Graphics, sound and multimedia • USB DAC outputs sound, but cannot adjust volume

Hi everyone,
I have a Raspberry Pi 4 that I am using with a Fosi Audio DAC-Q4 USB DAC. I am able to get sound out of it fine. However, the sound level is low and I cannot get the level to respond to any kind of volume adjustment.

Here is the output of aplay -l

$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones], device 0: bcm2835 Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
Subdevices: 8/8
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
Subdevice #4: subdevice #4
Subdevice #5: subdevice #5
Subdevice #6: subdevice #6
Subdevice #7: subdevice #7
card 1: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 3: AUDIO [USB HIFI AUDIO], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

The alsamixer volume control will not respond to up and down inputs when using the speaker for this device.
login as: simon
simon@spotify.local's password:
Linux spotify 6.6.74+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.6.74-1+rpt1 (2025-01-27) aarch64

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Last login: Sun Feb 2 08:54:14 2025
simon@spotify:~ $ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones], device 0: bcm2835 Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
Subdevices: 8/8
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
Subdevice #4: subdevice #4
Subdevice #5: subdevice #5
Subdevice #6: subdevice #6
Subdevice #7: subdevice #7
card 1: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 3: AUDIO [USB HIFI AUDIO], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0


I notice that the device 'Item' is shown as speaker rather than PCM - could the Pi be detecting the DAC incorrectly?
lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq AlsaMixer v1.2.8 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
x Card: USB HIFI AUDIO F1: Help x
x Chip: USB Mixer F2: System information x
x View: F3:[Playback] F4: Capture F5: All F6: Select sound card x
x Item: Speaker Esc: Exit x

I've spent a couple of days on this, but I'm getting nowhere. The solution seems to be 90% of the way there, I just need it to be louder.

Statistics: Posted by simonlockington — Sun Feb 02, 2025 1:04 am — Replies 0 — Views 13

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