I was lucky enough to find an Ubuntu Forums page, from a user with the same problem: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2185854
I learned how to fix this problem by visiting: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Audio/PositionReporting as suggested in that thread. So: * another user had this same problem, with the same "poulsbo" (gma500) hardware * the fix for that user also fixed my issue -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to alsa-driver in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1478781 Title: [Inspiron 1010, Realtek ALC269, Speaker, Internal] Underruns, dropouts or crackling sound (ie stuttering audio) Status in alsa-driver package in Ubuntu: New Bug description: steps: install a fresh copy of xubuntu (or Ubuntu or Debian . . .) watch any html5 video (that was the only kind of video I could find without installing flash/nonfree packages.) eg: http://www.w3.org/2010/05/video/mediaevents.html (anything from here) or https://youtu.be/kmk43_2dtn0 expected outcome: clear, stutter-free audio. actual outcome: horrible stuttering, so bad it makes me worry it might be harming my system. Thankfully there is a workaround. WORKAROUND: open the file "/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf" add a line that reads "options snd-hda-intel position_fix=1" this fixes the stuttering entirely (except when the CPU is totally maxed out; then video and audio stutter together, which is to be expected) ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04 Package: alsa-base 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu4 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.16.0-45.60~14.04.1-generic 3.16.7-ckt14 Uname: Linux 3.16.0-45-generic i686 ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.11 Architecture: i386 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC0: marion 1879 F.... pulseaudio CurrentDesktop: XFCE Date: Tue Jul 28 01:05:54 2015 PackageArchitecture: all SourcePackage: alsa-driver Symptom: audio Symptom_AlsaPlaybackTest: ALSA playback test through plughw:MID successful Symptom_Card: Built-in Audio - HDA Intel MID Symptom_Jack: Speaker, Internal Symptom_PulsePlaybackTest: PulseAudio playback test successful Symptom_Type: Underruns, dropouts, or "crackling" sound Title: [Inspiron 1010, Realtek ALC269, Speaker, Internal] Underruns, dropouts or crackling sound UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 02/27/2009 dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc. dmi.bios.version: A03 dmi.board.name: 0R990K dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc. dmi.board.version: A03 dmi.chassis.asset.tag: ********** dmi.chassis.type: 8 dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc. dmi.chassis.version: A03 dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA03:bd02/27/2009:svnDellInc.:pnInspiron1010:pvrA03:rvnDellInc.:rn0R990K:rvrA03:cvnDellInc.:ct8:cvrA03: dmi.product.name: Inspiron 1010 dmi.product.version: A03 dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc. mtime.conffile..etc.modprobe.d.alsa.base.conf: 2015-07-28T00:36:08.224102 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/alsa-driver/+bug/1478781/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages Post to : touch-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
