Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

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GiuBu
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Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

Hello All,
I am running UbuntuStudio 20.04. I have recently installed an Audigy2 Platinum Soundcard, it works out of the box, beautiful sound, doing some music production, it's very fast with low latency, even on Wine with Wineasio.
Now, I would like to do a couple of things.
First,
I would like to be able to access the inputs and outputs of the card individually, i.e. access the four mono inputs so that I can route different instruments to different channels.
Likewise, I would like to access the outputs individually, say have something playing on the speakers and something else on the headphones.
If there is someone with experience in this, I would really like to have your inputs on how to achieve this.

Second, I would like to get the most out of this card, as far as I can tell the maximum sampling rate I can set in Jack is 48000, anything above that is automatically reduced to this value.
I know the card is capable of much more, and also that the Alsa module only supports 41000 and 48000, but that was a long time ago, I was wondering if something new regarding this has come up in recent times.

Like I said, everything works fine for normal playback, and with minimal setup, and for that I am grateful to all the devs who made this possible,
now I would like to find out if I can do more with this piece of hardware, or if I should look for something better/more recent to achieve the setup I am looking for.
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Linuxmusician01
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

GiuBu wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:02 am [...]I would like to be able to access the inputs and outputs of the card individually, i.e. access the four mono inputs so that I can route different instruments to different channels.
Likewise, I would like to access the outputs individually, say have something playing on the speakers and something else on the headphones.
If there is someone with experience in this, I would really like to have your inputs on how to achieve this.[...]
I see that you've also opened a topic about Wineasio, Ableton Live and this same card (link). In that topic you posted a screenshot of qjackctl's Connections window. If I'm not mistaken then the dark green parts are Audio and the others Midi. I see that "system" has stereo "capture" IN ports and stereo "playback" OUT instead of 4 IN and OUT.

If you don't use the Wineasio driver how does the Connections window from qjackctl look? I use the "classic" Connections window. You can activate that via Setup > Misc > remove tick mark at "Repace Connections with Graph button" and it looks like this (I have only 2 IN and OUT):
Image

I think that that window should show 4 in- and outputs for the Audigy. Are you sure that your Sound Card actually has 4 physical in and outputs?

Good luck. :)
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

these are the INPUTS listed on the manufacturers manual:
  • One line-level analog Line input via stereo jack on rear bracket
  • One mono Microphone analog input via stereo jack on rear bracket
  • CD_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
  • AUX_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
  • TAD line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
  • CD_SPDIF digital input via 2-pin Molex connector on card
And the OUTPUTS:
  • DIGITAL OUT via 4-pole 3.5 mm minijack on rear bracket
  • Three line-level analog outputs via 3.5 mm minijacks on rear bracket: front, rear,
    and rear center/center/subwoofer Line-Outs 1, 2 and 3
  • Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Front Line-Out
Just to be clear, what I would like to be able to do is to access each of this I/O individually.
right now I can plug the amp to the Surround and headphones to Front, and I can change the volume of these with QasMixer.
But in Jack, even if I select the Multichannel output of the card, only System Playback 1 and 2 are active, so everything has to go through these two channels and the only thing I can do is select the volume of the physical Line_OUT jacks on the Sound card.
The same goes for INPUT, I can plug something in LINE_IN and something else in MIC_IN, but everything is mixed into the single stereo capture.
In Live, or any DAW, I can create as many I/O as I want, but System only has 1 stereo in, 1 stereo Out.
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

GiuBu wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 1:49 am these are the INPUTS listed on the manufacturers manual:
  • One line-level analog Line input via stereo jack on rear bracket
  • One mono Microphone analog input via stereo jack on rear bracket
[...]
That's "secret marketing speak" for two inputs (left and right stereo) and/or one mono input. :wink: Maybe you can't even use them at the same time.
GiuBu wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 1:49 am And the OUTPUTS:
  • Three line-level analog outputs via 3.5 mm minijacks on rear bracket: front, rear,
    and rear center/center/subwoofer Line-Outs 1, 2 and 3
  • Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Front Line-Out
[...]
The "line-level analog outputs" are for DVD multichannel output (that's when your computer decodes 5.1 Dolby Digital audio). They cannot be used as outputs the way you want. The output that you can use, however, is the stereo out.

This audio card is not meant to be used as multi channel in- and out. It's meant for gaming and playing back digital multichannel audio that's (internally) decoded by your computer. It's not meant for music production. What you want is something like the Behringer U-Phoria 404:
Image
Image
That's true 4 in and 4 out. There are many (USB) audio devices like that but they're not all Linux compatible. They need to be true "class compliant".

Good luck in making music on Linux. :)
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

That looks like a real nice piece of kit, for sure way out of my budget.
I came across this page
https://bootlin.com/blog/audio-multi-ch ... g-alsalib/
Now, all that coding goes way over my head, and I am really scared to try and end up with no sound at all...
Maybe somebody here who is more familiar with this kind of thing can tell me if this approach is feasible with this card.
And what steps to take to start messing around with config files without running the risk of messing everything up.
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

GiuBu wrote: Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:00 am That looks like a real nice piece of kit, for sure way out of my budget.
I came across this page
https://bootlin.com/blog/audio-multi-ch ... g-alsalib/
Now, all that coding goes way over my head, and I am really scared to try and end up with no sound at all...
Maybe somebody here who is more familiar with this kind of thing can tell me if this approach is feasible with this card.
And what steps to take to start messing around with config files without running the risk of messing everything up.
Quote from that webpage:
For example, let’s say we have a 4-channel input sound card,
You don't have that. I don't think you fully understand the problem: your sound card is hardware incapable of having more than 2 inputs and 2 outputs. It's got nothing to do with Linux and it will never, ever work. Period.

With a little luck the price of audio devices that are capable of multi in- and out drops after the Covid crisis which causes chip shortages and ridiculously high prices for shipping containers. I paid €100 for my 404. The Audidy, when it came out, was more expensive than the UPhoria 404. But it is no audio card meant for music production.
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

Sorry friend,
I don't need to create a polemic here, but how can you be 100% sure of what you are saying?
the sound card has 3 OUTPUT and 2 INPUT jacks at the back, plus a bunch of connectors on the board inside.
In Jack, I have 5 options for this card in the Input/Output Device selection, two of which are MULTICHANNEL input and MULTICHANNEL output that, if selected, show 16 channels for both input and output. Granted, only the first two of these are active right now, and what to do with the others is what I am trying to understand here...
AlsaMixer shows a plethora of input and output sliders, and I understand that this only affects the volume, but is this not an indication that the card is able to do what I am trying to achieve here?
Again,I am not trying to be stubborn and I appreciate your help,
but maybe there is a way to do this and you are just not aware of it.
your sound card is hardware incapable of having more than 2 inputs and 2 outputs.
Maybe if you could expand a little on the reasons why, it would be beneficial for my and other's understanding.
Throwing money at a problem is not always the most rewarding solution...
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

GiuBu wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 3:46 am Maybe if you could expand a little on the reasons why
I did exactly that. Please don't be offended and don't hold it against me.

If I were you I'd ask in a Creative Audigy forum if it has multi-channel output (if you need that).
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

So, for anybody interested in this little problem,
I was able to achieve Multichannel Output by using the alsa_out command.
That gives me access to the individual PCM output channels in Jack, so I can route the outputs as I wish.
I have not been able to do the same with the inputs because aplay -L doesn't list separate inputs like it does for the outputs, even though AlsaMixer shows all the different input sliders.
Maybe there is another command I can use, but so far I haven't been able to find it.
At least now I know that it is possible to do it, now I have to figure out how to optimise it , it's a little too "clicky" at the moment.
I don't even know what PCM means... :oops:
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by j_e_f_f_g »

GiuBu wrote: it's a little too "clicky"
Try the NO_CASTANETS option.
what PCM means
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But that's just a guess. If a nerd thought it up, then it's probably something that doesn't mean anything to anyone else, like Pulse Code Modulation (ie, that just means it's a digital audio signal, as opposed to a video signal, or a serial port signal, or even an analog audio signal which is the kind of audio that the human ear detects, etc).

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GiuBu
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Re: Audigy2 Platinum EMU10k2 Setup

Post by GiuBu »

Try the NO_CASTANETS option.
Don't know about that,
I included NO_BALL_BRAKERS and NO_NAY_SAYERS in this thread,
but so far I can't get rid of them... :wink:
Anyways, changing buffer period seems to have solved the problem.
I guess I am also asking a lot from my scrapyard salvaged Frankenstein rig...
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