No sound on Raspberry Pi using DVI

I know this is an old topic, but I have a Raspberry Pi with HDMI to VGA converter and I can make audio work both through the audio output of the converter and the built-in audio jack in RISC OS Pi. Here is an excerpt from my CONFIG.TXT:

hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=17
#Uncomment lines below for analog audio output
#hdmi_ignore_edid_audio=1
#disable_audio_dither=1
#Uncomment lines below for HDMI audio output
#hdmi_drive=2
#hdmi_force_edid_audio=1

The first three lines force video output through HDMI even if no HDMI device is detected. This confuses the Pi about how to deal with audio, so the further options are needed.
First option is to use the built-in audio output port. The “hdmi_ignore_edid_audio=1” tells the Pi that there is no device connected capable to process digital sound, and effectively makes it use the built-in audio jack for output. I also had to use “disable_audio_dither=1” to get rid of a noise that appeared as a side effect of this change.
I use second option to pass the audio through the adapter. Both “hdmi_drive=2” and “hdmi_force_edid_audio=1” are needed in my case (without the latter option I don’t get sound after first boot, only after reboot).

I should also mention that you can’t use all sound options simultaneously to have audio output both through HDMI and analogue output port, because they seem to be mutally exclusive.

Thanks Christopher! I now, for the first time, have sound coming out of the headphone socket of my Raspberry Pi 2. :-)

I also use a HDMI-to-VGA adapter (the one by CAMAC).

The first thing I did to test for sound output was hit F12 and press CTRL+G (I got the beep). Then I booted up Anthony Bartram’s ‘Overlord’ game and was duly treated to the sounds of his synths.

I know that this is still an old thread but I have found it to be very useful, however, I feel I need to add a note that on my current TV the settings for the HDMI were the same except the hdmi_mode which was:

hdmi_mode=82

I’m posting this as much for my own future reference as anything because my memory is rubbish but hopefully it will be useful for someone!

Finally have the dulcet tones of Synth Space Music blasting out from my £3 charity shop bargain desktop speakers!

I’m happy to hear that you found my hints useful! With RC15, thing are much easier (tested on RPi B+, 2 and 3). The HDMI output now works out of the box, without any additional configuration. And if you want to use the 3.5mm audio jack for output, just put the following lines in !Boot.Loader.CONFIG/TXT:

hdmi_ignore_edid_audio=1
audio_pwm_mode=2

The second parameter improves the sound quality and reduces annoying hissing you may hear, especially when using headphones.

Christopher

The second parameter improves the sound quality and reduces annoying hissing you may hear, especially when using headphones.

Thanks for this tip; I have the hissing at the moment so I’ll need to give it a try.

Edit: Success! Much better than the old “disable_audio_dither” or whatever it was.