Public bug reported:
The volume slider in the top right / settings menu
does not do what it should do. (Gnome 50?)
99% of the volume slider does nothing, only the first 1% manipulates the
volume.
This is an issue that I've seen in a lot of crappy MS software 20 years
ago, and even in early Ubuntu versions. Somehow it is re-introduced
again.
The solution is simple: the DB scale is not linear.
Software volume scales typically use negative decibels (dBFS), where 0 dB
represents the maximum digital signal level (full scale) and all other levels
are negative values indicating attenuation.
While the dB scale itself is logarithmic, user interfaces often display volume
as a percentage (0% to 100%) that maps to a specific dB range, such as 0% = -60
dB and 100% = 0 dB
Common implementations are:
- Linear sliders with exponential mapping: A slider position $x$ (0 to 1) is
converted to an amplitude multiplier using formulas like $x^4$ to match a 60
dB dynamic range.
- Reference points: A 50% slider position often corresponds to approximately
-20 dB or -6 dB depending on the specific software's calibration, rather than
50% of the maximum volume.
The relationship between the slider value and the actual amplitude is
calculated using the formula: dB=20⋅log 10 (amplitude ratio).
For example, -6 dB corresponds to roughly 50% of the maximum amplitude, while
-20 dB corresponds to roughly 10%.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
Package: alsa-base 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu9
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-10.10-generic 7.0.0-rc4
Uname: Linux 7.0.0-10-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.33.1-0ubuntu7
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
/dev/snd/controlC1: alex 8513 F.... wireplumber
/dev/snd/controlC2: alex 8513 F.... wireplumber
/dev/snd/controlC0: alex 8513 F.... wireplumber
/dev/snd/seq: alex 8500 F.... pipewire
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Tue Mar 31 20:48:04 2026
InstallationDate: Installed on 2025-08-06 (237 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS "Noble Numbat" - Release amd64 (20250215)
MachineType: GMKtec NucBox_EVO-X2
PackageArchitecture: all
PulseList: Error: command ['pacmd', 'list'] failed with exit code 1: No
PulseAudio daemon running, or not running as session daemon.
RebootRequiredPkgs: Error: path contained symlinks.
SourcePackage: alsa-driver
Symptom: audio
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to resolute on 2026-03-27 (4 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 06/06/2025
dmi.bios.release: 1.5
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends International, LLC.
dmi.bios.version: EVO-X2 1.05
dmi.board.asset.tag: Default string
dmi.board.name: GMKtec
dmi.board.vendor: GMKtec
dmi.board.version: Version 1.0
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Default string
dmi.chassis.type: 35
dmi.chassis.vendor: SU
dmi.chassis.version: Default string
dmi.ec.firmware.release: 1.6
dmi.modalias:
dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInternational,LLC.:bvrEVO-X21.05:bd06/06/2025:br1.5:efr1.6:svnGMKtec:pnNucBox_EVO-X2:pvrVersion1.0:rvnGMKtec:rnGMKtec:rvrVersion1.0:cvnSU:ct35:cvrDefaultstring:skuEVO-X2-001:pfaMINI:
dmi.product.family: MINI
dmi.product.name: NucBox_EVO-X2
dmi.product.sku: EVO-X2-001
dmi.product.version: Version 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: GMKtec
** Affects: ubuntu
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: amd64 apport-bug resolute wayland-session
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2146956
Title:
Volume slider is useless again
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