I'm dual booting between Windows and Linux Ubuntu on my ASUS Zenbook S14, and I've noticed a huge drop in audio quality while using Linux. Windows has clear, surround sound, but Linux sounds really tinny and cheap. I've tried following a tutorial to adjust the PulseAudio settings, but the steps got complicated when I encountered some unfamiliar terms in my configuration files. I checked `alsamixer` and it shows that my sound card is PipeWire. I'm currently using Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS. If I can't fix this, I might have to give up and go back to Windows, which I don't want to do. I have also been experiencing other issues with my laptop on Ubuntu, such as problems with the touchpad and function keys. Should I try switching to a different distro like Fedora? I noticed some collective feedback suggesting Fedora worked better for others with similar audio issues, but I'm worried about the switch since I'm a beginner and just started learning about Linux. Any help would be appreciated!
3 Answers
Definitely try all updates after installation to ensure everything is up to date. You can run `sudo apt update` followed by `sudo apt upgrade`, and then reboot your system. If that doesn't fix the audio issue, I'd recommend using Ventoy to create a USB with multiple distros on it. You can boot from them and see if the sound quality is better before committing to a full install. Mint and Fedora are usually solid choices to start with!
I went through something similar! Before switching distros entirely, make sure you've run the updates. Sometimes running those commands works wonders. But if you're still not satisfied, trying out distros via USB is a smart move! I ended up trying Fedora after hearing good things about it, and surprisingly, the audio quirk was fixed for me. It was a bit of a hassle to set up, but worth it!
It sounds like you're dealing with some common audio hardware issues on ASUS laptops, especially concerning Linux. One thing you could try is to install a more recent kernel version; you can do that by running this command: `sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-24.04`. This might help with the audio quality. Alternatively, you could consider trying a distro with a newer kernel like Fedora or Manjaro, which might improve the experience in general.
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