between 10-100% barely does anything, and it happened after the update. If I knew what element changed to cause this, I could report the bug or maybe do a fix.,

I was checking alsamixer and it turned out that changing Speaker volume (default OS volume level) from 1-6%, jumps from 1% to 100% Master volume.

That seems to be the core of the issue. Anything above Speaker 6% to 100% doesn’t do anything, because Master volume cannot go any higher.

Does anyone know if that can be changed? What is Master volume in Alsamixer and how to tie it to Speaker volume to synchronize it, so for example 25% in Master, would be 25% in Speaker. This would fix the issue make it work as it was before.

Here is my asound.state file:

state.PCH {
	control.1 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Master Playback Volume'
		value.0 70
		value.1 70
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 99'
			dbmin -9000
			dbmax 900
			dbvalue.0 -2000
			dbvalue.1 -2000
		}
	}
	control.2 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Master Playback Switch'
		value.0 true
		value.1 true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 2
		}
	}
	control.3 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Capture Volume'
		value.0 99
		value.1 99
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 99'
			dbmin -9000
			dbmax 900
			dbvalue.0 900
			dbvalue.1 900
		}
	}
	control.4 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Capture Switch'
		value.0 true
		value.1 true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 2
		}
	}
	control.5 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Analog-Mic2 Capture Volume'
		value.0 90
		value.1 90
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 99'
			dbmin -9000
			dbmax 900
			dbvalue.0 0
			dbvalue.1 0
		}
	}
	control.6 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Analog-Mic2 Capture Switch'
		value.0 true
		value.1 true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 2
		}
	}
	control.7 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'What U Hear Capture Volume'
		value.0 90
		value.1 90
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 99'
			dbmin -9000
			dbmax 900
			dbvalue.0 0
			dbvalue.1 0
		}
	}
	control.8 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'What U Hear Capture Switch'
		value.0 true
		value.1 true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 2
		}
	}
	control.9 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Mic1-Boost (30dB) Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.10 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'HP/Speaker Playback Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.11 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'AMic1/DMic Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.12 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'HP/Speaker Auto Detect Playback Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.13 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'AMic1/DMic Auto Detect Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.14 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Surround Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.15 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Crystalizer Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.16 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Dialog Plus Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.17 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Smart Volume Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.18 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'X-Bass Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.19 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Equalizer Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.20 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Echo Cancellation Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.21 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Voice Focus Capture Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.22 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Mic SVM Capture Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.23 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'Noise Reduction Capture Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.24 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'PlayEnhancement Playback Switch'
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.25 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'CrystalVoice Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.26 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'VoiceFX Capture Switch'
		value Neutral
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type ENUMERATED
			count 1
			item.0 Neutral
			item.1 Female2Male
			item.2 Male2Female
			item.3 ScrappyKid
			item.4 Elderly
			item.5 Orc
			item.6 Elf
			item.7 Dwarf
			item.8 AlienBrute
			item.9 Robot
			item.10 Marine
			item.11 Emo
			item.12 DeepVoice
			item.13 Munchkin
		}
	}
	control.27 {
		iface CARD
		name 'Mic Phantom Jack'
		value true
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.28 {
		iface CARD
		name 'Front Line Out Jack'
		value false
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.29 {
		iface CARD
		name 'Line Out Jack'
		value true
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.30 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Con Mask'
		index 16
		value '0fff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.31 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Pro Mask'
		index 16
		value '0f00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.32 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Default'
		index 16
		value '0400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.33 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Switch'
		index 16
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.34 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Default PCM Playback Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.35 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Capture Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.36 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Capture Default'
		value '0400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.37 {
		iface PCM
		name 'Playback Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.38 {
		iface PCM
		name 'Capture Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.39 {
		iface PCM
		device 2
		name 'Capture Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.40 {
		iface PCM
		device 4
		name 'Capture Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.41 {
		iface PCM
		device 1
		name 'Playback Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.42 {
		iface PCM
		device 1
		name 'Capture Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		comment {
			access read
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.43 {
		iface CARD
		name 'HDMI/DP,pcm=3 Jack'
		value false
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.44 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Con Mask'
		value '0fff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.45 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Pro Mask'
		value '0f00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.46 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Default'
		value '0400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.47 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Switch'
		value false
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.48 {
		iface PCM
		device 3
		name ELD
		value ''
		comment {
			access 'read volatile'
			type BYTES
			count 0
		}
	}
	control.49 {
		iface CARD
		name 'HDMI/DP,pcm=7 Jack'
		value false
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.50 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Con Mask'
		index 1
		value '0fff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.51 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Pro Mask'
		index 1
		value '0f00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.52 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Default'
		index 1
		value '0400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.53 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Switch'
		index 1
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.54 {
		iface PCM
		device 7
		name ELD
		value ''
		comment {
			access 'read volatile'
			type BYTES
			count 0
		}
	}
	control.55 {
		iface CARD
		name 'HDMI/DP,pcm=8 Jack'
		value false
		comment {
			access read
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.56 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Con Mask'
		index 2
		value '0fff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.57 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Pro Mask'
		index 2
		value '0f00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access read
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.58 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Default'
		index 2
		value '0400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000'
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type IEC958
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.59 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'IEC958 Playback Switch'
		index 2
		value true
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type BOOLEAN
			count 1
		}
	}
	control.60 {
		iface PCM
		device 8
		name ELD
		value ''
		comment {
			access 'read volatile'
			type BYTES
			count 0
		}
	}
	control.61 {
		iface PCM
		device 3
		name 'Playback Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		value.2 0
		value.3 0
		value.4 0
		value.5 0
		value.6 0
		value.7 0
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 8
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.62 {
		iface PCM
		device 7
		name 'Playback Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		value.2 0
		value.3 0
		value.4 0
		value.5 0
		value.6 0
		value.7 0
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 8
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.63 {
		iface PCM
		device 8
		name 'Playback Channel Map'
		value.0 0
		value.1 0
		value.2 0
		value.3 0
		value.4 0
		value.5 0
		value.6 0
		value.7 0
		comment {
			access 'read write'
			type INTEGER
			count 8
			range '0 - 36'
		}
	}
	control.64 {
		iface MIXER
		name 'PCM Playback Volume'
		value.0 179
		value.1 179
		comment {
			access 'read write user'
			type INTEGER
			count 2
			range '0 - 255'
			tlv '0000000100000008ffffec1400000014'
			dbmin -5100
			dbmax 0
			dbvalue.0 -1520
			dbvalue.1 -1520
		}
	}
}

If you think it’s an issue with ALSA, then maybe visit the projects home page

https://www.alsa-project.org/wiki/Main_Page

to get more information and/or help. It has documentation, mailing lists, a bug tracker and

https://www.alsa-project.org/wiki/Help_To_Debug

Maybe subscribing to the alsa-user mailing list and posting your problem might help. Please note, that the mailing lists only accept PLAIN text mails, ho HTML mails.

You might also want to check

https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/apps/all/lau

They also have mailing lists and even an IRC channel. Getting in touch with audio specialists might yield quicker/better results when trouble shooting that here on the manjaro site.

If you do have a working backup, I suggest you restore it (if possible, to a different partition, so it’s easier and quicker to compare the old and new settings) and check/compare the settings with your current setup. This might help to narrow the source of the issue down and give some clues to what to investigate further.

Good luck.

1 Like

This sounds like a mismatch of decibel levels between pipewire-pulse and ALSA device

A similar level mismatch on PulseAudio could be resolved by disabling use of decibel levels
PulseAudio/Troubleshooting - No sound below a volume cutoff or Clipping on a particular output device - ArchWiki
(see also - PulseAudioStoleMyVolumes)

Wireplumber has a similar configuration option to disable decibel levels

wireplumber/src/config/wireplumber.conf.d.examples/alsa.conf at master · PipeWire/wireplumber · GitHub

  #       ## Ignore decibel settings of the driver. Can be used to
  #       ## work around buggy drivers that report wrong values.
  #       api.alsa.ignore-dB = false

I don’t get it. I replaced Pulse with Pipewire, but somehow Pulse is still there doing something?

Pulseaudio documentation sucks. They write something, but it has no meaning if they don’t point to proper config or what exactly, change something. It is as if the reader had to had knowledge and understanding of the audio system in Linux. For example:

If you want to disable the merging of volume controls like this you may pass the ‘control=’ parameter to module-alsa-sink (and friends) and pass the name of a single mixer control that PulseAudio should control. PulseAudio will then refrain from changing any other controls.

This could have been written in Chinese for all I know. I still don’t know what to change and where and if this will have any effect if using Pipewire.

EDIT: From my small understanding, pipewire-pulse is taking over the config for all apps/devices that expect pulseaudio. So all pulse settings don’t really matter and they are merely leftovers from old installation, while everything is handled by pipewire under the hood. However, how it connects with alsa, I have no idea. This is messy as hell.

Im also experience a strange Volume jump on Alsamixer (PCM) from 60% to 100%, when i adjust Plasma Volume from 40% to 41% or even reducing from 40% to 39%, it sets PCM to 100% Volume in Alsamixer in no time.

But when i do additional volume changes (alsa PCM jump) in Plasma, only the master volume (in alsa) going to change while PCM jumps between 99%-100%.

There is something total off (buggy) with Alsamixer.

I think i face this problems for a very long time now.
That’s the reason why i recently only adjust my volume with Media Player/Game or Browser, while letting it untouched in Plasma.

The best way to adjust your device output to around 60-80% to evade overdrive for best sound quality.

There is no way for me to adjust Volume in Plasma anymore (buggy mess).

For me the changed happened during stable update on 2nd October, 6.1.4-1 → 6.1.5-1.

There was no alsa update, no pipewire update, only kpipewire, plasma-pa and pulseaudio-qt. Downgarding those didn’t help, so the problem is elsewhere.

There is always an issue to decipher what component is at fault, because if two are involved, it could be one that could be buggy, by not playing well with the second one, which could seem like the first is at fault.

Also, devs often shift blame on other components, not even bothering to look up their own code…

Still, this is an issue that I can somewhat live with, setting Plasma volume change to 1% and adjusting volume between 0-6%. Each percent is a huge volume jump, so this is not ideal, but I hope, if one update broke this, there will be an update that will fix it. There has to be some knowledgeable user that reports this correctly at some time.

And frankly, this update caused other, more serious issues than volume breakage.

I currently updated to Plasma 6.2 and the volume issue remains. The other, more serious bug happened so far only once and in a milder form then on previous Plasma version, but still, if it keeps appearing, I will be forced to go back to 6.1.4-1 and freeze all updated for couple of month witch NEVER HAPPENED IN 8 YEARS RUNNING MANJARO. If I froze the system, I won’t be even allowed to install any app, because those need the system to be updated, so that makes the situation even worse.

I am currently using Manjaro for everything, also work and I cannot afford for such breaking issues (the serious bug impacts my cursor and when it appears, the system cannot be worked with, I need to reboot). Ironically, LTS releases are plagued by various (and frozen) bugs (that are long fixed on rolling releases) as well, so they are also not a good fit for a stable system.

So this leaves me in an awkward position.

The other issue is, that the bugs that I am experiencing are not common, so the hardware plays a role here somewhat, and those are the worst issues to solve. Since barely who experience them, there are no reports or no interest parties to solve them, and we need very knowledgeable people for that, because those are hard bugs to debug.

Previous data shows PipeWire only, no PulseAudio.
System might have redundant PulseAudio configuration files in home folder but they cannot affect PipeWire and can be deleted

rm -r ~/.config/pulse/

Your issue with pipewire-pulse is similar to previous issues with PulseAudio
But the solution for pipewire-pulse (changing the wireplumber configuration to ignore-dB scaling) is more complex than changing pulseaudio configuration

Wireplumber - Modifying the configuration - Archwiki

The recommended way to configure WirePlumber is to add a SPA-JSON file to the appropriate wireplumber.conf.d/ directory within /etc/wireplumber/ or ~/.config/wireplumber/

Wireplumber documentation shows the setting to ignore dB scaling, but does not have a configuration file to copy/paste to home folder

ALSA configuration — WirePlumber 0.5.6 documentation

api.alsa.ignore-dB

Setting this option to true will ignore the decibel setting configured by the driver. Use this when the driver reports wrong settings.
Type: boolean


This is messy as hell

I agree. Manjaro replaced PulseAudio with Pipewire as default audio server Jan 2024 and PipeWire has been working well for many users, but there is not much support when it is not working optimally

I am still using PulseAudio because I do understand enough about PipeWire & Wireplumber yet

I dont understand… so you using Manjaro in unstable branch? Or why Plasma 6.2?

But the newest stable release is 6.1.5 :upside_down_face:

LTS Kernels? Im always using the latest LTS 6.6 Kernels without facing big problems.

Besides a Flatpak system crash (gaming related) issue, where i suffered for 3 weeks, but lucky it was fixed 10 days ago.

At the moment i have no serious problem with Manjaro KDE and LTS Kernels on my 2 systems and i hope this doesn’t change :pray:

Are you doing your pacnew files merging and doing the maintenance steps in announcement topics?

If you want to have a discussion about non-audio Plasma issues I suggest you open a new topic in KDE section

@michaldybczak
I could not find a copy/paste solution for wireplumber from a reliable source
But I did find this from a less reliable source that appears to be consistent with official documentation examples:

reddit.com/r/linuxaudio - api.alsa.ignore-dB = true and volume above 100 %

I use pipewire+wireplumber on Void Linux. Some time ago, I was stuck with a problem: while using USB headphones, I could not decrease the volume below 15% because the sound simply disappeared. I’ve solved this problem by creating a file /etc/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-low-volume-fix.lua with the following content:

table.insert (alsa_monitor.rules, {
    matches = {
      { { "device.name", "matches", "alsa_card.*" }, },
    },
    apply_properties = {
      ["api.alsa.ignore-dB"] = true,
    },
})

I don’t started it, but i responsed to it… anyways im silence now.

Since i gave my feedback.

Yes. I’m on unstable now. I did the update on stable 6.1.4-1 → 6.1.5-1 on 2nd October. This is when this issue started. I went to testing, then unstable to see if some newer packages fixed it. They didn’t.

Yes, and what is the question here?

I never wrote about LTS kernels. I wrote about LTS releases, meaning LTS OSes like Ubuntu. I tried them in the past, they were buggy mess, I tried them recently, nothing has changed. In rolling release, bugs happen but they are fixed relatively quickly. LTS systems simply froze packages as they are, with all their bugs. This is an awful solution, that I hate and cannot accept, at least not for my system.

Yes and yes. I am using Manjaro for over 8, almost 9 years, so it’s not like I’m a newbie here. Moreover, I have the same system install and that would be not possible if I couldn’t maintain Manjaro or do some minor fixing or backup restore if something happens.

Anyway, we are sidetracking from the volume issue.

@nikgnomic, thanks for your replays. I will need to take some time to analyze them.

1 Like

Maybe you want to open another Topic about it… probably we can find a solution for your issue. This is a sound problem area here and i don’t want to go offtopic again.