How to route PCM to desired sound card

[polbrian]

Nowadays many have more than one soundcard. There's one on the motherboard, and one for the HDMI output of the graphic card. And I have a M-Audio Delta 1010 (ice1712) card, that I use(d) as main card. I configured all three in Yast without any special setting.

linux-desk:/home/pol # aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: M1010 [M Audio Delta 1010], device 0: ICE1712 multi [ICE1712 multi]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC892 Analog [ALC892 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 1: ALC892 Digital [ALC892 Digital]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

Audio apps (e.g; Audacity) output to card 0 (ice1712), but video apps (Flash in Firefox, kaffeine, xine) output to card 1 (motherboard ALC892), while others (Mplayer, do not seem to output anywhere.

I would like to send the soundtracks to any output I want; if not possible, to send all to card 0. This device has ten outputs. I would be glad to be able to send to any of them.

I am ready to chew some amount of documentation, if only I could find it.

[jdmcdaniel3]

Audio apps (e.g; Audacity) output to card 0 (ice1712), but video apps (Flash in Firefox, kaffeine, xine) output to card 1 (motherboard ALC892), while others (Mplayer, do not seem to output anywhere.

I would like to send the soundtracks to any output I want; if not possible, to send all to card 0. This device has ten outputs. I would be glad to be able to send to any of them.

I am ready to chew some amount of documentation, if only I could find it.

So which sound card or connection are you wanting to use? Which one connects to your speakers? I would want to know which one is the default (Card 0) in YaST / Hardware / Sound? Which device is set as Top in KDE desktop, menu / personnel settings / multimedia / Phonon / Device Selection & which is your selected backend? Do you still have PulseAudio enabled (and I am not suggesting it should be disabled). I have a utility that might be useful with sound testing you can find here:

S.T.A.R.T. - SuSE Terminal Audio Reporting Tool - Version 1.12 - Blogs - openSUSE Forums

I can say that different sound cards/chip sets produce different results with sound. On my PC I have built-in Realtek sound, I have an nVIDIA video card with sound and I installed an Creative X-Fi sound card. I disabled the internal sound and put the X-Fi card as card 0, over the nVIDIA. I use an Optical connection to a receiver which works well for me. I get stereo out from all desktop activities and use Kaffeine (and VLC) for Dolby Digital out for movies. The receiver allows selection of stereo modes that put left and right channel audio to all speakers (left to left and right to right). This setup works well for what I am doing.

Thank You,

[oldcpu]

I find with pulse audio the application pulse audio volume control (pavucontrol) gives me the control to route my audio for different applications to different devices.

I recommend 'pavucontrol' be installed and then when running an application for the first time, also run pavucontrol. Ensure in pavucontrol that in the Output Devices Tab that SHOW all output devices is selected, and in the PLAYBACK tab that SHOW all streams is selected. Then simply with the drop down selections in PLAYBACK select your output devices.

[oldcpu]

I find with pulse audio the application pulse audio volume control (pavucontrol) gives me the control to route my audio for different applications to different devices.

I recommend 'pavucontrol' be installed and then when running an application for the first time, also run pavucontrol. Ensure in pavucontrol that in the Output Devices Tab that SHOW all output devices is selected, and in the PLAYBACK tab that SHOW all streams is selected. Then simply with the drop down selections in PLAYBACK select your output devices.

Further to my own post ... I initially placed this in a different thread but maybe its appropriate here to, as a picture is worth a thousand words:

pavucontrol Configuration Tab


pavucontrol Output Devices Tab


pavucontrol Playback Tab playing audio from Amarok and also (Virtual Box) in this example


now in the above Playback Tab, because I have only one sound device, one does not see a drop down menu for multiple devices. But where one has more devices there will be a down menu with each application playing audio. I do have such a selection on my Sandbox PC, but that PC is switched OFF currently.

[polbrian]

So which sound card or connection are you wanting to use?

Definitely : Delta 1010 (which is connected to a whole audio setup)
I would like to have full control of routing to outputs, but that may be asking too much.

Which one connects to your speakers? I would want to know which one is the default (Card 0) in YaST / Hardware / Sound? Which device is set as Top in KDE desktop, menu / personnel settings / multimedia / Phonon / Device Selection

Delta 1010 (ice1712) for all three questions

& which is your selected backend?

Left as it was: Phonon GStreamer

Do you still have PulseAudio enabled (and I am not suggesting it should be disabled).

Yes. Yast::Hardware::Sound > "Other" btn > PulseAudio enabled. Any other place to set it?
Also installed pavucontrol.

I have a utility that might be useful with sound testing you can find here:

Thank you for the suggestion. Actually, I prefered to follow the script step by step, in the interest of learning.

Unfortunately, I did not gain any sound. There is something wrong in the configuration. Now Audacity has only HDMI as an option in its Preferences::devices:layback, so I have no sound output.

[polbrian]

I'll try to explain more precisely what I've done

1. Following your advice, installed pavucontrol

2. Yast Hardware Sound all three cards configured, PulseAudio enabled; ice1712 as primary card (config as aplay -l above); test sound goes through the ice1712 device when selected in the list.

3. Klauncher::Desktop Settings Hardware Multimedia Device Preference Audio Playback: top: ice1712, second: internal, third: HDMI
Hardware Setup ICE1712: Analog Stereo, plays test sound (drop-down menu shows HDMI first, then internal, then ice1712)
Backend: first Gstreamer, second xine

4. Test Audacity : select Preferences Devices Playback: hw0 (ice1712) OK (lapsed, but got back. BTW, setting audio output by preference menu is exactly what I'd expect from all apps with sound)

5. Test Flash in Firefox, NO SOUND

6. Test Mplayer : OK on known clip stored on HD

7. Test kdenlive : OK

ALARMING EVENTS:
+ a brief message telling that the system is disabling my sound card because HDMI has higher precedence (does not stay so long that I can copy or manage)
+ kmix -v prints

Qt: 4.7.4
      KDE Development Platform: 4.7.2 (4.7.2) "release 5"
      KMix: 3.9

but kmix command does not launch any application, nor does the kmix icon in Klauncher

[jdmcdaniel3]

Have you installed the 'pavucontrol' application, included with gnome by default but usable with KDE as oldcpu has suggested?

Thank You,

[oldcpu]

I do not think audacity uses pulse audio so if I am correct then all the audacity test proves is sound works without pulse.

In your mplayer, kdenlive and firefox flash tests did you see each in the pavucontrol playback tab and select the appropriate sound device for each in pavucontrol ?

[consused]

I do not think audacity uses pulse audio so if I am correct then all the audacity test proves is sound works without pulse.

Audacity can use PulseAudio. Actually audacity uses PortAudio's API (PortAudio is an audio library), and it works with ALSA or JACK Audio Connection Kit, selectable via Preferences>Devices>Host (Interface).

With PulseAudio active, audacity uses PulseAudio's ALSA plug-in, providing ALSA is selected in audacity's preferences.

[polbrian]

Thank all for your suggestions. Actually everything ended up working enough for my present needs, only I don't know how, and except Flash in Firefox, which I have had no time to investigate. Audacity does output to anywhere, including Jack I think (not tested yet).