[Leaplist] A decent Sound card

[Bryan J Smith]

On Tue, 2008-12-09 at 20:43 -0500, Bryan J Smith wrote:
> I know there are a couple of codecs/ASICs out there that are solid 5.1
> and/or 7.1 audio cards with 96kHz output, and you can find them in "no
> frills" OEM cards for sub-$25.  Just don't know them off-hand, because I
> haven't bought any in years.  The other members may know.
> At the same time, the built-in ALC600/800 series codecs are "good
> enough" for basic 44.1/48kHz audio in many cases.  More than enough to
> play back compressed, digital music like MP3, although AC3 and surround
> support may vary.

I've noted a number of 6-channel (5.1) cards based on the ForteMedia
FM800 series that are dirt cheap, but work in Linux.  I cannot attest to
their quality, etc...  
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Vendor-Fortemedia  

I also noted a number of 8-channel (7.1) cards based on the C-Media
CM8700 series, heavily the CM8738/8768/8768+ in many, many products.
Their reviews vary, although I have no idea of ToshLink (optical) works
or not under Linux under various cards.  
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Vendor-C-Media  

Again, these days, a lot of systems are coming with the ALC600
(6-channel) and ALC800 (8-channel) on the mainboard.  They are designed
to be drop-in AC'97 / Intel i810 replacements, many (and virtually all
new ones) supporting the full Intel HD Audio specification.
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Module-hda-intel   

A few might have the AD1880/1980 series on-board as well:  
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Vendor-Analog_Devices  

Just some "modinfo" lines from my Fedora notebook ...  

$ /sbin/modinfo snd-fm801
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686/kernel/sound/pci/snd-fm801.ko
description:    ForteMedia FM801
...
parm:           index:Index value for the FM801 soundcard. (array of int)
parm:           id:ID string for the FM801 soundcard. (array of charp)
parm:           enable:Enable FM801 soundcard. (array of bool)
parm:           tea575x_tuner:Enable TEA575x tuner. (array of int)

$ /sbin/modinfo snd-cmipci
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686/kernel/sound/pci/snd-cmipci.ko
description:    C-Media CMI8x38 PCI
...
parm:           index:Index value for C-Media PCI soundcard. (array of int)
parm:           id:ID string for C-Media PCI soundcard. (array of charp)
parm:           enable:Enable C-Media PCI soundcard. (array of bool)
parm:           mpu_port:MPU-401 port. (array of long)
parm:           fm_port:FM port. (array of long)
parm:           soft_ac3:Sofware-conversion of raw SPDIF packets (model 033 only). (array of bool)
parm:           joystick_port:Joystick port address. (array of int)

filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko
description:    Intel HDA driver
...
parm:           power_save:Automatic power-saving timeout (in second, 0 = disable). (int)
parm:           index:Index value for Intel HD audio interface. (array of int)
parm:           id:ID string for Intel HD audio interface. (array of charp)
parm:           enable:Enable Intel HD audio interface. (array of bool)
parm:           model:Use the given board model. (array of charp)
parm:           position_fix:Fix DMA pointer (0 = auto, 1 = none, 2 = POSBUF). (array of int)
parm:           bdl_pos_adj:BDL position adjustment offset. (array of int)
parm:           probe_mask:Bitmask to probe codecs (default = -1). (array of int)
parm:           single_cmd:Use single command to communicate with codecs (for debugging only). (bool)
parm:           enable_msi:Enable Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI) (int)
parm:           power_save_controller:Reset controller in power save mode. (bool)

$ /sbin/modinfo snd-ad1889
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-41.fc9.i686/kernel/sound/pci/snd-ad1889.ko
description:    Analog Devices AD1889 ALSA sound driver
...
parm:           index:Index value for the AD1889 soundcard. (array of int)
parm:           id:ID string for the AD1889 soundcard. (array of charp)
parm:           enable:Enable AD1889 soundcard. (array of bool)
parm:           ac97_quirk:AC'97 workaround for strange hardware. (array of charp)



-- 
Bryan J  Smith                Professional, Technical Annoyance
Mugshot Homepage:  http://mugshot.org/person?who=58wDcGKx6NcZAb
---------------------------------------------------------------
           Fission Power:  An Inconvenient Solution            


-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.