Re: hdsp multiface pci.

[Mark Knecht <markknecht@attbi.com>]

Roger,
   First, thanks for taking time to follow this through with me. This
has been helpful and I do at least feel like I'm starting to understand
what the software is tying to do.

   When I tried some amixer commands I was disappointed to find that
they do nothing at all on my machine. No command I tried seems to
control volume to my headphones or speakers at all.

   I guess the HDSP 9652 is not supported at this time. Makes me feel
like I bought the wrong product. 

   Anyway, I will continue to study and understand this stuff and hope
that one day some of these features actually work. Thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Mark

On Mon, 2003-01-20 at 06:25, Roger Williams wrote:
> >>>>> Mark Knecht <markknecht@attbi.com> writes:
> 
>   > I can think of my HDSP mixer as a device with 52 inputs and 26
>   > outputs. 
> 
> In the case of the 9652, you don't have headphone outputs, so you
> don't have the Digiface's 27th and 28th outputs.
> 
>   > 1) 26 mixer inputs come from the HDSP's physical inputs 
>   > - numbered 0-25 in the mixer
>   > - called Alsa_pcm:capture_1 - 26 in Jack
> 
> Yup.
> 
>   > 2) 26 mixer inputs come from the Alsa:playback group
>   > - numbered 26-51 in the mixer
>   > - called Alsa_pcm:playback_1 - 26 in Jack
> 
> Yup.
> 
>   > 1) 26 mixer outputs come from the mixer
>   > - numbered 0-25 out of the mixer
> 
> Yup.
> 
>   > By default, the HDSP driver then takes the Alsa_pcm:playback group
>   > and hooks them to (more or less) matching output destinations:
> 
> Perhaps, but I'm not sure about that.  I always explicitly set up the
> HDSP mixer routes.  I just removed all of my ALSA modules, removed the
> HDSP Cardbus card, power-cycled the Multiface, and reinstalled
> everything; and I had to issue an "amixer cset numid=5 26,0,32768"
> command to connect alsa_pcm:playback_1 to Multiface output 1.
> 
>   > so that if I connect capture_1 to playback_1 then whatever comes
>   > in on the ADAT-1, channel 0 input will get sent back out on
>   > ADAT-1, channel 1 output.
> 
> You don't connect capture_1 to playback_1, because playback_1 is a
> signal coming from ALSA, going into the HDSP mixer.  But you _can_
> connect the signal arriving on the ADAT1:1 input (which _also_ drives
> ALSA's capture_1 input) to the ADAT1:1 output with an "amixer cset
> numid=5 0,0,32768" command.  (But playback_1 isn't routed to the
> ADAT1:1 output except by coincidence or a default setting -- playback_1
> doesn't have anything to do with your ADAT1:1 input -> ADAT1:1 output
> connection.)
> 
>   > amixer cset numid=5 0,0,32768
>   > amixer cset numid=5 1,1,32768
>   > ...
>   > amixer cset numid=5 25,25,32768
> 
>   > which would route each physical input to each physical output, 1
>   > for 1, at a volume of unity gain. (As per Marcus's notes again.)
> 
> Yup.
> 
>   > What is not at all clear yet is whether a single input can go to
>   > multiple outs with different gains. For instance, if I execute:
> 
>   > amixer cset numid=5 0,0,10000
>   > amixer cset numid=5 0,1,30000
> 
> Sure, that works just fine.  I'll run a combined setup like this:
> 
>     Monitor submix
>     ==============================
>     amixer cset numid=5 0,26,20000
>     amixer cset numid=5 1,27,20000
>     amixer cset numid=5 2,26,15000
>     amixer cset numid=5 3,27,15000
>     amixer cset numid=5 4,26,10000
>     amixer cset numid=5 5,27,10000
> 
>     DAT safety recording
>     ==============================
>     amixer cset numid=5 0,24,16384
>     amixer cset numid=5 1,25,16384
>     amixer cset numid=5 2,24,12288
>     amixer cset numid=5 3,25,12288
>     amixer cset numid=5 4,24,8192
>     amixer cset numid=5 5,25,8192
> 
> The changes I make in the first group (headphones submix) don't have
> any effect on the signal being recorded by the DAT, which is set up in
> the second group.
> 
>   > I am attempting to take physical input 0 and sending it to both
>   > the left and right outputs, but at different volumes. Is this
>   > legal?
> 
> Sure.  Consider RME's description of TotalMix, which is "nothing more"
> than a software interface (OK, I'm a hardware guy) to the HDSP mixer:
> 
>   - setting up delay-free submixes (headphone mixes)
>   - unlimited routing of inputs and outputs (free utilisation, patchbay function)
>   - distributing signals to several outputs at a time
>   - simultaneous playback of different programs over only one stereo channel
>   - mixing of the input signal to the playback signal (complete ASIO Direct Monitoring)
>   - integration of external devices (effects etc). in real-time
>   - mixdown of three ADAT inputs to one (realizing two additional inputs)
> 
> RME calls the HDSP mixer in the Multiface a "720 channel" mixer, and
> the one in the Digiface "1456 channels".  (The 9652 would be 1352
> channels, because it doesn't have the headphone outputs.)  For the
> Multiface, that's [18 hardware input channels + 18 playback channels]
> x 20 hardware output channels.  (There are only 18 playback channels
> because playback_8-15 aren't used in the Multiface.)
> 
>   > In my case, I use Alsa_pcm:playback_1/2 for my main speakers, and
>   > playback_3/4 for my headphones. The problem I've been having is that I
>   > didn't know how to set the volume on my speakers with no mixer. Using
>   > this information, I could execute:
> 
>   > amixer cset numid=5 26,0,3000
>   > amixer cset numid=5 27,1,3000
> 
>   > and now my playback_1/2 should come out of my speakers, but at
>   > considerably reduced volumes.
> 
> Yup.
> 
> -- 
> Roger Williams <raw@qux.com>
> Qux Tool & Die, Middleborough, Massachusetts
> // Omne tulit punctum qui misquit utile dulci //
> 
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> This SF.NET email is sponsored by: FREE  SSL Guide from Thawte
> are you planning your Web Server Security? Click here to get a FREE
> Thawte SSL guide and find the answers to all your  SSL security issues.
> http://ads.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/redirect.pl?thaw0026en
> _______________________________________________
> Alsa-devel mailing list
> Alsa-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/alsa-devel




-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.NET email is sponsored by: FREE  SSL Guide from Thawte
are you planning your Web Server Security? Click here to get a FREE
Thawte SSL guide and find the answers to all your  SSL security issues.
http://ads.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/redirect.pl?thaw0026en