21 May
2009
21 May
'09
7:04 p.m.
On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 09:27:41PM +0200, Lennart Poettering wrote:
From reading through the ALSA drivers I know that a
lot of sound card
mixer controls usually have a much higher dB resolution near 0dB then
the have near -90dB. Most of the time the steps they choose are very
arbitrary however.
With many cards the gain control provided by the HW
mixer is not meant c.q. not usable as volume control,
but just as a means to match the card to the external
hardware - to ensure that the maximum digital level more
or less corresponds to the maximum analog level expected
externally.
Given the arbitrary steps some HW provides, a 'master
volume control' can often be much better implemented in
software, leaving the HW's gain setting for a one-time
adjustment only.
Of course this doesn't work with really low-fi cards
that produce so much noise or interference that you
have no choice but using the analog gain if you want
low listening levels.
Ciao,
--
FA
Io lo dico sempre: l'Italia รจ troppo stretta e lunga.