[Solved] Strange PC audio noise problem

If you think it is your speakers … try a different set. Captain obvious… I know. If it persists, then you know it is something with the pc and maybe something in the software/ ( drivers not playing nice ) is mis configed or not configed correctly. Once tested … the only thing left is the hardware/ connections. cables

I am in the progress of testing that. Thanks :slightly_smiling_face: It is just not how I would a software problem expect to behave.

It is repeatable with different cables, different sound devices and different audio types.

So, is the default sound fighting with something that you personally installed to use ?

Not as far as I can tell. Audio is essentially set up as it is configured in fedora by default, no changes by me, no audio related software I installed. I can change output devices without issue and monitoring running software does not bring up anything unusual. I barely use audio on this machine so it could have been a problem for a while without me noticing. No easily repeatable behaviour either.

Ya… curious. Might have to boot into my fedora and play with some audio.

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Thanks.
I will continue testing, it just takes a while for the problem to reproduce.

I read this post a few days ago, and since then I switched from windows to Manjaro, and I too am having this problem, so I guess it’s not just Fedora.

Just some of my specs:
CPU: AMD FX-9370
GPU: MSI - Vega 56
OS: Manjaro Kernel 4.19.0-2

I also tried 3.5 mm jack and HDMI. We definitely have the same problem, so I wonder if it’s an AMD thing.

Edit: Doubt it’s a hardware problem since I’ve never had this happen on this PC with Window in the past 4 years I’ve had it.

I just tried my cheap USB audio adapter and it still sounds the same.

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Thanks for your post!!!
I will try the software stuff next then.

Is it also intermittent in your case? like one to two times a day?

I’m not sure. I’ve been running Linux on this PC for less then 3 days. I know it was working, but then today it hasn’t. I’ll restart it in a few minutes to see if that fixes it, though I’m told that a very windows way of thinking. Lol

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lol, it technology, it works with all technology :grin:

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Hmm. I just restarted it, and it’s still doing it.

Interesting. That’s different then. This fixes it for me every time.

Oh it is fine it was the YT video I clicked on… However I was having that problem. Funny that I just so happens to click a video with bad sound lol.

Anyway. Does the sound kinda lag for you. Like you click pause and the sound keep playing and then fade out? I’ll listen to your clip again, I don’t remember if it did that.

Yes! exactly!

I’m certain we’re have a very similar problem if not the same, but now I need it to happen again because I don’t know if my USB adapter fixed it or if it was the video I was playing.

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Yeah, I have the same problem. I always need to wait for the error to reproduce.

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I’m sure it’ll happen when I’m not expecting it and it causes an inconvenience for me, so I just need to set that scenario up and blam I’m sure I’ll have it. lol

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(also @TeckMonster) Okay, I was able to replicate the problem also with the Toslink cable. The only option that is left now is software. I know @Gnuuser suggested this earlier but I wanted to 100% be sure it is not a hardware problem. In my mind it is no good if I can’t replicate the problem afterwards and not be sure what exactly fixed it. (I hope this makes it easier to solve this problem in the future)

So, software is next. Thanks everyone for helping with troubleshooting.

Edit: okay, going to pulse-audio version 11 did not get get rid of the problem

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Best solution for any audio problem on linux in my experience is getting a USB-audio compliant DAC. Whatever I install, I have working audio. Especially onboard audio is terrible in general. I never had a reliably working onboard audio solution … ever.

Fix it in hardware by not using onboard and never worry about audio again.

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Thank’s for the advice. I never actually had a system audio problem in Linux before.

Investigation so far points to a software issue (possibly with pulse-audio 12). So this is not a problem an USB DAC would solve.