Re: (audio) My audio is no longer stereo
I first noticed when viewing YouTube. So, I tried "audio test" from System Setting (KDE here). You get a popup, with "front left" and "front right" buttons. And, sure enough, depending on headphone, only mono was coming out, left side only, right side only, or to both sides. On 2025-09-21 23:46, Karen Lewellen wrote:
William May I ask what is providing the audio for you? Before suggesting some possible causes, I would appreciate a better picture of your setup. Karen
On Sun, 21 Sep 2025, William Park via Talk wrote:
I'm using 3.5mm jack, not USB. I don't think any internal contact is broken, because it's the same via front "headphone" or rear "line-out".
On 2025-09-21 22:14, Don Tai wrote:
Do you use an audio jack or USB? If an audio jack, it is possible that the contacts are dirty and need cleaning. You can try a little electrical contact cleaner. But this should not affect the stereo/mono settings.
On Sun, 21 Sept 2025 at 22:11, William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
My audio used to work properly in stereo. All of sudden, it stopped working in stereo. Depending on headphones, - only 1 side has sound, or - both sides have sound, but it's mono (ie. same sound on both side).
Anyone experienced this? How long before the whole motherboard dies? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/2IYO2YZ...
Not sure if I misread the situation. But have you ruled out a software issue? Maybe some inadvertent change to your configuration. Try booting from a USB to see if same behavior. On Mon, Sep 22, 2025, at 1:26 AM, William Park via Talk wrote:
I first noticed when viewing YouTube. So, I tried "audio test" from System Setting (KDE here). You get a popup, with "front left" and "front right" buttons. And, sure enough, depending on headphone, only mono was coming out, left side only, right side only, or to both sides.
On 2025-09-21 23:46, Karen Lewellen wrote:
William May I ask what is providing the audio for you? Before suggesting some possible causes, I would appreciate a better picture of your setup. Karen
On Sun, 21 Sep 2025, William Park via Talk wrote:
I'm using 3.5mm jack, not USB. I don't think any internal contact is broken, because it's the same via front "headphone" or rear "line-out".
On 2025-09-21 22:14, Don Tai wrote:
Do you use an audio jack or USB? If an audio jack, it is possible that the contacts are dirty and need cleaning. You can try a little electrical contact cleaner. But this should not affect the stereo/mono settings.
On Sun, 21 Sept 2025 at 22:11, William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
My audio used to work properly in stereo. All of sudden, it stopped working in stereo. Depending on headphones, - only 1 side has sound, or - both sides have sound, but it's mono (ie. same sound on both side).
Anyone experienced this? How long before the whole motherboard dies? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/2IYO2YZ...
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yes, I was also going to suggest software as well. Can you try a USB headset, and do the same test? As for a bad audio jack, it is also possible that the soldered electrical contacts have cracked with age. You could, if you can, reheat the audio jack contacts with a soldering iron and remelt them. They should be quite large and easy to access, but you'll need to crack open your computer and motherboard, which is a pain. On Mon, 22 Sept 2025 at 07:35, bitmap via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
Not sure if I misread the situation. But have you ruled out a software issue? Maybe some inadvertent change to your configuration. Try booting from a USB to see if same behavior.
On Mon, Sep 22, 2025, at 1:26 AM, William Park via Talk wrote:
I first noticed when viewing YouTube. So, I tried "audio test" from System Setting (KDE here). You get a popup, with "front left" and "front right" buttons. And, sure enough, depending on headphone, only mono was coming out, left side only, right side only, or to both sides.
On 2025-09-21 23:46, Karen Lewellen wrote:
William May I ask what is providing the audio for you? Before suggesting some possible causes, I would appreciate a better picture of your setup. Karen
On Sun, 21 Sep 2025, William Park via Talk wrote:
I'm using 3.5mm jack, not USB. I don't think any internal contact is broken, because it's the same via front "headphone" or rear "line-out".
On 2025-09-21 22:14, Don Tai wrote:
Do you use an audio jack or USB? If an audio jack, it is possible that the contacts are dirty and need cleaning. You can try a little electrical contact cleaner. But this should not affect the stereo/mono settings.
On Sun, 21 Sept 2025 at 22:11, William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
My audio used to work properly in stereo. All of sudden, it stopped working in stereo. Depending on headphones, - only 1 side has sound, or - both sides have sound, but it's mono (ie. same sound on both side).
Anyone experienced this? How long before the whole motherboard dies? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at
https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/2IYO2YZ...
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Hi William, A couple of test ideas and questions. Indeed my first wonder would be if anything at all has changed software wise? Say a Linux upgrade that might have changed your audio configuration, or even something that needs you to update the package managing our audio. Second, is this happening with all kinds of content? Try listening to a radio station, if this is possible, to a physical cd if this is possible, to an actual music audio file. Even though Scott feels it might not be the issue, I would check those sliders if there is a control for them. Third, do you have physical speakers that fit into your 3.5 jack? Would let you test if indeed the jack itself is the issue. You referenced your motherboard..does that mean your sound is chip set based, instead of a sound card? granted, not only am I an audiophile, but sound is part of my job. While using a USB boot might help you check the software, I am not, speaking personally, very fond of USB headphones and so forth..I am one of those who can hear the difference smiley face. Karen
participants (4)
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bitmap -
Don Tai -
Karen Lewellen -
William Park