Sound issues with Zorin OS 18.1 Pro and Apple iMac mid 2014

[PHayward]

Good afternoon all,
I am returning to a topic I have raised previously regarding no sound with Zorin 18. I have attached the link to my original post:

Sound issues with Zorin OS 18

Can anyone advise on the correct sound settings in OS 18 to use with an iMac’s built in speakers? The default analogue speakers produces no sound. However if I select either analogue surround 2.1 or analogue surround 4.0 sound works. As far as I am aware my iMac does not have surround sound. Is it ok to use the analogue surround 2.1 setting? Would it cause any damage to the speakers? I followed the help section instructions to no avail. Any help would be appreciated.

With the following settings there is no sound output:

I am using a mid 2014 iMac. If the settings are changed to:

or

Sound is played through one speaker only. It appears to be a driver issue. Has anyone been able to resolve this issue?

Many Thanks
Best regards.

[swarfendor437]

Hi, using Brave search engine using Ubuntu 24.04 in search criteria as that is what Zorin 18 is based on:

" The issue is likely caused by the Cirrus Logic CS8409 audio codec, which is present in 2014–2017 iMacs and often lacks proper driver support in standard Ubuntu kernels, leading to mono or one-sided audio output.

To resolve this, you must install the community-maintained snd_hda_macbookpro driver which specifically supports the CS8409 chip.

Steps to Fix One-Sided Audio on iMac

1. Install Build Dependencies Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gcc linux-headers-generic make patch wget git

2. Install Kernel Source Check your kernel version with uname -r . Download the corresponding linux-source package from the Ubuntu Package Pool if apt install linux-source fails due to HWE/OEM kernel mismatches, then install it:

sudo dpkg -i linux-source-*.deb

3. Compile and Install the Driver Clone the driver repository and run the installation script for the Cirrus Logic chip:

git clone https://github.com/davidjo/snd_hda_macbookpro.git
cd snd_hda_macbookpro
sudo ./install.cirrus.driver.sh
sudo reboot

4. Post-Reboot Configuration

• Verify the driver is loaded by running lsmod | grep cs8409 .
• Open alsamixer in the terminal, press F6 to select the Intel/HDA card, and ensure all channels (Master, Speaker, PCM) are unmuted (press M to toggle from MM to 00 ) and volumes are raised.
• In Ubuntu Settings > Sound , ensure the output device is set to Analogue Stereo Output .

If audio remains one-sided after these steps, use PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol ) to check the Playback and Configuration tabs, ensuring channels are not individually muted and the profile is set to Analogue Stereo Output .

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."