Sound Updates For Linux 3.20 Improve HP Laptops, Other Features

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Sound Updates For Linux 3.20 Improve HP Laptops, Other Features

The sound changes for the Linux 3.20 kernel aren't too incredibly exciting but there's some improvements for HP laptops, support for some new audio hardware, and a variety of other changes...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-3.20-Kernel-Sound

[duby229]

I know a lot of folks are going to disagree with me, but I don't like alsa. Yeah, sure you get sound, but that's not good enough. I can see putting audio codec drivers in the kernel, but the sound system really needs to be in userspace. (For obvious reasons)

Personally I've been hoping for some replacement for the past 8 years.

[DebianLinuxero]

My all time request :

-Complete and decent drivers for Sound Blaster X-FI, with all the support Creative Labs promised for it about 7 years ago.


5 years ago I was deciding which soundcard to buy. My first choice was Asus Xonar D1.
But Creative Labs promised to release a full featured X-FI driver for Linux, with support even for EAX.
So I changed my mind and bought the X-FI.

You know the rest of the history.

Today, the driver of X-FI still sucks.

[duby229]

My all time request :

-Complete and decent drivers for Sound Blaster X-FI, with all the support Creative Labs promised for it about 7 years ago.


5 years ago I was deciding which soundcard to buy. My first choice was Asus Xonar D1.
But Creative Labs promised to release a full featured X-FI driver for Linux, with support even for EAX.
So I changed my mind and bought the X-FI.

You know the rest of the history.

Today, the driver of X-FI still sucks.

With CPU's being what they are, there isn't any need for that much hardware. I pretty much exclusively recommend cmedia 8770 or 8788 for the time being. As long as you have a PCI slot open.

Big fan of HT Omega.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001

[duby229]

This one has a 8828 cmedia chipset, but not sure about linux drivers. I haven't used one yet.

HT | OMEGA FENIX 7.1 chipset

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271008

[Zan Lynx]

I know a lot of folks are going to disagree with me, but I don't like alsa. Yeah, sure you get sound, but that's not good enough. I can see putting audio codec drivers in the kernel, but the sound system really needs to be in userspace. (For obvious reasons)

Personally I've been hoping for some replacement for the past 8 years.

Are you sure that you know what ALSA does? From what you wrote here, I don't think that you understand it...

[duby229]

Are you sure that you know what ALSA does? From what you wrote here, I don't think that you understand it...

Yeah, I understand it. Alsa is a PCM interface that device drivers can be written for. There are a couple of major problems with it though. All alsa drivers don't implement the interface exactly the same way, The HDA driver tries to fix it somewhat by throwing all the AC97 capable drivers into a single monolith, but that doesn't solve the problem, it only hides the problem behind a monolith. This is why Pulse Audio has so much problems with alsa except on hardware supported by HDA.

The second major problem is the alsa interface is only exposed to userspace by a device sink. There is -no- userspace service. There is no possibility of per application volume control, or for jack detection or redirection, or for mixing inputs from multiple sources. That's where PA comes in, is to provide a hacked means to work around that. But as long as alsa drivers continue implementing differing alsa interfaces PA is going to continue being broken on everything but HDA.

It's time for alsa to be replaced.

[duby229]

We -need- a highly standardized sound interface, with a userspace service. That's obviously not alsa.

[JS987]

The second major problem is the alsa interface is only exposed to userspace by a device sink. There is -no- userspace service. There is no possibility of per application volume control, or for jack detection or redirection, or for mixing inputs from multiple sources. That's where PA comes in, is to provide a hacked means to work around that. But as long as alsa drivers continue implementing differing alsa interfaces PA is going to continue being broken on everything but HDA.

It's time for alsa to be replaced.

Per application volume control is just audio filter which any application can support.
Audio filters distorts sound. Sound won't be distorted only with hardware volume using amplifier gain which means per application volume control isn't possible without distortion.

[duby229]

Per application volume control is just audio filter which any application can support.
Audio filters distorts sound. Sound won't be distorted only with hardware volume using amplifier gain which means per application volume control isn't possible without distortion.

Which is exactly why there needs to be a corresponding userspace service for the sound interface.