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Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

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Re: Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

#3

Post by jolmg »

mcraiha wrote: post #2

Related, VLC Media Player destroyed Dell speakers thread https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/VLC...

I wouldn't blame VLC. Here's the response from main VLC developer:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7205875

I agree with them that when using the official API for whatever-X, you can't be blamed when X fails. Whatever X is, it should be built to cover all uses of its official interface.

In the case of VLC, that X is the Dell sound hardware, which can't handle certain uses because of a power incompatibility between the Dell sound card and the Dell speakers.

Reminds me of a case long ago where a GUI program took blame because it sometimes caused the X11 server to crash. That was clearly a bug on the X11 server side, too. A server should be built such that it's impossible for a client to crash it.

Re: Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

#6

Post by timw4mail »

capableweb wrote: post #5
timw4mail wrote: post #4

Now I wonder if a piezo beeper would be more plausible or less plausible to blow?

PC Speakers commonly are piezo beepers, but that's probably "recent".

Well yes, but peizo beepers were much less common when the PC speaker was commonly used for games, or just as the main sound output.

Re: Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

#7

Post by Someone »

timw4mail wrote: post #6
capableweb wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PC Speakers commonly are piezo beepers, but that's probably "recent".

Well yes, but peizo beepers were much less common when the PC speaker was commonly used for games, or just as the main sound output.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_speaker

Re: Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

#8

Post by frostyiguana »

All I can say in my early Linux years is I tried to redirect /dev/cpu to my speakers (maybe something in /dev/snd), and it made one of the loudest sound my quite huge speakers could make. and volume wasn't so high..

I tried that because I was curious, since everything is a file, then surely cpu processing things to become a sound right ? :)

(if you try this please make sure to get that into a pcm/wav file, and reduce the amplitude of that file _first_)

Re: Can *YOU* blow a PC speaker using only a Linux kernel driver?

#9

Post by kevingadd »

jolmg wrote: post #3
mcraiha wrote: post #2

Related, VLC Media Player destroyed Dell speakers thread https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/VLC...

I wouldn't blame VLC. Here's the response from main VLC developer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7205875 I agree with them that when using the official API for whatever-X, you can't be blamed when X fails. Whatever X is, it should be built to cover all uses of its official interface. In the case of VLC, that X is the Dell sound hardware, which can't handle certain uses because of a power incompatibility betwee…

I always get a little nervous when really messed up audio gets sent through my semi-expensive speakers... "are they designed for this? did I just ruin them by playing a game with a buggy audio mixer?"
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