Description of problem: If I enable the KDE sound system and select "Autodetect" or ALSA for hardware, then audio playback in XMMS with ALSO output plugin is adversely affected by rapid clicking sounds that are most noticeable when the audio is crescendo'ing. If the playback becomes quieter or there is no sound at all (e.g. between music tracks) then the clicking is not discernible. It also happens without xmms playback, if I click the "Test Sound" button within the KDE Sound System Control Center, so I don't think it is XMMS-specific Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): kernel 2.6.22.4-65.fc7 kde 3.5.7-21.fc7 alsa-lib 1.0.14-3.fc7 xmms 1.2.10-36.fc7 xmms-mp3 1.2.10-5.lvn6 How reproducible: always in the above configuration Steps to Reproduce: 1. open the KDE Control Center 2. select Sound System from Sound & Multimedia 3. ensure "Enable the sound system" is on 4. ensure ALSA is chosen in Hardware 5. click the Test Sound button Actual results: irritating clicking sound during audio playback Expected results: clear audio playback Additional info: there is a workaround. Disable the KDE Sound System, then select OSS as XMMS Output Plugin. This combination produces nice clear audio playback. Maybe it is all about ALSA and not really KDE?
Please try to increase aRts' sound buffer and priority (in KDE's Control Center Sound module) to see if that helps.
I've recently installed Fedora 8 and the problem has gone. kernel-2.6.23.14-115.fc8 kdebase-3.5.8-31.fc8 alsa-lib-1.0.15-1.fc8 xmms-1.2.10-36.fc7
glad to hear it!