Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:44:43 +0200 From: Alexander Motin <mav@FreeBSD.org> To: "O. Hartmann" <ohartman@mail.zedat.fu-berlin.de> Cc: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: PCIe audio cards: what is tob be preferred with FreeBSD 8.0/9-CURRENT? Message-ID: <4B5CBF4B.2040205@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <1264364581.00211056.1264351201@10.7.7.3> References: <1264364581.00211056.1264351201@10.7.7.3>
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O. Hartmann wrote: > Well, > At this very moment I utilise a M-Audio 5.1 PCI-audio board with which > I'm really satisfied. My next box doesn't have PCI slots at all (ASUS > P6T6-WS Revolution) and due to the fact I'm using Windows 7 sometimes > for recreational gaming, I'd like to have a moderate expensive audio > board with the workstation which is supported by FreeBSD 8/9. In the > past - means two or three ywars ago, I had problems with Soundblaster > PCIe boards, so I was recommended avoiding those and choosing the more > elabotrated M-Audio cards for the PCI bus. > At this moment, I look for the Soundblaster X-Fi range of PCIe cards, > but I'm not sure whether they are supported by FreeBSd 8/9. Any > suggestions? I would first test on-board HDA codec, placed on that motherboard. They are free and usually work with FreeBSD just out of the box, using snd_hda driver. Now snd_hda and snd_uaudio are only two drivers supporting multichannel playback. If you need analog connection, snd_hda can usually provide multichannel 24bit/192kHz playback. But also it supports digital SPDIF I/O, including AC3/DTS pass-through. Together with SPDIF-connected external audio receiver, even simple HDA codec could become very interesting high-quality choice. Personally I am completely fulfilled with combination of simple Realtek HDA codec, digitally connected via SPDIF to Marantz SR4001 receiver, loaded to the full-sized Eltax 7.1 speaker set. Previously I was using Creative Audigy2 ZS, but now it just collecting dust in my table. It works, but I really don't need it. PS: If you want to look cool, you may use optical SPDIF connection. :) -- Alexander Motin
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