[PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED strip support

[PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED strip support

[dchristensen8]

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Takashi,

Thank you for your assistance on this! I updated it to use CLASS(snd_hda_power_pm, pm)(codec) for the power management call, which cleaned up all the manual power-down error exits nicely.

Attached is the proper v2 patch for upstreaming.

Thanks,
Devin

---

The Sound BlasterX AE-5 and AE-5 Plus expose a 3-pin 5V addressable RGB
header driven directly by the CA0113 PCIe-to-HD-Audio bridge. Rather
than using the CA0132 DSP or MMIO GPIO, the CA0113 contains an
autonomous HDA link sniffer that snoops a designated HDA DMA playback
stream, extracts the 24-bit GRB color payload, and serializes it as
800 kHz single-wire NRZ pulses to the strip (WS2812B protocol).

Expose the strip through volatile card control elements:

"AE-5 LED Strip" (RW, BYTES): 300-byte RGB payload representing
up to 100 addressable LEDs (3 bytes per LED).
"AE-5 LED Strip Count" (RW, INTEGER): Active LED count (1..100).

The controls are marked with IFACE_CARD and SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE
so changes do not trigger unnecessary audio daemon wakeups or state
restoration by alsactl.

Writes allocate an idle HDA playback stream, format a 32 KB DMA buffer
populated with repeating WS2812 frames (preamble, audio words per LED,
and reset gap), configure the CA0113 BAR2 serializers and stream-tag
pin mux, and pulse the stream long enough for the reset latch to fire.
Access is serialized with a per-spec mutex, and the controls are only
registered on QUIRK_AE5 devices.
Signed-off-by: Devin Christensen <dchristensen8@proton.me>

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From d1638d95a2d52faf1303c14e2f696a0d8097fb6f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Devin Christensen <dchristensen8@proton.me>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:09:17 -0400
Subject: [PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED
 strip support

The Sound BlasterX AE-5 and AE-5 Plus expose a 3-pin 5V addressable RGB
header driven directly by the CA0113 PCIe-to-HD-Audio bridge. Rather
than using the CA0132 DSP or MMIO GPIO, the CA0113 contains an
autonomous HDA link sniffer that snoops a designated HDA DMA playback
stream, extracts the 24-bit GRB color payload, and serializes it as
800 kHz single-wire NRZ pulses to the strip (WS2812B protocol).

Expose the strip through volatile card control elements:

  "AE-5 LED Strip"        (RW, BYTES): 300-byte RGB payload representing
                          up to 100 addressable LEDs (3 bytes per LED).
  "AE-5 LED Strip Count"  (RW, INTEGER): Active LED count (1..100).

The controls are marked with IFACE_CARD and SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE
so changes do not trigger unnecessary audio daemon wakeups or state
restoration by alsactl.

Writes allocate an idle HDA playback stream, format a 32 KB DMA buffer
populated with repeating WS2812 frames (preamble, audio words per LED,
and reset gap), configure the CA0113 BAR2 serializers and stream-tag
pin mux, and pulse the stream long enough for the reset latch to fire.
Access is serialized with a per-spec mutex, and the controls are only
registered on QUIRK_AE5 devices.

Signed-off-by: Devin Christensen <dchristensen8@proton.me>
---
v2:
 - Switch from sysfs attributes to ALSA card control elements ("AE-5 LED Strip"
   and "AE-5 LED Strip Count") with IFACE_CARD and SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE.
 - Drop Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-devices-sound-ae5.
 - Use CLASS(snd_hda_power_pm, pm)(codec) for power management cleanup.
 - Use guard(spinlock_irqsave)(&bus->reg_lock) in stream lookup.
 - Add lockdep_assert_held(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex) in ae5_strip_send_frame().
 - Simplify 24-bit bit-encoding with BIT() macro logic.
 - Collapse CA0113 serializer register configuration into 4-channel loops.
 - Define named constants for magic DMA and word calculation offsets.

 sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c | 369 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 368 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
index 0f8fb62f..89580091 100644
--- a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
+++ b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@
 #include <sound/tlv.h>
 #endif
 
+#include <linux/dma-mapping.h>
+
 #define FLOAT_ZERO	0x00000000
 #define FLOAT_ONE	0x3f800000
 #define FLOAT_TWO	0x40000000
@@ -1060,6 +1062,8 @@ enum dsp_download_state {
  * CA0132 specific
  */
 
+#define AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS 100
+
 struct ca0132_spec {
 	struct hda_gen_spec gen;
 
@@ -1162,6 +1166,11 @@ struct ca0132_spec {
 	 * Renames PlayEnhancement and CrystalVoice too.
 	 */
 	bool use_alt_controls;
+
+	/* AE-5 WS2812 strip control */
+	struct mutex ae5_strip_mutex;
+	u32 ae5_strip_cur_colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
+	int ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
 };
 
 /*
@@ -6846,6 +6855,8 @@ static int ca0132_alt_add_mic_boost_enum(struct hda_codec *codec)
 
 }
 
+static int ae5_add_strip_controls(struct hda_codec *codec);
+
 /*
  * Add headphone gain enumerated control for the AE-5. This switches between
  * three modes, low, medium, and high. When non-headphone outputs are selected,
@@ -7149,6 +7160,10 @@ static int ca0132_build_controls(struct hda_codec *codec)
 
 	switch (ca0132_quirk(spec)) {
 	case QUIRK_AE5:
+		err = ae5_add_strip_controls(codec);
+		if (err < 0)
+			return err;
+		fallthrough;
 	case QUIRK_AE7:
 		err = ae5_add_headphone_gain_enum(codec);
 		if (err < 0)
@@ -8316,8 +8331,357 @@ static void sbz_setup_defaults(struct hda_codec *codec)
 }
 
 /*
- * Setup default parameters for the Sound BlasterX AE-5 DSP.
+ * Sound BlasterX AE-5 External WS2812B RGB LED Strip Transport
  */
+#define AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE		0x8000
+#define AE5_STRIP_TOTAL_WORDS		(AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE / sizeof(u32))
+#define AE5_STRIP_PREAMBLE_WORDS	5
+#define AE5_STRIP_WORDS_PER_LED		4
+#define AE5_STRIP_RESET_GAP_WORDS	83
+
+#define CA0113_SERIALIZER_BASE(spec, ch)	((spec)->mem_base + 0x42c + (ch) * 0x40)
+#define CA0113_SERIALIZER_CLK(spec, ch)		((spec)->mem_base + 0x43c + (ch) * 0x40)
+#define CA0113_SERIALIZER_OUT(spec, ch)		((spec)->mem_base + 0x454 + (ch) * 0x40)
+
+static void ae5_strip_encode_24(u32 u, u32 *words)
+{
+	/*
+	 * 24-bit pixel -> 4 x 32-bit audio words (6 bits per word).
+	 * Hardware audio serializer transmits MSB first (bits 31 down to 0).
+	 * For word i (i8 = 23, 17, 11, 5), bit_idx 0..5 (MSB to LSB within the word)
+	 * is placed at n = 29 - bit_idx * 4:
+	 *   Bit 0 -> 0b100 << n (375ns high, 1042ns low): BIT(n + 2)
+	 *   Bit 1 -> 0b111 << n (1083ns high, 333ns low): BIT(n + 2) | BIT(n + 1) | BIT(n)
+	 */
+	int i8 = 23;
+	int i, bit_idx;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+		u32 out = 0;
+
+		for (bit_idx = 0; bit_idx < 6; bit_idx++) {
+			int bit = (u >> (i8 - bit_idx)) & 1;
+			int n = 29 - bit_idx * 4;
+
+			out |= (bit ? (BIT(2) | BIT(1) | BIT(0)) : BIT(2)) << n;
+		}
+		words[i] = out;
+		i8 -= 6;
+	}
+}
+
+static struct hdac_stream *ae5_strip_find_stream(struct hda_codec *codec)
+{
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+	struct hdac_bus *bus = &codec->bus->core;
+	struct hdac_stream *s, *dsp = NULL, *first = NULL;
+
+	guard(spinlock_irqsave)(&bus->reg_lock);
+	list_for_each_entry(s, &bus->stream_list, list) {
+		if (s->direction != SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
+			continue;
+		if (s->running || s->locked)
+			continue;
+		if (!first)
+			first = s;
+		/* The DSP DMA consumes the DSP-loader stream (tag in dsp_stream_id). */
+		if (spec->dsp_stream_id && s->stream_tag == spec->dsp_stream_id)
+			dsp = s;
+	}
+
+	return dsp ? dsp : first;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Caller must hold spec->ae5_strip_mutex.
+ */
+static int ae5_strip_send_frame(struct hda_codec *codec, const u32 *grb_colors, int num_leds)
+{
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+	struct snd_dma_buffer dmab;
+	struct hdac_stream *hstr = NULL;
+	unsigned int format, stream_tag;
+	u32 enc_words[4];
+	u32 *dst;
+	int word_idx = 0;
+	int frame_words;
+	int led, w, i;
+	int retries = 20; /* ~100ms max */
+	u8 orig_sd_ctl = 0;
+
+	if (!spec || !spec->mem_base)
+		return -ENODEV;
+	if (num_leds <= 0 || num_leds > AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS)
+		return -EINVAL;
+
+	lockdep_assert_held(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+
+	CLASS(snd_hda_power_pm, pm)(codec);
+
+	/*
+	 * 44.1kHz, 24-bit, 2-channel format (0x4031) matches Windows CtxHda
+	 * HDAUDIO_STREAM_FORMAT.
+	 */
+	format = snd_hdac_stream_format(2, 24, 44100);
+
+	for (;;) {
+		hstr = ae5_strip_find_stream(codec);
+		if (!hstr) {
+			if (--retries <= 0) {
+				codec_warn(codec, "AE5 strip: no free azx stream after retries\n");
+				return -EBUSY;
+			}
+			usleep_range(5000, 10000);
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		stream_tag = snd_hdac_dsp_prepare(hstr, format, AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE, &dmab);
+		if ((int)stream_tag > 0)
+			break;
+
+		/* Prepare failed (e.g. -EBUSY due to race with playback starting); retry */
+		if (--retries <= 0) {
+			codec_warn(codec, "AE5 strip: snd_hdac_dsp_prepare failed %d\n",
+				   (int)stream_tag);
+			return (int)stream_tag;
+		}
+		usleep_range(5000, 10000);
+	}
+
+	/* Prevent interrupt storms during free-running LED stream, saving original control bits */
+	if (hstr->sd_addr) {
+		orig_sd_ctl = readb(hstr->sd_addr);
+		writeb(orig_sd_ctl & ~0x1c, hstr->sd_addr); /* Clear IOCE, FEIE, DEIE */
+	}
+
+	/* 1. Populate the 32KB DMA buffer with repeating WS2812 frames + reset gaps */
+	memset(dmab.area, 0, AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE);
+	dst = (u32 *)dmab.area;
+
+	/* Words per frame: preamble + (num_leds * words_per_led) + reset gap */
+	frame_words = AE5_STRIP_PREAMBLE_WORDS + (num_leds * AE5_STRIP_WORDS_PER_LED) +
+		      AE5_STRIP_RESET_GAP_WORDS;
+
+	while (word_idx + frame_words <= AE5_STRIP_TOTAL_WORDS) {
+		/* Preamble per Windows CtxHda FUN_00042944 */
+		for (w = 0; w < AE5_STRIP_PREAMBLE_WORDS; w++) {
+			*dst++ = 0;
+			word_idx++;
+		}
+		/* LEDs */
+		for (led = 0; led < num_leds; led++) {
+			ae5_strip_encode_24(grb_colors[led], enc_words);
+			for (w = 0; w < AE5_STRIP_WORDS_PER_LED; w++) {
+				*dst++ = enc_words[w];
+				word_idx++;
+			}
+		}
+		/* Zero reset gap (> 1.8 ms; WS2812 requires > 50 us low) */
+		for (w = 0; w < AE5_STRIP_RESET_GAP_WORDS; w++) {
+			*dst++ = 0;
+			word_idx++;
+		}
+	}
+	while (word_idx < AE5_STRIP_TOTAL_WORDS) {
+		*dst++ = 0;
+		word_idx++;
+	}
+	/* Ensure DMA buffer writes are committed before triggering the HDA stream */
+	wmb();
+
+	/* 2. Configure CA0113 BAR2 hardware registers */
+	/* Power up clocks (CtxHdb 0x141b7 / 0x14210) */
+	writel(readl(spec->mem_base + 0xc04) | 0x7, spec->mem_base + 0xc04);
+
+	/* Base serializer initialization (CtxHdb 0x14ba4) */
+	writel(readl(spec->mem_base + 0x400) | 1, spec->mem_base + 0x400);
+	for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+		writel(readl(CA0113_SERIALIZER_BASE(spec, i)) & ~1,
+		       CA0113_SERIALIZER_BASE(spec, i));
+		writel(0, CA0113_SERIALIZER_CLK(spec, i));
+	}
+	writel(readl(spec->mem_base + 0x408) | 1, spec->mem_base + 0x408);
+	writel(readl(spec->mem_base + 0x40c) | 1, spec->mem_base + 0x40c);
+	writel((readl(spec->mem_base + 0x410) & ~0xb) | 0x14, spec->mem_base + 0x410);
+
+	/* Configure serializers 0..3 clocking (CtxHdb 0x14a6c) */
+	for (i = 0; i < 4; i++)
+		writel(readl(CA0113_SERIALIZER_CLK(spec, i)) | 0x33,
+		       CA0113_SERIALIZER_CLK(spec, i));
+
+	/* BAR2 + 0x100 format & channel enables:
+	 * - base 0x70f
+	 * - bit 28 = 1 (24-bit audio format via CtxHdb 0x14f58)
+	 * - bits 29..31 = 1 (44.1 kHz sample rate via CtxHdb 0x14fa4)
+	 * - bits 4..7 = 0xf (stage 1 enables)
+	 * - bits 12..15 = 0xf (stage 2 enables)
+	 * => 0x3000ff8f
+	 */
+	writel((readl(spec->mem_base + 0x100) & ~0xe000ffff) | 0x3000ff8f, spec->mem_base + 0x100);
+
+	/* Enable serializer output drivers for pins 0..3 (CtxHdb 0x14e94) */
+	for (i = 0; i < 4; i++)
+		writel(readl(CA0113_SERIALIZER_OUT(spec, i)) | 1,
+		       CA0113_SERIALIZER_OUT(spec, i));
+
+	/* Route all channels 0..3 to stream_tag (CtxHdb 0x1502c) */
+	writel((stream_tag << 28) | (stream_tag << 20) | (stream_tag << 12) | (stream_tag << 4),
+	       spec->mem_base + 0x104);
+
+	/* Enable CA0113 MMIO GPIO 0 & 1 */
+	ca0113_mmio_gpio_set(codec, 0, true);
+	ca0113_mmio_gpio_set(codec, 1, true);
+
+	codec_dbg(codec, "AE5 strip: send_frame: num_leds=%d stream_tag=%u (0x%08x)\n",
+		  num_leds, stream_tag, readl(spec->mem_base + 0x104));
+
+	/* 3. Trigger stream transmission on HDA link */
+	snd_hdac_dsp_trigger(hstr, true);
+	/*
+	 * WS2812 latches on the >50us reset gap after one frame. The 32KB buffer holds ~64
+	 * repeating frame+reset cycles; at ~1.4ms/frame a 15ms run transmits ~10 complete
+	 * cycles - more than enough to latch reliably. Keep it short so rapid sysfs writes
+	 * (OpenRGB effects/theme changes) are not serialized behind a 1s blocking sleep.
+	 */
+	usleep_range(15000, 20000);
+	snd_hdac_dsp_trigger(hstr, false);
+	codec_dbg(codec, "AE5 strip: trigger complete\n");
+
+	/* Teardown: clear 0x104 pin mux back to 0 */
+	writel(0x00000000, spec->mem_base + 0x104);
+
+	/* Restore descriptor control register */
+	if (hstr->sd_addr)
+		writeb(orig_sd_ctl, hstr->sd_addr);
+
+	snd_hdac_dsp_cleanup(hstr, &dmab);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_ctl_info(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+			      struct snd_ctl_elem_info *uinfo)
+{
+	uinfo->type = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_TYPE_BYTES;
+	uinfo->count = AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS * 3;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_ctl_get(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+			     struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
+{
+	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+	int i;
+
+	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+	for (i = 0; i < spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds; i++) {
+		u32 grb = spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors[i];
+
+		ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 0] = (grb >> 8) & 0xff;
+		ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 1] = (grb >> 16) & 0xff;
+		ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 2] = grb & 0xff;
+	}
+	if (spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds < AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS)
+		memset(&ucontrol->value.bytes.data[spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds * 3], 0,
+		       (AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS - spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds) * 3);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_ctl_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+			     struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
+{
+	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+	u32 colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
+	int i, num_leds;
+
+	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+	num_leds = spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
+	for (i = 0; i < num_leds; i++) {
+		u8 r = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 0];
+		u8 g = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 1];
+		u8 b = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 2];
+
+		colors[i] = ((u32)g << 16) | ((u32)r << 8) | (u32)b;
+	}
+	memcpy(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors, sizeof(u32) * num_leds);
+	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, colors, num_leds);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_num_leds_info(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+				   struct snd_ctl_elem_info *uinfo)
+{
+	uinfo->type = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_TYPE_INTEGER;
+	uinfo->count = 1;
+	uinfo->value.integer.min = 1;
+	uinfo->value.integer.max = AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_num_leds_get(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+				  struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
+{
+	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+
+	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+	ucontrol->value.integer.value[0] = spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int ae5_strip_num_leds_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
+				  struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
+{
+	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
+	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
+	int val = ucontrol->value.integer.value[0];
+
+	if (val < 1 || val > AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS)
+		return -EINVAL;
+
+	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+	if (spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds == val)
+		return 0;
+	spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds = val;
+	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, val);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static const struct snd_kcontrol_new ae5_strip_ctls[] = {
+	{
+		.iface = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_IFACE_CARD,
+		.name = "AE-5 LED Strip",
+		.access = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_READWRITE |
+			  SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE,
+		.info = ae5_strip_ctl_info,
+		.get = ae5_strip_ctl_get,
+		.put = ae5_strip_ctl_put,
+	},
+	{
+		.iface = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_IFACE_CARD,
+		.name = "AE-5 LED Strip Count",
+		.access = SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_READWRITE |
+			  SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE,
+		.info = ae5_strip_num_leds_info,
+		.get = ae5_strip_num_leds_get,
+		.put = ae5_strip_num_leds_put,
+	},
+};
+
+static int ae5_add_strip_controls(struct hda_codec *codec)
+{
+	int i, err;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(ae5_strip_ctls); i++) {
+		err = snd_hda_ctl_add(codec, 0,
+				      snd_ctl_new1(&ae5_strip_ctls[i], codec));
+		if (err < 0)
+			return err;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static void ae5_setup_defaults(struct hda_codec *codec)
 {
 	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
@@ -8741,6 +9105,8 @@ static void ca0132_init_chip(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	unsigned int on;
 
 	mutex_init(&spec->chipio_mutex);
+	mutex_init(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+	spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds = 10;
 
 	/*
 	 * The Windows driver always does this upon startup, which seems to
@@ -9627,6 +9993,7 @@ static void ca0132_free(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	if (spec->mem_base)
 		pci_iounmap(codec->bus->pci, spec->mem_base);
 #endif
+	mutex_destroy(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
 	kfree(spec->spec_init_verbs);
 	kfree(codec->spec);
 	codec->spec = NULL;
-- 
2.55.0

Re: [PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED strip support

[Takashi Iwai]

On Fri, 02 Oct 2026 03:41:50 +0200,
dchristensen8 wrote:
> 
> 
> Takashi,
> 
> Thank you for your assistance on this! I updated it to use CLASS
> (snd_hda_power_pm, pm)(codec) for the power management call, which cleaned up
> all the manual power-down error exits nicely.
> 
> Attached is the proper v2 patch for upstreaming.

Now reviewing further in details, and some issues found:

> --- a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
> +++ b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
> @@ -35,6 +35,8 @@
>  #include <sound/tlv.h>
>  #endif
>  
> +#include <linux/dma-mapping.h>

Let's move this into the block with other header file inclusions.
Not needed to be alone here.


> +static struct hdac_stream *ae5_strip_find_stream(struct hda_codec *codec)
> +{
> +	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
> +	struct hdac_bus *bus = &codec->bus->core;
> +	struct hdac_stream *s, *dsp = NULL, *first = NULL;
> +
> +	guard(spinlock_irqsave)(&bus->reg_lock);
> +	list_for_each_entry(s, &bus->stream_list, list) {
> +		if (s->direction != SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
> +			continue;
> +		if (s->running || s->locked)
> +			continue;

It should also check s->opened, too.

> +	for (;;) {
> +		hstr = ae5_strip_find_stream(codec);
> +		if (!hstr) {
> +			if (--retries <= 0) {
> +				codec_warn(codec, "AE5 strip: no free azx stream after retries\n");
> +				return -EBUSY;
> +			}
> +			usleep_range(5000, 10000);
> +			continue;
> +		}
> +
> +		stream_tag = snd_hdac_dsp_prepare(hstr, format, AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE, &dmab);

The function needs CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER, and it's not always
selected.  Although the compile would works, it makes no sense to keep
the code without the support code.


> +static int ae5_strip_ctl_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
> +			     struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
> +{
> +	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
> +	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
> +	u32 colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
> +	int i, num_leds;
> +
> +	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
> +	num_leds = spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
> +	for (i = 0; i < num_leds; i++) {
> +		u8 r = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 0];
> +		u8 g = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 1];
> +		u8 b = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 2];
> +
> +		colors[i] = ((u32)g << 16) | ((u32)r << 8) | (u32)b;
> +	}
> +	memcpy(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors, sizeof(u32) * num_leds);
> +	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, colors, num_leds);
> +	return 0;

In general, the put callback should return 1 if the values are
modified.


thanks,

Takashi

Re: [PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED strip support

[dchristensen8]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 3518 bytes --]

Hi Takashi,

Thanks for the review! I moved the dma-mapping.h include into the main header block, added the s->opened check to ae5_strip_find_stream(), wrapped all the strip code in IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER) with a no-op stub when it's disabled, and updated the put callbacks to return 1 when the values actually change.

One other thing: I was talking with the maintainer of openrgb and he suggested a patch to make zone0 led's work via the same mechanism (this card has onboard led's at zone0 and external led's at zone1). Should I add that to this patch or submit a separate patch after this one is completed?

Attached is v3.

Thanks,
Devin

On Friday, October 2nd, 2026 at 10:31 AM, Takashi Iwai <tiwai@suse.de> wrote:

> On Fri, 02 Oct 2026 03:41:50 +0200,
> dchristensen8 wrote:
> >
> >
> > Takashi,
> >
> > Thank you for your assistance on this! I updated it to use CLASS
> > (snd_hda_power_pm, pm)(codec) for the power management call, which cleaned up
> > all the manual power-down error exits nicely.
> >
> > Attached is the proper v2 patch for upstreaming.
> 
> Now reviewing further in details, and some issues found:
> 
> > --- a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
> > +++ b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
> > @@ -35,6 +35,8 @@
> >  #include <sound/tlv.h>
> >  #endif
> >
> > +#include <linux/dma-mapping.h>
> 
> Let's move this into the block with other header file inclusions.
> Not needed to be alone here.
> 
> 
> > +static struct hdac_stream *ae5_strip_find_stream(struct hda_codec *codec)
> > +{
> > +	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
> > +	struct hdac_bus *bus = &codec->bus->core;
> > +	struct hdac_stream *s, *dsp = NULL, *first = NULL;
> > +
> > +	guard(spinlock_irqsave)(&bus->reg_lock);
> > +	list_for_each_entry(s, &bus->stream_list, list) {
> > +		if (s->direction != SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
> > +			continue;
> > +		if (s->running || s->locked)
> > +			continue;
> 
> It should also check s->opened, too.
> 
> > +	for (;;) {
> > +		hstr = ae5_strip_find_stream(codec);
> > +		if (!hstr) {
> > +			if (--retries <= 0) {
> > +				codec_warn(codec, "AE5 strip: no free azx stream after retries\n");
> > +				return -EBUSY;
> > +			}
> > +			usleep_range(5000, 10000);
> > +			continue;
> > +		}
> > +
> > +		stream_tag = snd_hdac_dsp_prepare(hstr, format, AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE, &dmab);
> 
> The function needs CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER, and it's not always
> selected.  Although the compile would works, it makes no sense to keep
> the code without the support code.
> 
> 
> > +static int ae5_strip_ctl_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
> > +			     struct snd_ctl_elem_value *ucontrol)
> > +{
> > +	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
> > +	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
> > +	u32 colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
> > +	int i, num_leds;
> > +
> > +	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
> > +	num_leds = spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
> > +	for (i = 0; i < num_leds; i++) {
> > +		u8 r = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 0];
> > +		u8 g = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 1];
> > +		u8 b = ucontrol->value.bytes.data[i * 3 + 2];
> > +
> > +		colors[i] = ((u32)g << 16) | ((u32)r << 8) | (u32)b;
> > +	}
> > +	memcpy(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors, sizeof(u32) * num_leds);
> > +	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, colors, num_leds);
> > +	return 0;
> 
> In general, the put callback should return 1 if the values are
> modified.
> 
> 
> thanks,
> 
> Takashi
> 

[-- Warning: decoded text below may be mangled, UTF-8 assumed --]
[-- Attachment #2: v3-0001-ALSA-hda-ca0132-Add-Sound-BlasterX-AE-5-external-.patch --]
[-- Type: text/x-patch; name=v3-0001-ALSA-hda-ca0132-Add-Sound-BlasterX-AE-5-external-.patch, Size: 5917 bytes --]

From 2d84306534d67db110189b5bd12ddb7a30fbbf16 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Devin Christensen <dchristensen8@proton.me>
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2026 21:30:20 -0400
Subject: [PATCH v3] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED
 strip support

The Sound BlasterX AE-5 and AE-5 Plus expose a 3-pin 5V addressable RGB
header driven directly by the CA0113 PCIe-to-HD-Audio bridge. Rather
than using the CA0132 DSP or MMIO GPIO, the CA0113 contains an
autonomous HDA link sniffer that snoops a designated HDA DMA playback
stream, extracts the 24-bit GRB color payload, and serializes it as
800 kHz single-wire NRZ pulses to the strip (WS2812B protocol).

Expose the strip through volatile card control elements:

  "AE-5 LED Strip"        (RW, BYTES): 300-byte RGB payload representing
                          up to 100 addressable LEDs (3 bytes per LED).
  "AE-5 LED Strip Count"  (RW, INTEGER): Active LED count (1..100).

The controls are marked with IFACE_CARD and SNDRV_CTL_ELEM_ACCESS_VOLATILE
so changes do not trigger unnecessary audio daemon wakeups or state
restoration by alsactl.

Writes allocate an idle HDA playback stream, format a 32 KB DMA buffer
populated with repeating WS2812 frames (preamble, audio words per LED,
and reset gap), configure the CA0113 BAR2 serializers and stream-tag
pin mux, and pulse the stream long enough for the reset latch to fire.
Access is serialized with a per-spec mutex, and the controls are only
registered on QUIRK_AE5 devices.

The strip transport uses snd_hdac_dsp_prepare() / snd_hdac_dsp_cleanup(),
which require CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER. The strip control code and
associated spec fields are therefore conditionally compiled under
IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER), with a no-op stub for
ae5_add_strip_controls() when the option is disabled.

Signed-off-by: Devin Christensen <dchristensen8@proton.me>
---
 sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c | 32 +++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
index 895800917..036ae7358 100644
--- a/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
+++ b/sound/hda/codecs/ca0132.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include <linux/types.h>
 #include <linux/io.h>
 #include <linux/pci.h>
+#include <linux/dma-mapping.h>
 #include <asm/io.h>
 #include <sound/core.h>
 #include <sound/hda_codec.h>
@@ -35,8 +36,6 @@
 #include <sound/tlv.h>
 #endif
 
-#include <linux/dma-mapping.h>
-
 #define FLOAT_ZERO	0x00000000
 #define FLOAT_ONE	0x3f800000
 #define FLOAT_TWO	0x40000000
@@ -1167,10 +1166,12 @@ struct ca0132_spec {
 	 */
 	bool use_alt_controls;
 
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER)
 	/* AE-5 WS2812 strip control */
 	struct mutex ae5_strip_mutex;
 	u32 ae5_strip_cur_colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
 	int ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
+#endif
 };
 
 /*
@@ -6855,7 +6856,14 @@ static int ca0132_alt_add_mic_boost_enum(struct hda_codec *codec)
 
 }
 
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER)
 static int ae5_add_strip_controls(struct hda_codec *codec);
+#else
+static inline int ae5_add_strip_controls(struct hda_codec *codec)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
+#endif
 
 /*
  * Add headphone gain enumerated control for the AE-5. This switches between
@@ -8333,6 +8341,7 @@ static void sbz_setup_defaults(struct hda_codec *codec)
 /*
  * Sound BlasterX AE-5 External WS2812B RGB LED Strip Transport
  */
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER)
 #define AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE		0x8000
 #define AE5_STRIP_TOTAL_WORDS		(AE5_STRIP_DMA_SIZE / sizeof(u32))
 #define AE5_STRIP_PREAMBLE_WORDS	5
@@ -8380,7 +8389,7 @@ static struct hdac_stream *ae5_strip_find_stream(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	list_for_each_entry(s, &bus->stream_list, list) {
 		if (s->direction != SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
 			continue;
-		if (s->running || s->locked)
+		if (s->opened || s->running || s->locked)
 			continue;
 		if (!first)
 			first = s;
@@ -8593,7 +8602,7 @@ static int ae5_strip_ctl_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
 	struct hda_codec *codec = snd_kcontrol_chip(kcontrol);
 	struct ca0132_spec *spec = codec->spec;
 	u32 colors[AE5_STRIP_MAX_LEDS];
-	int i, num_leds;
+	int i, num_leds, change;
 
 	guard(mutex)(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
 	num_leds = spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds;
@@ -8604,9 +8613,13 @@ static int ae5_strip_ctl_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
 
 		colors[i] = ((u32)g << 16) | ((u32)r << 8) | (u32)b;
 	}
-	memcpy(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors, sizeof(u32) * num_leds);
+	change = memcmp(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors,
+			sizeof(u32) * num_leds) != 0;
+	if (change)
+		memcpy(spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, colors,
+		       sizeof(u32) * num_leds);
 	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, colors, num_leds);
-	return 0;
+	return change;
 }
 
 static int ae5_strip_num_leds_info(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
@@ -8645,7 +8658,7 @@ static int ae5_strip_num_leds_put(struct snd_kcontrol *kcontrol,
 		return 0;
 	spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds = val;
 	ae5_strip_send_frame(codec, spec->ae5_strip_cur_colors, val);
-	return 0;
+	return 1;
 }
 
 static const struct snd_kcontrol_new ae5_strip_ctls[] = {
@@ -8681,6 +8694,7 @@ static int ae5_add_strip_controls(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
+#endif /* CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER */
 
 static void ae5_setup_defaults(struct hda_codec *codec)
 {
@@ -9105,8 +9119,10 @@ static void ca0132_init_chip(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	unsigned int on;
 
 	mutex_init(&spec->chipio_mutex);
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER)
 	mutex_init(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
 	spec->ae5_strip_cur_num_leds = 10;
+#endif
 
 	/*
 	 * The Windows driver always does this upon startup, which seems to
@@ -9993,7 +10009,9 @@ static void ca0132_free(struct hda_codec *codec)
 	if (spec->mem_base)
 		pci_iounmap(codec->bus->pci, spec->mem_base);
 #endif
+#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER)
 	mutex_destroy(&spec->ae5_strip_mutex);
+#endif
 	kfree(spec->spec_init_verbs);
 	kfree(codec->spec);
 	codec->spec = NULL;
-- 
2.55.0

Re: [PATCH v2] ALSA: hda/ca0132: Add Sound BlasterX AE-5 external RGB LED strip support

[Takashi Iwai]

On Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:41:51 +0200,
dchristensen8 wrote:
> 
> Hi Takashi,
> 
> Thanks for the review! I moved the dma-mapping.h include into the main header block, added the s->opened check to ae5_strip_find_stream(), wrapped all the strip code in IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_SND_HDA_DSP_LOADER) with a no-op stub when it's disabled, and updated the put callbacks to return 1 when the values actually change.

This looks like a patch on top of the previous one?
Please submit a complete single patch.  Also, can you try to submit
without an attachment, at best, with git-am?  If it's difficult, it's
fine with an attachment as a fallback, though.

> One other thing: I was talking with the maintainer of openrgb and he suggested a patch to make zone0 led's work via the same mechanism (this card has onboard led's at zone0 and external led's at zone1). Should I add that to this patch or submit a separate patch after this one is completed?

Let's make a separate path.  The current one looks already enough, and
if any, we can change incrementally.


thanks,

Takashi