[FIXED] Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

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WastedJoker

[FIXED] Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by WastedJoker »

I'm running Linuxmint 17.1 on my Asus N55SL laptop.

Sound plays fine from the inbuilt speakers (Bang & Olufsen ICEPower) but when I plug in the subwoofer it only seems to play audio from the right speaker. Admittedly it is a deeper sound but it doesn't have quite the same impact as when I've used it within Windows.

Output from

Code: Select all

sudo inxi -Fx
is
System: Host: chris-N55SL Kernel: 3.16.0-31-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.8.2)
Desktop: N/A Distro: Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca
Machine: Mobo: ASUSTeK model: N55SL version: 1.0 serial: BSN12345678901234567
Bios: American Megatrends version: N55SL.204 date: 10/24/2012
CPU: Dual core Intel Core i5-2450M CPU (-HT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 9978.36
Clock Speeds: 1: 2342.773 MHz 2: 2772.753 MHz 3: 2905.371 MHz 4: 2610.058 MHz
Graphics: Card-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
Card-2: NVIDIA GF116M [GeForce GT 555M/635M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
X.org: 1.15.1 driver: nvidia tty size: 80x24 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio: Card: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.16.0-31-generic
Network: Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet driver: atl1c ver: 1.0.1.1-NAPI port: 9000 bus-ID: 05:00.0
IF: eth0 state: down mac: c8:60:00:b4:72:f7
Card-2: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 [Rainbow Peak] driver: iwlwifi ver: in-tree: bus-ID: 03:00.0
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: ac:72:89:a5:f9:c4
Drives: HDD Total Size: 750.2GB (0.8% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: ST750LX003 size: 750.2GB temp: 40C
Partition: ID: / size: 682G used: 5.9G (1%) fs: ext4 ID: swap-1 size: 6.34GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
RAID: No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 54.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 0.0:44C
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 214 Uptime: 57 min Memory: 1057.1/5871.5MB Runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.8.2 Client: Shell inxi: 1.8.4
Screenshot of my Sound panel:

http://i.imgur.com/tVXTqmd.png

As you can see, the subwoofer panel is greyed out.

How do I get the sub woofer working as a separate device providing a bass boost rather than just using the right channel?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
MrBob22
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Re: Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by MrBob22 »

Hello: How is your subwoofer connected? Is it by a 1/8" patch cord or from USB? I think you might need to select a different playback mode to get more than the 2 channel stereo. Is the woofer powered? I am guessing that you are getting one of the normal stereo channels (R or L) in the woofer and the other channel is the normal playback in the speaker. Look at your motherboard for the correct plug for the sub channel (if using patch cord) and then see if you can reset your audio controls in control panel or sound panel.In Sound Preferences on my system using Mint 17, I am able to select several hardware set ups, and then pick the output that matches on the next tab down. Hope this helps. MrBob22
WastedJoker

Re: Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by WastedJoker »

It is not powered and connects via a 2.5mm jack
MrBob22
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Re: Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by MrBob22 »

OH, I see now this is a propriety item. There may be no direct link to a driver for this in Linux.

Check out this post on a similar problem and maybe you can use some of the steps here to solve your issue. Good luck!

http://askubuntu.com/questions/189304/n ... asus-n76vm

MrBob22
WastedJoker

Re: Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by WastedJoker »

MrBob22 wrote:OH, I see now this is a propriety item. There may be no direct link to a driver for this in Linux.

Check out this post on a similar problem and maybe you can use some of the steps here to solve your issue. Good luck!

http://askubuntu.com/questions/189304/n ... asus-n76vm

MrBob22
Thanks for this - after applying those fixes, I get 2.1 listed in Sound and testing the sound shows output to left, right and subwoofer channels but when music is played, it only makes use of the left/right channels.
WastedJoker

Re: Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by WastedJoker »

I think I've got it fixed

I followed this guide:

http://th0th.me/log/enabling-subwoofer- ... -gnulinux/

Code: Select all

echo 'options snd-hda-intel model=asus-mode4' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
then

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install gnome-alsamixer
Reboot.

Open Gnome Alsa Mixer then turn up the Bass Speaker.

That feels closest to how it was under Windows.

Thanks for the assistance, MrBob22 - your help got me to the solution :)
MrBob22
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Re: [FIXED] Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by MrBob22 »

Good to hear you are (mostly) solved! MrBob22
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dentex
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Re: [FIXED] Asus N55SL Sonicmaster subwoofer config

Post by dentex »

Hello,
This solution used to work also on my laptop (Asus N751JK), but recently stopped working. Maybe with some kernel updates something changed?
How about you guys?

Thanks.
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