Audio distorted for 30sec to 2min after boot.

[dawidziaja]

I have a strange issue that I haven't been able to find a solution to for a while now. Whenever I restart or don't play any sound for a while, audio output is distorted for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes after starting playback, after which it becomes perfectly fine. I have had this issue for a while now. I use Mint 18.3 KDE and have an Asrock FM2-A78 PRO3+ motherboard with the Realtek ALC662 audio codec. I hope someone can help me fix this.

[Pjotr]

Please generate an overview of your system like this:
- Launch a terminal window (this is how to launch a terminal window);
- make the terminal window full screen, to avoid chopped lines;
- Copy/paste this command into the terminal:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

(if you type: the letter F is a capital letter)

Press Enter.

Copy/paste the output in your next message.

[dawidziaja]

Code: Select all

System:    Host: dawid-desktop Kernel: 4.10.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.8.8 (Qt 5.6.1) Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   Mobo: ASRock model: FM2A78 Pro3+ Bios: American Megatrends v: P1.70 date: 12/07/2015
CPU:       Quad core AMD Athlon X4 860K (-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 29548
           clock speeds: max: 3700 MHz 1: 2400 MHz 2: 3000 MHz 3: 2400 MHz 4: 1700 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Tahiti XT [Radeon HD 7970/8970 OEM / R9 280X] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1600x900@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: AMD TAHITI (DRM 2.49.0 / 4.10.0-38-generic, LLVM 5.0.0)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] FCH Azalia Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2
           Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Tahiti XT HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 7970 Series]
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1
           Card-3 C-Media driver: USB Audio usb-ID: 006-003
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-38-generic
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1750.4GB (58.6% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: Samsung_SSD_850 size: 250.1GB temp: 0C
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: WDC_WD10JUCT size: 1000.2GB temp: 25C
           ID-3: /dev/sdc model: ST3500312CS size: 500.1GB temp: 24C
Partition: ID-1: / size: 451G used: 134G (32%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc2
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 8.52GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdc3
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 5.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 38.0
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 247 Uptime: 18 min Memory: 2458.2/7918.1MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

[Pjotr]

Upgrade your kernel to the latest one of the 4.13 series (should be a level 4 update in Update Manager).

Then reboot and test whether this has helped.

[Flemur]

Check connections?

Edit: physical wires and plugs

[jimallyn]

It just takes a minute or so for the tubes to warm up. OK, old joke, probably nobody gets it anymore. But it could be bad connections. I have seen audio equipment that plays very weak or distorted audio until you crank it up enough to break through the micro layer of oxidation. CAIG DeoxIT works miracles on oxidized connections.

[dawidziaja]

Upgrade your kernel to the latest one of the 4.13 series (should be a level 4 update in Update Manager).

Then reboot and test whether this has helped.

That didn't seem to work.

[dawidziaja]

It just takes a minute or so for the tubes to warm up. OK, old joke, probably nobody gets it anymore. But it could be bad connections. I have seen audio equipment that plays very weak or distorted audio until you crank it up enough to break through the micro layer of oxidation. CAIG DeoxIT works miracles on oxidized connections.

I'm pretty sure it's a software issue. For some reason, when I close random windows, the audio starts working perfectly (even though they aren't outputting any audio, for example, konsole).

[trytip]

go into .config/pulse delete everything and reboot. this will reset old virtual connections and restore it to default. this works like clearing your browser cookies