[LAU] emagic a6|2m issues in (k)ubuntu

Howdy gentlebeings, I have this USB card made by emagic before they were bought by Apple lock, stock and barrel (the replacement MIDI cable that they send you free of charge already has Apple Computer Germany written on the package,, and the emagic site simply forwards you to apple.com) - is anybody here familiar with such devices? They come in two flavours - 6|2 m with 6 RCA inputs and 2 outputs (or a single stereo output - MIDI and SP/DIF functionality is also implemented as a single RCA input and output, which can be switched between these modes - an uncanny construction. The MIDI cable they sent me is in fact some proprietary DIN to RCA adapter. Yeah. RCA jacks for MIDI - weird innit? Anyway, a 2|6 m has two inputs and 6 outputs, and is identical to the 6|2 m in all the other respects. The Linux kernel contains dedicated modules as of version 2.6.31.4 (there used to be a single driver for both cards IIRC); they are supposed to load firmware into the card, which subsequently becomes controlled by snd-usb-audio. In reality, the only time this card worked under GNU/Linux was back in the epoch of dual booting - the Windows driver would load the firmware into the card, and it remained functional after rebooting into Kubuntu. This is no longer the case - I have banished the Redmond demon, but everybody's favourite OS has apparently decided to surprise me with an extra challenge. I don't mind as long as I get to see those green LEDs again - the ones that succeed the single red LED that would usually light for a second or two, and then give way to the green messengers of success. Is anybody familiar with the card in question? Did anybody ever manage to make this soundcard a fully functional component of their penguin-friendly audio setup, with full support and an infinitesimal latency? I certainly haven't as to yet - if there are any insights , I'll be much obliged if you share them. Or should I pester the kernel team instead? Cheerio, Mick