On Sat, Nov 22, 2003 at 08:05:30AM -0800, Wolfgang  S. Rupprecht wrote:
>     cmpci0 at pci0 dev 9 function 0: C-Media Electronics, \
>     Inc. CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device (rev. 0x10)
> Most of
> the time the sound is just fine, but every once in a while there is a
> burst of "vibrato" where it seems like the same samples are played a
> few 100ms apart to make a "fast echo".  I'm trying to get a handle on
> whether this is a hardware or driver problem (and if it is a
> manufacturing bug in a single card or a chip design bug).  The
> following posting mentions what I assume is the same bug, but under a
> totally different OS (some MS POS).  It tends to make me think this is
> a chip design problem.
> 
>     http://members.boardhost.com/mcascar/msg/310.html
> 
> Do other folks notice the same thing with CM8738's.  Are these guys
> the Realtek of sound chips (cheap but buggy)?

Hi Wolfgang,

For the last few years all my systems had motherboards with integrated
audio and I just used that.  From August 2002 until March 2003 I used a
CMI8338 integrated in a cheap SiS motherboard, and had no problems.
Currently I am using the ICH4 audio in my motherboard, and my only
complaint is that there is no hardware midi playback.

Another option you can try is USB speakers or headphones.  That way the
audio is sent digitally and is less susceptible to electrical noise from
the bus.  I have a pair of hand-me-down USB speakers that work very well
from NetBSD.  The only problem I encountered is that while playing audio
there seems to be latency for the controls.  So if I turned the volume down
in xmms it would not be immediate, and the delay was psychologically
distracting.  I don't know if this is specific to my model of speakers, or
a problem in general.

uaudio0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0: Microsoft \
Microsoft Digital Sound System 80, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 2

Ben