PC Sound card query

[topnode]

Gud day everyone.

I'm new here but I've already noticed the expertise of the highly skilled folks on this board.

Just a few questions:

Is it possible to install 2 sound cards on a PC?
Has anyone tried this before, or does anyone currently have such a config up and running?
What does one have to keep in mind when setting something like this up?
What applications require this kind of setup?

Thanks!

 

[Cradle22]

Hi!

It is possible. Coparatively easy with all professional audio cards (those made fro studios, like M-Audio & Co), but you can also use Creative cards (or even other brand's cards), if they are supported by the free kxAudio project (an alternative driver implementation for all EMU10K1 and EMU10K2 based soundcards, look under http://www.kxproject.spb.ru/). I would always recommend this driver over any original Creative driver, since they are very faulty, have a lot of restrictions about how to use your card, and are way too bulky (installation / download / system ressources).

And with kx you can even route the signals in a single audigy (or Live...) card so that each output plays something else simultanously (like front out plays Winamp in one room, rear out plays CD-Audio in another room, and center / sub out plays game's music in front of your computer...)

Hope this helps,

Arndt
Germany

 

[billyboy]

Yes, digital audio labs CARD-D - far too expensive though
also CARD-D and Midiman and SoundBlaster.
The main requirement is to get it running and then BACK UP your configuration.
The applications tend to be studio based but nowadays multichannel fans are buying ADAT intefaces like the Hammerfall or purpose built systems for ProTools etc.
bill

 

[fmak]

[And with kx you can even route the signals in a single audigy (or Live...) card so that each output plays something else simultanously (like front out plays Winamp in one room, rear out plays CD-Audio in another room, and center / sub out plays game's music in front of your computer...)

------------------------------------------
Be careful; about buying the Audigy 2. Like other Creative cards, the performance does noy live up to the specs eg. high harmonic distortion and LOW, LOW, overload levels on normal inpout settings. The software occupies a minimum of 90Mb and Creative talks about 400 Mb of space (I guess if you install all the rubbish they give you if you are only interested in music)

 

[Lisandro_P]

As long as they're not sharing the same resources (namely, IRQ & DMA) two or more soundcards *should* live happily togheter. I say should, because i don't really know how each particular drivers would manage this kind of situation...

And, on another subject: can annyone comment on the quality of the C-Media 9738 codec (onboard sound)? I know it's not the best, but i just brought a motherboard that carries one of these and i'll have to live with it a couple of months...

 

[Sparhawk]

I've run multiple sound cards without any problems, including a mixture of consumer and professional cards. Great for multi-track recording.

 

[topnode]

I've run multiple sound cards without any problems, including a mixture of consumer and professional cards. Great for multi-track recording.

Yes Sparhawk, the person who asked me about this setup is planning to do some multitrack recording.

Is the major concern for this setup -- IRQ and DMA usage -- like Lisandro said or is there something else i should be aware of?

Can this setup work with any two cards or what cards have you been able to pair without any problems?

Thanks a million!

 

[Sparhawk]

Yes Sparhawk, the person who asked me about this setup is planning to do some multitrack recording.

Is the major concern for this setup -- IRQ and DMA usage -- like Lisandro said or is there something else i should be aware of?

Can this setup work with any two cards or what cards have you been able to pair without any problems?

Thanks a million!

The limited number of IRQ lines and DMA channels in a PC will probably determine the maximum number of sound cards you could install. IRQ lines can potentially be shared between cards in any modern system, but I'm not sure about DMA channels.

I've only tried a few different cards, so I can't say that all brands will work together perfectly. It is possible that some drivers may not get along well with others. I used an EMU based consumer card (Similar to a Sound Blaster PCI 128) along with a Gadget Labs Wave 8/24 multitrack card. I used Cakewalk Pro Audio 9, as well as Cubase VST, with no problems.

This setup was using Windows 98, which handled multiple sound devices quite well. I've yet to try it with Windows 2000, but I imagine it will work fine.