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#1 2016-08-23 13:33:48

H.Humpel
Member
Registered: 2016-08-23
Posts: 4

Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

Hi there,

I have two M-Audio Delta 1010 cards in my system and - as far as I can see - arch linux is using some kind of "automatic configuration" based on files found in /usr/share/alsa/cards. So for the Delta 1010s this would be /usr/share/alsa/cards/ICE1712.conf. At the moment both cards are recognized and well configured by ALSA (M1010 and M1010_1). So far, so good.

But I would like to combine (bind) these two cards to one to have one 16 channel I/O system.
I found this instruction on the internet:

http://www.jrigg.co.uk/linuxaudio/ice1712multi.html

and I guess I could use this instruction to get it working - somehow. But it doesn't seem to be the "right way" and it seems to me that a bit of dirty workarounds need to be done to get it working this way.

So I am wondering: what would be the arch way to combine multiple cards to one?

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#2 2016-08-23 20:20:44

brebs
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Registered: 2007-04-03
Posts: 3,742

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

What benefit do you expect to achieve by using 2 cards, that is somehow better than 1 card?

Do you want to use 1 card solely for recording? Are you a musician?

Do you have 16 speakers?

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#3 2016-08-24 07:24:43

H.Humpel
Member
Registered: 2016-08-23
Posts: 4

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

Yes, I want to use the two cards in a studio as a 16-track recorder, maybe someday a 24-track recorder if I find a third Delta 1010.
The two cards are connected to a mixing console.

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#4 2016-08-24 10:40:23

R00KIE
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From: Between a computer and a chair
Registered: 2008-09-14
Posts: 4,734

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

The link you point to seems to be the "right" way. I'm not familiar with jack and maybe it will be able to combine two separate sound cards to look as just one, if it does that it's probably what you want to use, otherwise follow the instructions you found.

It might not feel like the right way but making two cards show up as just one is always going to be a bit of a hack, there is no way around it.


R00KIE
Tm90aGluZyB0byBzZWUgaGVyZSwgbW92ZSBhbG9uZy4K

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#5 2016-08-24 10:52:21

Awebb
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Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,275

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

I don't see how anything a user does could conflict with "The Arch Way". The idea, that the user is in control, is probably the most important aspect. I don't see how writing a config file and accomplishing your goal with Jack could be wrong in any way. The only conflict with this "Arch Way" document would be, if you were to simply copy the config file and execute the commands without understanding what it all does.

If you're worried about elegance: I have solved far more trivial problems with far more complex solutions and haven't felt bad about it. Ironically, most of them had to do with audio and I always read the name "brebs" at some point during the process.

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#6 2016-08-24 13:39:29

H.Humpel
Member
Registered: 2016-08-23
Posts: 4

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

Thanks for all the input!
You are right, the "elegant way" would have been a better choice of words than the "arch way" wink.

For me it would feel "right" if there was some kind of configuration to enable/disable binding of multiple card and the files in /usr/share/alsa/cards/ would do the rest. Maybe I'll give it a try wink.

PS: I'll mark this one "solved" as soon as I have everything up running, if that's OK.

Last edited by H.Humpel (2016-08-24 13:41:51)

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#7 2016-08-24 16:09:23

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,275

Re: Binding two (or multiple) sound cards to one - the arch way

Maybe there will be a tool to do this, once you are done exploring your possibilities, if you feel like writing one, say, a script that helps people write the conf file.

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