CMI 8788 soundcard - Asus Xonar D2

[marakaid]

Hi,
I am considering buying a Xonar D2 soundcard, after reading this page http://www.alsa-project.org/main/ind...ClemensLadisch I think the card feature set available at the moment is good enough, but there is one thing I can't find info about: Hwmix support.

I want to know if the CMI8788 sound chip can support hardware mixing like my Audigy and Live cards do now, and when it could be available or if it's planned in the future.

Thanks in advance.

[deanjo]

The CMI8788 does not have hardware mixing support. That being said, I own a X-Meridian which has the same chipset and the support in linux is extremely good. I haven't had an issue with it in linux, windows, or os x.

[marakaid]

Card arrived today, I got it working by recompiling Alsa. Does seem to work correctly.

I have tested it with some mp3 (new details in some songs) and Quake Wars with stereo heaphones, need to test microphone and surround 5.1 speakers.

[Paroxysm]

Card arrived today, I got it working by recompiling Alsa. Does seem to work correctly.

I have tested it with some mp3 (new details in some songs) and Quake Wars with stereo heaphones, need to test microphone and surround 5.1 speakers.

I am wondering how did you do the recompiling I sort of get it but in the instructions it mentions about the fully configured source what is that? I have downloaded the newest CMI8788 driver where do I go from there?

Quick install
=============

1) You must have full configured source for the Linux kernel which you
want to use for the ALSA drivers. Note that ALSA drivers are part
of the kernel, so there is necessary to resolve all symbol dependencies
between the used kernel and ALSA driver code. Partly installed kernels
(for example from distributor makers) can be unuseable for this action.

2) You must turn on sound support (soundcore module).

3) Run './configure' script.

* General Options
If you do not want ISA PnP support, use --with-isapnp=no switch.
If you do not want sequencer support, use --with-sequencer=no switch.
If you do not want OSS/Free emulation, use --with-oss=no switch.
If you have udev or devfs and want to use more than eight cards, use
--enable-dynamic-minors switch.
If you want to turn on debug mode, use --with-debug=full switch.
If you want to debug soundcard detection, try --with-debug=detect switch.

* Kernel Source Tree
On 2.4/2.6 kernels, the location of the kernel source tree is
parsed automatilly from the running kernel.
If it's not in the standard place, specify the path via
--with-kernel=<kernel_directory>.
On 2.6 kernels, the build directory has to be given via
--with-build=<kernel_build_dir> option additionally, too.

* Drivers to Compile
The card drivers to be compiled can be selected via --with-cards option.
Pass the card driver name without "snd-" prefix. To specify
multiple drivers, list names with comma (,).
Passing "all" will compile all possible drivers (and this is the
default choice).
Some drivers have compile options. They can be passed via
--with-card-options option. Multiple options can be passed with comma,
too. The default is "all".
For available cards and options, see ./configure --help.

* Example
./configure --with-debug=full
./configure --with-cards=sb16,emu10k1 --with-card-options=sb16-csp

[Aradreth]

I am wondering how did you do the recompiling I sort of get it but in the instructions it mentions about the fully configured source what is that? I have downloaded the newest CMI8788 driver where do I go from there?

Search your distributions repositories for kernel-headers download them and you should be good to go.
if your distro is using kernel 2.6.25 with alsa built in or alsa 1.0.16 you shouldn't need to built the drivers.

[marakaid]

I was using Ubuntu Gutsy (includes Alsa 1.0.15) and downloaded ALSA 1.0.16. Compilation was done with the help of module-assistant.

Latest Ubuntu Hardy has ALSA 1.0.16 included, card should work "out of the box".

[Paroxysm]

The sound card I installed is XonarDX(Asus)PCIe 7.1 and my OS is Ubuntu Hardy not sure if this helps

[Aradreth]

The sound card I installed is XonarDX(Asus)PCIe 7.1 and my OS is Ubuntu Hardy not sure if this helps

The drive should be avaliable to you already; no need to compile it.

[in0v8]

I have been working on installing the Asus Xonar DX for quite a time now... it's fine on 32-bit Ubuntu Gutsy, with great sound, but doesn't work at all on 64-bit Ubuntu Hardy. I've tried the most recent ALSA release, and OSS, and even a compile with the ia32-libs installed in case a 32-bit compatibility layer was the issue.

What is noticeable, from hours of Googling, is that the people who have functioning Xonars on Linux, either 32 or 64-bit, are using the D2, which is a PCI card, unlike the DX or D2X (both PCIe). I guess this is somehow significant?

[deanjo]

I have been working on installing the Asus Xonar DX for quite a time now... it's fine on 32-bit Ubuntu Gutsy, with great sound, but doesn't work at all on 64-bit Ubuntu Hardy. I've tried the most recent ALSA release, and OSS, and even a compile with the ia32-libs installed in case a 32-bit compatibility layer was the issue.

What is noticeable, from hours of Googling, is that the people who have functioning Xonars on Linux, either 32 or 64-bit, are using the D2, which is a PCI card, unlike the DX or D2X (both PCIe). I guess this is somehow significant?

I recently did a build for a friend using the Xonar DX and opensuse 11.0 64-bit picked up and installed it from the get go.