On Mon, Dec 04, 2023 at 12:11:01PM -1000, Joel Roth via Dng wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 04, 2023 at 01:22:31PM -0800, Marc Shapiro via Dng wrote:
> > My sound has recently stopped functioning.  This seems to be all sound,
> > Youtube on Firefox and Xine are both silent.
> >
> > I am using Pulseaudio.
>
> For diagnostic purposes, you could try removing pulseaudio,
> and seeing if you can get output from your soundcard using
> ALSA.
>
> Depending on your use habits, you might be able to manage
> comfortably without PA at all.
>
> AAUI, the main benefit of PA is centralized volume controls.
> For decades the default ALSA device has performed software
> mixing of multiple streams.

Also, I had experiences recently that Firefox completely
captured the sound device while producing no sound, I had to kill and restart
FF to restore sound. Or delete and restore an individual
tab where the process had captured the soundcard.
The FF plugin Switch to Audible Tab can be helpful.

--
Joel Roth