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[Jay <jwdennis3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry it took me a few days to get back.  L/R channels are not
cancelling each other out, and my computer only supports HDMI (not
SPDIF).

Here's what I found:

Using Audacity, a microphone input selection appeared called sysdefault.  This microphone functioned properly; in fact, it was a little too loud as I had the gain turned all the way up while trying to fiddle with the other inputs.
All input selections are:
default:
HDA Intel STAC9228 Analogue:
HDA Intel STAC9228 Alt Analogue:
pulse:
default:
and sysdefault

There was only 1 sysdefault selection, but 6 of each of the others labeled Internal Mic 1-3 and Mic 1-3.
I exited Audacity, lowered the gain settings and read a little bit about the how Audacity works.  Then I reopened Audacity and found that sysdefault now had the same 6 selections as the other inputs.  Strange, but ok.  All 3 inputs labeled sysdefault: Internal Mic:# worked properly, and all other input selections performed as described in the original problem (low crackly volume).
It was apparent that all I needed to do was change the default device selection to sysdefault.  I could confirm this by running "arecord test.wav --device=sysdefault" which works vs. "arecord test.wav" which gives the low volume illustrated in the sample audio file above.  

Next, I undid ALL changes that I made previously.  I wanted to start
fresh to make sure that I knew which changes were having which effects.

I tried running the pulse audio control while recording and changing the
input device under the recording tab; however, it only showed 2 devices,
neither of which worked.  As a matter of fact, I have been unable to
find any place where I can select between more than 3 devices (none of
which work properly) except in Audacity and gstreamer-properties.

I ran gstreamer-properties.  The setting was ALSA and STAC 9228
Analogue.  I set a custom device as pipeline="alsasrc
device=sysdefault".  This worked while in gstreamer-properties, but when
I exited, it did not save the settings.

What's going on here?

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to alsa-driver in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1356393

Title:
  [XPS M1330, SigmaTel STAC9228, Mic, Internal] volume too low and
  distorted even with boost

Status in “alsa-driver” package in Ubuntu:
  Incomplete

Bug description:
  Description:	Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS
  Release:	14.04

  Dell XPS M1330
  SigmaTel STAC9228
  Internal Microphone

  Problem: The capture volume is so low on the internal microphone (not the jack) that I can barely hear it even with full boost and speaker volume all the way up.  Additionally, the capture has some distortion.  If I tap on the microphone I can hear the taps, so I know that the capture is working; however, it is not functioning in a manner that allows it to be usable.
  Everything else works great, including audio output (I can hear music and sound from videos just fine).
  Additionally, when I boot into windows vista, the microphone works perfectly, so it's not a hardware issue.

  I have scoured the forums trying to find a fix, including trying all
  the different models in alsa-base.conf listed for the STAC9228 and
  trying all sorts of configurations via alsamixer and pavucontrol
  including silencing the left/right channel while leaving the other at
  full volume.  I have even tried alternate configurations via
  hdajackretask.  Thanks for any help you can give.

  jay

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
  Package: alsa-base 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu4
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-32.57-generic 3.13.11.4
  Uname: Linux 3.13.0-32-generic i686
  ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.3
  Architecture: i386
  AudioDevicesInUse:
   USER        PID ACCESS COMMAND
   /dev/snd/controlC0:  jay        1917 F.... pulseaudio
  CurrentDesktop: Unity
  Date: Wed Aug 13 09:54:25 2014
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-08-02 (10 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release i386 (20140417)
  PackageArchitecture: all
  SourcePackage: alsa-driver
  Symptom: audio
  Symptom_AlsaRecordingTest: ALSA recording test through plughw:Intel failed
  Symptom_Card: Built-in Audio - HDA Intel
  Symptom_Jack: Mic, Internal
  Symptom_Type: High background noise, or volume is too low
  Title: [XPS M1330, SigmaTel STAC9228, Mic, Internal] Background noise or low volume
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  dmi.bios.date: 12/26/2008
  dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.bios.version: A15
  dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.chassis.type: 8
  dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA15:bd12/26/2008:svnDellInc.:pnXPSM1330:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn:rvr:cvnDellInc.:ct8:cvr:
  dmi.product.name: XPS M1330
  dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
  mtime.conffile..etc.modprobe.d.alsa.base.conf: 2014-08-13T09:42:42.548525

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