Subject: [linux-audio-dev] OT: Advise on selecting sound card (long)
From: Darrell Bellerive (ve7cla_AT_telus.net)
Date: Tue Sep 04 2001 - 02:33:35 EEST
First, let me apologize for the OT post and taking up bandwidth. I have
been searching the
WWW, usenet, and mailing list archives for a while and have not been
able to find what I am looking for. This mailing list seems to have the
people who really understand audio in Linux, so perhaps someone can
point me in the right direction.
I am looking for a sound card for the following uses:
1) Audio spectrum analyzer. The card will be used to analyze a single
channel of audio to measure and align amateur radio equipment.
2) Radio modem. The card will be used as a modem for a variety of
communication applications that use the sound card as a modem. The sound
card must be capable of full duplex operation.
3) Radio signal recording. The card will be used to make audio
recordings of radio transmissions.
4) Audio filtering. The card will be used as various highpass, lowpass,
and bandwidth filters.
5) Musical instrument recording. The card will be used to make stereo
recordings from line level outputs of an electronic organ.
6) Typical PC sounds. The card will be used for general PC sound
applications such as playing wave and MP3 files as well as the stereo
output for a CD-ROM or DVD drives. The card will also be used for audio
streamed over the Internet.
For the applications I have investigated, the application's requirements
for the sound card generally state that they will work with most Linux
drivers and are hardware independent.
The card should have the following features:
1) High quality audio. The card should be capable of producing CD
quality sound whether recording or playing.
2) Very low noise. The card should have a very low noise level including
noise pickup from the other PC components.
3) Independent open source and free Linux driver. The card will be used
exclusively under Linux. The driver should have full support of the
hardware manufacturer. The driver developers should be independent of
the manufacturer.
4) At least two channels. The card must be capable of stereo operations,
although more channels would be beneficial. Independent use of channels
would allow a mono source to be filtered through one channel and then
processed as a modem signal on another channel. The output of one
channel would drive the input of the next channel.
5) Line level input and output. Almost all connections will be switched
through a NAD Stereo Preamplifier.
Does such a card exist? If not what would meet most of my requirements.
I am not too concerned about the price, but probably wouldn't spend
thousands of dollars on a card either.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Darrell Bellerive
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