[alsa-devel] snd-usb endpoint rework

[Aurélien Leblond]

Hi Daniel,

After the last reinstalling my laptop one last time, I cannot
reproduce the issue anymore.
Kernel 3.2.16 from Ubuntu compile with the Alsa drivers from GIT and
Kernel 3.4 RC7. I have been playing music all day today without any
issues.

The 3 big differences I have compared to my previous install are:
- I used to have the RT_GROUP_SCHED option deactivated in my kernel to
be able to run jack with runtime. I don't seem to need it now in
Ubuntu 12.04.
- I used to install the Ubuntu Proposed Updates (those are untested
packages), I didn't this time for sake of stability.
- I used to use the kernel .config file from the Ubuntu LowLatency
kernel as my base. This time I used the .config of the generic kernel.

To be honest, now that my pc is working, I wouldn't change a thing :)
But if you would like me to test the 3 points above and to try and
find what the problem was in the first place, let me know,

Regards,
Aurélien

On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 9:32 PM, Aurélien Leblond <blablack at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Daniel,
>
> As I told you in my previous mail, after few hours of frustration and
> testing, I decided to do a fresh install of Ubuntu 12.04 64bit.
>
> After reinstalling Ubuntu, my first step was to compile Takashi's kernel.
> And it worked! I could play a song on the FTU, run Jackd, etc.
>
> Unfortunately, after re-installing all my music software and updating
> Ubuntu, I'm now back to the scenarios I presented to you previously...
>
> What I will do now is:
> - Keep the .deb of the different kernel I compiled.
> - Re-install once again my laptop.
> - Not do any update nor install anything but the kernels
> - Do my testings.
>
> If this works, I guess we can conclude that something in Ubuntu is
> messing with the sound-usb modules.
>
> I'll keep you updated.
>
> If you have any updates, let me know,
>
> Aurélien
>
> On Sat, May 26, 2012 at 5:48 PM, Aurélien Leblond <blablack at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Daniel,
>>
>> I have tried to do a bit more thorough testing, find the details below.
>> Hope this helps!
>>
>>>> blablack at igorito:~$ aplay 10\ -\ Track\ 10-L.wav
>>>> ALSA lib confmisc.c:768:(parse_card) cannot find card '0'
>>>> ALSA lib conf.c:4241:(_snd_config_evaluate) function
>>>> snd_func_card_driver returned error: No such file or directory
>>>> ALSA lib confmisc.c:392:(snd_func_concat) error evaluating strings
>>>> ALSA lib conf.c:4241:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_concat
>>>> returned error: No such file or directory
>>>> ALSA lib confmisc.c:1251:(snd_func_refer) error evaluating name
>>>> ALSA lib conf.c:4241:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer
>>>> returned error: No such file or directory
>>>> ALSA lib conf.c:4720:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file
>>>> or directory
>>>> ALSA lib pcm.c:2217:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM default
>>>> aplay: main:682: audio open error: No such file or directory
>>>
>>> What does "aplay -l" show? Also, what does it show on the older Ubuntu
>>> kernel? Is there any difference?
>>
>> That is just me being an idiot. Ubuntu never mounts a USB sound card
>> on the first slot.
>> Compiling with the original Alsa coming from Ubuntu, I get the same error.
>>
>>>> No sound...
>>>> I tried to reboot several times, unplug/replug, checked alsamixer: all
>>>> look fine to me but still no sound.
>>>> Actually, it is not "exactly" no sound: I can see the 4 front leds
>>>> flash very quickly, and I can hear a click in the speakers (with the
>>>> FX, the click is longer due to the reverb, handy to notice it!).
>>>
>>> The 4 front LEDs on the FTU signal input level activity, not output. Is
>>> there anything connected to those inputs?
>>
>> There are stuff plugged on the 3 first inputs (2 for my guitar, 1 for
>> my mic), bit they are all turned off during testing.
>> This click and the 4 leds flash is very similar to the one you have
>> when the FTU is plugged in to the USB port after being turned on.
>> Somehow, when I want to play something, it makes the 4 leds flash + a
>> click/crackle in the speakers.
>>
>>>> IN BOTH CASES, FTU AND UA-25EX
>>>>
>>>> Starting jack result in an immediate freeze of the system.
>>>
>>> I really fail to see any of these issues on my system. I tried with both
>>> jackd and jackd2 and set them to real time priorities and chose 64 bytes
>>> sample frames in PureData. All good, no lockups. Can you describe your
>>> jackd setup? How do you start it?
>>
>> jackd -dalsa -dhw:1 -r48000 -p256 -n3 -Xseq
>>
>>
>> Normal Ubuntu Kernel:
>>        - Compiled with low latency settings
>>        - 3.2.18
>>        - Original Alsa
>>
>>        * FTU
>>                - mplayer: OK
>>                - jack: OK
>>
>>        * UA-25Ex
>>                - mplayer: OK
>>                - jack: OK
>>
>> Ubuntu Kernel + Alsa Git:
>>        - Compiled with low latency settings
>>        - 3.2.18
>>        - Alsa from git alsa-kmirror and alsa-driver
>>        - git alsa-kmirror and alsa-driver fetched today (25th May)
>>
>>        * FTU
>>                - mplayer: plays but no sound
>>                - jack: freezes the whole system
>>
>>        * UA-25Ex
>>                - mplayer: Ok
>>                - jack: freezes the whole system
>>
>> "Pig" Kernel:
>>        - Original Ubuntu Kernel
>>        - 3.2.18
>>        - Compiled with low latency settings
>>        - sound/usb directory from Kernel replaced by sound/usb directory
>> from Takashi's Kernel - thus the name of this setup, "Pig" :) :)
>>
>>        * FTU
>>                - mplayer: I get click + 4 led flash, and then just got half a
>> second of the song before it goes mute. Unplug/Replug, same results
>> (except the sound goes mute after 5/10 sec, tried several times, I
>> couldn't to 15 seconds). Mplayer keeps reading, but there is no sound.
>>                - jack: Works ok, but I have no sound! (was after unplug/replug)
>>
>>        * UA-25Ex
>>                - mplayer: OK
>>                - jack: freezes the whole system
>>
>>
>> Takashi's Kernel:
>>        - Compiled with low latency settings
>>        - 3.4.0
>>        - Alsa from Takashi's kernel
>>        - Fetched today (26th May)
>>
>>        * FTU
>>                - mplayer: I get click + 4 led flash, and then just got half a
>> second of the song before it goes mute. Unplug/Replug, same results
>> (except the sound goes mute after 5/10 sec, tried several times, I
>> couldn't to 15 seconds). Mplayer keeps reading, but there is no sound.
>>                - jack:  Works ok, but I have no sound! (was after unplug/replug)
>>
>>        * UA-25Ex
>>                - mplayer: OK
>>                - jack: OK
>>
>>
>> I hope this will help you find out where the problem is.
>> At least for now I can use the 3.4.0 kernel with the UA-25Ex
>>
>> Let me know if I can provide you with any more details.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Aurélien