USB Audio almost working – what am I missing?
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Raspberry Pi 3B with "Official" power supply, no overclocking
Installed Retropie 4.7.1 (RPI2/3) direct from Raspberry Pi Imager
Linux Kernel vn = 5.4.72-v7+Connected USB devices are
- Keyboard (when needed)
- SoundBlaster “Digital Music LX” external sound device (USB powered, plays through stereo amplifier)
- Joystick game controller (homemade based on “Dragonrise Inc. Generic USB Joystick” encoder)
- Video output is HDMI into VGA converter, no headphone plugged in to the Pi
I followed https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Sound-Issues/#using-a-usb-audio-device
- Step 1: Edited config.txt to include dtparam=audio=off and rebooted
- Step 2: Chose "Audio Card" 'default' in emulationstation
- Step 3: Chose "Audio Device" (ie "mixer")
Starting any game shows a list of alsa lib error messages, and no sound
I couldn't work out the steps (at the end of the "Sound Issues" page) to add a custom audio card to es_systems.cfg, I don't know enough to work out what "the name of the audio card" actually is nor which .cfg file to edit.
One link from near the bottom of the “Sound Issues” page says to use this command to find the “index number” of my USB output device:#code block pi@retropie:~ $ cat /proc/asound/modules 1 snd_usb_audioIt looks to me like I need the usb index to be 0
This page had some clues: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/26434/usb-audio-broke-after-latest-updates/2?_=1625115045266
I found this page which addresses index numbers - https://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/2019/06/using-a-usb-audio-device-with-the-raspberry-pi/I edited /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf to change these two lines from 0 to 1:
#edit defaults.ctl.card 1 defaults.pcm.card 1Almost there! Now I’ve got some sound! – EmulationStation menu makes clicks, and a sample game makes the right noises.
BUT: some things are missing which I guess are related to disabling the on-board audio. Can anyone point me to the best way to make the rest work? The configuration controls are not working, here are the details.# Main Menu - Sound Settings System Volume always shows 0% (but can be adjusted before being forgotten again) Audio Card - Default Audio Device - PCM Navigation Sounds - On Enable video audio - On OMX player device – I’ve tried them all!# RetroPie Configuration - Audio: Error message "Iv10 (etc...) failed to find mixer elements" Pop-up window shows "On-board audio disabled or not present" "OK" is the only choiceHere are the relevant system outputs from Linux
# code block pi@retropie:~ lsusb Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0079:0006 DragonRise Inc. PC TWIN SHOCK Gamepad Bus 001 Device 005: ID 041e:3015 Creative Technology, Ltd Sound Blaster Digital Music LX Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0c45:7300 Microdia *(my keyboard)* Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0424:7800 Standard Microsystems Corp. Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub# code block pi@retropie:~ $ aplay -l **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices **** card 1: Audio [USB Audio], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio] Subdevices: 1/1 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0# code block pi@retropie:~ $ aplay -L null Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture) default:CARD=Audio USB Audio, USB Audio Default Audio Device sysdefault:CARD=Audio USB Audio, USB Audio Default Audio Device front:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio Front speakers surround21:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers surround40:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers surround41:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers surround50:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers surround51:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers surround71:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio 7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers iec958:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output dmix:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio Direct sample mixing device dsnoop:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio Direct sample snooping device hw:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio Direct hardware device without any conversions plughw:CARD=Audio,DEV=0 USB Audio, USB Audio Hardware device with all software conversionsAny help will be most welcome!
PS: I'm sorry I don't know how to control the colours in the "code blocks", it's the first time I've ever come across such things. -
@viragored Update:
alsamixer is opening from the command line, showing the volume setting for the USB card, which is the only available device.
But I can't reach alsamixer from the RetroPie configuration menu - details in the first post. -
@viragored What's the name of the mixer, shown in
alsamixer's screen (top-left) ? This is what you should set as 'AudioDevice' in EmulationStation. -
@mitu Thanks a lot for your reply.
Alsamixer shows this at the top left of its screen:#Clip from Alsamixer Card: USB Audio Chip: USB Mixer View: F3:[Playback] F4: Capture F5: All Item: Speaker [dB gain: -3.81, -3.81]The options that EmulationStation offers for Audio Device are:
- PCM (my current selection)
- HDMI
- Headphones
- Speaker
- Master
- Digital
- Analogue
("USB Audio" is not there!)
The options that alsamixer offers with f6 are:
# alsamixer options - (default) 1 USB Audio enter device name...Any further suggestions will be most helpful :-)
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@viragored said in USB Audio almost working – what am I missing?:
Chip: USB Mixer
The mixer name for your device is not in the list that ES shows. You'll need to add it manually to the configuration file - as detailed here.
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@mitu Thanks once more! Sadly I'm still fairly confused and haven't made any actual progress. I'm not skilled in Linux and hope I've done the right things. Games are making the right sounds, and the ES menu clicks are audible.
Here's what I've tried after spending a lot of time on the page you linked:First: edit es_settings .cfg to include "USB Mixer", as you'd highlighted that. Then I tried "USB Audio" instead, both gave the same result.
pi@retropie:~ $ sudo nano /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/es_settings.cfg <string name="AudioCard" value="default" /> <string name="AudioDevice" value="USB Mixer" /> # I also tried "USB Audio" in the AudioDevice lineThen I tried following the steps on the same page to "Add a Custom Audio Device (Audio Mixer)"
This is the output from the amixer command:pi@retropie:~ $ amixer scontrols -D default Simple mixer control 'Speaker',0 Simple mixer control 'PCM Capture Source',0 Simple mixer control 'Line',0 Simple mixer control 'Mic',0 Simple mixer control 'IEC958 In',0 Simple mixer control 'Auto Gain Control',0I tried "Speaker" as an option in es_settings.cfg
Still no improvement or change - game sounds and menu clicks are working, the "main menu" always shows System Volume to be 0%, and there's no access to alsamixer from the RetroPie configuration menu.When opening either a game or the configuration menu, an error message appears briefly - it's something like <date/time> Iv10: VolumeControl ::init() failed to find mixer elements.
In the RetroPie configuration menu / Audio a window box pops up saying"On-board audio disabled or not present" < OK >That's consistent with my edit to config.txt to turn off the on-board audio, as recommended on the "Sound Issues" page
dtparam=audio=offWould my best option actually be to turn the on-board audio on again, and then find out how to make the USB audio work alongside that? Or is that even more complex and likely to be beyond me?
Sorry if this is all obvious stuff to people who are at home with Raspberry Pi and Linux - I'm trying to learn and appreciate any help I get! -
Try with:
<string name="AudioCard" value="default" /> <string name="AudioDevice" value="Speaker" /> -
@mitu Many thanks for such a quick reply! Some progress...
I've edited es_settings.cfg as you suggested.
Game sounds and menu clicks both are working and now games open without any error message.
In "Main Menu" / "Sound Settings" the System Volume shows a true value, is adjustable and the setting is retained.#Current Main Menu Audio settings are: Audio Card = default Audio Device = Speaker OMX = SpeakerThe RetroPie configuration menu / Audio also opens without an error message.
The pop-up window box still reports "On-board audio disabled etc..." but basically it's all working :-)Thanks once again!!
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@viragored said in USB Audio almost working – what am I missing?:
The pop-up window box still reports "On-board audio disabled etc..." but basically it's all working :-)
That's ok, the Audio menu is meant to configure only the on-board audio, hence the message. External (USB/GPIO) sound cards are not supported.
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