AlsaProject - User contributions [en]

Matrix Talk:Soundcard

2024-01-08T16:11:41Z

Ossi: "link" section thoughts

== Wiki ==

=== Page Name ===

Maybe I'm too much used to Wikipedia, but shouldn't this be Template:Soundcard instead of [[Matrix:Soundcard]]? Otherwise one might get confused and edit this page by mistake...

Greetings, [[User:Y2kbug|Andreas]] 20:21, 24 July 2007 (CEST)

: I tried to separate matrix pages and Matrix: is different namespace (mainly used for the search function). I don't want to change name at this moment. --[[User:Perex]]

=== KEnvy24 ===
The following did appear in the link section of every sound card :

"KDE users may use KEnvy24 utility from SourceForge"

This is completely silly because KEnvy24 is a mixer for the Envy24 chip (like MAudio Audiophile 96). Even with a card like the MAudio Audiophile 192 (Envy24HT/PT), KEnvy24 will fail with an error message like what it cannot find some Envy24 sound card.

So, please remove this line from this page. --[[User:Dominique|Dominique]] 20:00, 29 December 2010 (CET)

: this seems to have been done at some point --[[User:Ossi|Ossi]] ([[User talk:Ossi|talk]]) 16:05, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

=== Link Section ===
why does the section contain a WhatLinksHere reference? that appears to make no sense to me, and i'd remove it.
however, this would leave the '''specific''' section empty, which would be weird if no additional links are added by the template user. how to handle this properly?
--[[User:Ossi|Ossi]] ([[User talk:Ossi|talk]]) 16:11, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

Matrix Talk:Soundcard

2024-01-08T16:05:48Z

Ossi: polishing

Matrix:Soundcard

2024-01-08T15:54:06Z

Ossi: comment out/remove dead links. not much left ...

<noinclude>{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
==Template Matrix:Soundcard==

This is the generic ALSA module template which is intended to give an overview for '''all''' sound modules.

If you want to add specific hardware information or information for a specific module, please '''DO NOT modify''' this template. Add extra information above and/or bellow to the specific Matrix:Module-* page instead. Please read the [[Matrix:Description|Universal Soundcard Description]] for more details.

</noinclude>==Introduction for {{{name|unknown}}} soundcard==

There are two ways of getting Linux drivers to work, you can either compile them into the kernel or build them separately as modules. Read the [http://www.tldp.org/ Kernel-HOWTO] for details of how to compile a kernel.

'''You must turn on the sound support soundcore module.''' This is in the kernel. Look in the sound drivers directory and it should be the first option. Most people enable the module setting. That way you can load and unload the module manually if you have multiple soundcards/devices or if you intend to debug or use cutting edge software which may cause your drivers to halt sometimes. Of course it also means you have more control of your system.

Most modern distros come with <tt>soundcore</tt> compiled as a module. You can check this in numerous ways. The easiest way is to type:

modinfo soundcore

If this command returns that you have this module, then you don't need to recompile your kernel.

==Quick installation==

This explains how to build from source tarballs. See [[GIT_Server]] for instructions on getting and using the latest source from git repositories.

Type the following commands in the shell of your choice.

Make a directory to store the alsa source code in:

cd /usr/src
mkdir alsa
cd alsa
cp /downloads/alsa-* .

Now unzip and install the <tt>alsa-driver</tt> package:

bunzip2 alsa-driver-xxx
tar -xf alsa-driver-xxx
cd alsa-driver-xxx
./configure --with-cards={{{module|unknown}}} --with-sequencer=yes ; make ; make install

Now unzip and install the <tt>alsa-lib</tt> package:

cd ..
bunzip2 alsa-lib-xxx
tar -xf alsa-lib-xxx
cd alsa-lib-xxx
./configure ; make ; make install

Now unzip and install the <tt>alsa-firmware</tt> package:

cd ..
bunzip2 alsa-firmware-xxx
tar -xf alsa-firmware-xxx
cd alsa-firmware-xxx
./configure ; make ; make install

Now unzip and install the <tt>alsa-utils</tt> package:

cd ..
bunzip2 alsa-utils-xxx
tar -xf alsa-utils-xxx
cd alsa-utils-xxx
./configure ; make ; make install

Now insert the modules into the kernel:

modprobe snd-{{{module|unknown}}} ; modprobe snd-pcm-oss ; modprobe snd-mixer-oss ; modprobe snd-seq-oss

Now adjust your soundcard's volume levels. All mixer channels are muted by default. You must use a native mixer program to unmute appropriate channels, for example <tt>alsamixer</tt> from the <tt>alsa-utils</tt> package. Note that some usb-audio devices do not have internal mixer controls. Run:

alsamixer

You can also look at the utils/alsasound file. This script is designed for the ''RedHat Linux'' distribution, but it can also be used with other distributions which use System V style rc init scripts. This will allow you to load your modules at boot time. If you don't want to do this you can of course compile them into the kernel instead and save yourself the hassle of coming to terms with the rc init scripts.

===Setting up modprobe and kmod support===

Before you send a mail complaining that "I don't have <tt>/etc/modules.conf</tt>, where do I find it ……" ‒ the <tt>/etc/conf.modules</tt> has been deprecated with a few distro's, but in your case it may still be <tt>/etc/conf.modules</tt>. Basically they are both the same, but recent version of <tt>modutils</tt> use <tt>/etc/modules.conf</tt> instead. Nothing to worry about as such, optionally please update to the latest version of <tt>modutils</tt>. This should solve your problem.

Here's the example for this card. Copy and paste this to the bottom of your <tt>/etc/modules.conf</tt> file.

{{Note|'''Debian GNU/Linux users''' need to save this information into a file in the <tt>/etc/modutils/</tt> directory (eg. <tt>/etc/modutils/alsa</tt>) and run <tt>update-modules</tt>.<br>

Note also that the kernel module '''soundcore''' has been renamed in Debian kernels >2.6.23 into '''snd'''. A workaround is to put a symlink at /lib/modules/x.x.xx/kernel/sound/soundcore.ko pointing to '''snd.ko'''}}

{{Note|'''Systemd users''' need to save this information into a file in the <tt>/etc/modprobe.d/</tt> directory terminating with <tt>.conf</tt> (eg. <tt>/etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf</tt>).<br>

In case of modules auto-loading instead, the module name must be inserted in a file in the<tt>/etc/modules-load.d/</tt> directory terminating with <tt>.conf</tt> (eg. <tt>/etc/modules-load.d/alsa.conf</tt>).}}

# ALSA portion
alias char-major-116 snd
alias snd-card-0 snd-{{{module|unknown}}}
# module options should go here

# OSS/Free portion
alias char-major-14 soundcore
alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

# card #1
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

To copy and paste the above to your <tt>/etc/modules.conf</tt> file follow these [http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/doc-php/file-edit.php instructions].

==modules.conf==

This is a short explanation of what happens in the <tt>/etc/modules.conf</tt> file.

===Native devices===

After the main multiplexer is loaded, its code automatically requests the top level sound card module. String <tt>snd-card-''%i''</tt> is requested for native devices where ''%i'' is the sound card number, counted from zero (the first sound card) to seven (the eighth sound card). String <tt>sound-slot-''%i''</tt> is requested for native devices where ''%i'' is slot number for the corresponding ALSA owner (which is basically the sound card number). The options line allows you to set various configuration options before the module is loaded. String <tt>id</tt> (or <tt>snd_id</tt>) lets you set the name of the card which is then returned in the <tt>/proc/asound/cards</tt> file, i.e. to user space applications. Other options may be available depending on the specific card. Options for these cards are found in the <tt>INSTALL</tt> file or above.

username@hostname# pico /etc/modules.conf

# ALSA portion
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
alias snd-card-1 snd-cmipci
options snd-cmipci id="first" mpu_port=0x330

# OSS/Free portion
alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1

{{Note|
''For drivers older than 0.9.0rc5 use:''

<nowiki>options snd-cmipci snd_id="first" snd_mpu_port=0x330</nowiki>
|NB}}

{{Note|The "<tt>snd_</tt>" prefix has been removed from the module options to fit with the kernel standard.|NB}}

===Autoloading OSS/free emulation===

At this point we are finished with the configuration for ALSA native devices, but you may also need autoloading for the OSS/Free emulation modules, an ALSA add-on. At this time only one module does not depend on any others, thus must be loaded separately: <tt>snd-pcm1-oss</tt>. String <tt>sound-service-''%i''-''%i''</tt> is required for OSS/Free service where the first ''%i'' is the slot number/sound card number and the second ''%i'' is the service number.

username@hostname# pico /etc/modules.conf

# OSS/Free portion - card #1
alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

# OSS/Free portion - card #2 (cmipci)
alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1
alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

The alias for <tt>snd-seq-oss</tt> is not necessary on the second device, because there is only one <tt>/dev/sequencer</tt> regardless how many devices you have.

===The .asoundrc file===

[[Asoundrc|This file]] allows you to have more advanced control over your card/device. For most setups the default, system-wide configuration is sufficient. You may change this file only for special setup. The <tt>.asoundrc</tt> file consists of definitions for the various sound devices available in your system. It also provides access to the pcm plugins in <tt>alsa-lib</tt>. These allow you to do tricky things like combine your cards into one or access multiple I/O streams on your multi-channel card.

Below is the most basic definition (only example - not required to define at all).

Make a file called <tt>.asoundrc</tt> in your home and/or root directory:

vi ~/.asoundrc

Copy and paste the following into the file, then save it:

pcm.{{{module|unkown}}} {
type hw
card 0
}

ctl.{{{module|unknown}}} {
type hw
card 0
}

====Software volume control====
If your card doesn't have hardware volume control (e. g. Asus Xonar XD/XDG), you might want to create software Master control. Edit .asoundrc as follows.

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix"
}
control {
name "Master"
card 0
}
}

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "softvol"
}

Restart alsa, then open a music player, play a file and close the player. Then check alsamixer, as you should have a Master volume control. Note that this control doesn't have a mute option.

==Links==
[[Category:Module]]
'''Generic'''

* For professional quality, low latency audio routing use [http://jackaudio.org/ JACK] ‒ the “Jack Audio Connection Kit”.

'''Specific'''
* [[Special:Whatlinkshere/Matrix:{{PAGENAME}}|Users of this module]]<noinclude>

==Template Matrix:Soundcard – bottom notes==

If you have additional ''specific'' links, add them directly after this template to the specific Matrix:Module-* page. You can also add specific hardware notes to paragraphs below. Please read the [[Matrix:Description|Universal Soundcard Description]] for more details.

'''DO NOT modify''' this template with specific module information.
</noinclude>

Matrix Talk:Module-emu10k1-fpga

2024-01-08T15:37:04Z

Ossi: Created page with "this page refers to a non-existing driver; i think it was meant to be about the "e-mu" cards, but these are (correctly, imo) described in the actual emu10k1 page. so delete this page? ~~~~"

this page refers to a non-existing driver; i think it was meant to be about the "e-mu" cards, but these are (correctly, imo) described in the actual emu10k1 page. so delete this page? [[User:Ossi|Ossi]] ([[User talk:Ossi|talk]]) 15:36, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

Talk:MigrationPlan

2024-01-08T15:34:11Z

Ossi: Created page with "this page pertains to a long obsolete project and should therefore be deleted, i think? ~~~~"

this page pertains to a long obsolete project and should therefore be deleted, i think? [[User:Ossi|Ossi]] ([[User talk:Ossi|talk]]) 15:33, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

Matrix:Module-emu10k1

2024-01-08T15:13:23Z

Ossi: remove dead links

{| align="right"
|__TOC__
|}

==Card specific information==
===E-MU Digital Audio System Cards===
Last updated: 2024-01-08 for Linux kernel v6.6

The whole range of PCI, PCIe, and CardBus cards is fundamentally supported.
The USB cards are not subject to this driver.

What should work:
# 44.1kHz and 48kHz word clocks are supported (switchable using the mixer). The default devices (hw:x,0) support hardware resampling, so (almost) arbitrary sample rates can be chosen, with some quality degradation.
# Playback to ALSA devices at 16bit:
#* front
#* rear
#* center_lfe
#* side
#* surround40
#* surround51
#* surround71
# That playback or ALSA devices arrives in DSP channels 0-7. One can then select with alsamixer which actual physical output one wishes the sound to come from. It loads with mostly sensible defaults.
# Stereo 16bit sound capture with the default device
# 16-channel 24bit (S32_LE) in-phase capture (hw:x,2) suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# 16-channel 16bit (S16_LE) in-phase playback (hw:x,3) suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# A switch to select the clock source. (Note that the 02 CardBus card has one dead option due to lack of documentation/testing; please report your findings.)
# Switches to enable PADS (attenuation) on the inputs and outputs.
# ADAT/SPDIF switching on the TOSLINK (optical) ports (unavailable on 0404 cards)

What is not supported (by upstream kernels):
# High sample rates (non-1x word clock multipliers).
# The "sync" LED is not to be trusted.
# Almost anything else not mentioned above. :-)

====Downstream Patch====

A large patchset with extended features is available [https://github.com/ossilator/linux/tree/ossis-emu10k1 on GitHub]. Differences to upstream:
# full support for native 88.2/96/176.4/192 kHz sample rates
# 16-channel 24bit (S32_LE) in-phase playback suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# not everything is tested due to lack of hardware; a call for testing was posted [https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxaudio/comments/11i7qf6/call_for_beta_testing_emu10k1_driver_improvements/ on Reddit].

Details can be found in [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ossilator/linux/ossis-emu10k1/Documentation/sound/cards/emu-mixer.rst the documentation].

The patch is based on Linux v6.6. You can/should merge the latest (stable) kernel tree that works (v6.6.10 and v6.7-rc0+ are tested) and follow whatever build instructions are appropriate for your distribution.

Upstream refuses to merge the patch, because they deem features that might crash poorly programmed mixer applications unacceptable, even as an opt-in. Go figure.

===Audigy 2 Platinum EX ===
Infrared remote control and MIDI in/out on Audigy 2 ZS pro and Audigy 4 pro.

There is an issue with the Audigy 2 Platinum Ex soundcard and the Audigy 4 pro (and probably some other Audigy 2 cards as well), whereas the IR sensor, MIDI and the buttons on the LiveDrive do NOT work at all until the LiveDrive is initialized by sending the sequence of '0xf0, 0x00, 0x20, 0x21, 0x61, 0x0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0x0, 0xf7' to the MIDI port. Before doing this, even the LED on the LiveDrive won't blink, as it usually does when a button on the remote is pressed. As far as I know, this behaviour is different than with most LiveDrives manufactured by Creative. For more information see this link. The easiest workaround to this is to add the following line to /etc/modules.conf

post-install snd-emu10k1

echo -e '\360\000\040\041\141\000\000\000\177\000\367' > /dev/snd/midiC0D1

If it doesn't work, try

echo -en "\xf0\x00\x20\x21\x61\x00\x00\x00\x7f\x00\xf7" > /dev/snd/midiC0D1

It works for me and it should be distribution-independent (with exception to Debian, where you change /etc/modutils/alsa and run update-modules afterwards, Debian users will know anyway).

=== Audigy 2 ===

The soundcard has a '''hardware bug''' (the address bus is only 31 Bit wide, instead of 32 Bit) that makes it impossible to load and address large soundfont2 files on an '''64 Bit Kernel''' and more than 4 GB RAM above the 2 GB Address memory space.
But a workaround does exist:

First, one needs to identify one's sound card.
Open a terminal windows and type:
cat /proc/asound/cards

This has been tested with the following cards:
0 [Audigy2 ]: Audigy2 - SB Audigy 2 Platinum [SB0240P]
SB Audigy 2 Platinum [SB0240P] (rev.4, serial:0x10021102)

Then reboot the OS and press "e" when grub is loading.
In grub's edit menu search for the word "splash" and then add after this word the following option
memmap=2048M\\$6144M

Then continue booting the kernel.
This kernel option will limit your Hardware RAM for this session your OS can use to about 2-4 GB which leads to a solution for the Audigy 2 which now will be able to load large soundfont files
in the now limited 2 GB address space of your RAM.
This setting will be lost after reboot. To add a permanent solution edit your grub menu config file.

An alternative to this solution would be using a 32 Bit Kernel, instead of a 64 Bit Kernel.

Finally, an even better alternative to using a 32 Bit Kernel or limiting your system RAM is to apply the following small patch to the kernel:

<pre>
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
index 0bdb0c5..0dccbc6 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
#define MAX_DMA_PFN ((16 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)

/* 4GB broken PCI/AGP hardware bus master zone */
-#define MAX_DMA32_PFN ((4UL * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)
+#define MAX_DMA32_PFN ((2UL * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)

#ifdef CONFIG_X86_32
/* The maximum address that we can perform a DMA transfer to on this platform */
</pre>

For more info about the MAX_DMA32_PFN DMA zone read this [https://lwn.net/Articles/152337/ LWN article]. And [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/awesfx/+bug/183456 the solution provided here] explains the technical background for why the loading of the soundfont fails.

===Audigy 2 ZS Notebook.===

Status of current ALSA hg repository support:
changeset: 4743:5282de1ad7ef (or alsa-driver 1.0.14)

Supported:
# 7.1 Sound analog playback
# Sound capture from Mic/Line in. (newly added)
# Digital PCM out
Not yet supported:
# Digital AC3 out (requires implementation of the p17v PCMs)
# Digital input

For older alsa-driver 1.0.13
Supported:
# 7.1 Sound analog playback
# Digital PCM out
Not supported:
# Digital AC3 out
# Digital input
# Sound capture from Mic/Line in.

===Audigy4 capture===
First, one needs to identify one's sound card.
Open a terminal windows and type:
cat /proc/asound/cards

This has been tested with the following cards:
0 [Audigy2 ]: Audigy2 - Audigy 4 [SB0610]
Audigy 4 [SB0610] (rev.0, serial:0x10211102) at 0x9400, irq 201
This note applies only to the SB0610 and may or may not work for other Audigy 4 cards.

The controls that have been tested and verified are:
Mic and Line-in.
In order to get sound capture working, set the following controls as they affect both Mic and Line-in:
On the alsamixer Capture display:
# Master -> 100% or 0dB (affects both analog and digital capture sources)
# Analog Mix -> 100% or 0dB (affects only analog sources)

Controls that affect Mic input:
On the alsamixer Playback display:
(these will eventually appear on the capture display once developers add the feature):
# Mic boost (If you need +20dB boost)
# Mic Select -> Mic1
On the alsamixer Capture display:
# Mic -> 100%

Controls that affect Line-in input:
1) Line -> 100% or +12dB

{{Template:Modinfo
|module=emu10k1
|description=EMU10K1
|author=Jaroslav Kysela
|index:Index value for the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of int)
|id:ID string for the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of charp)
|enable:Enable the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of bool)
|extin:Available external inputs for FX8010. Zero=default. (array of int)
|extout:Available external outputs for FX8010. Zero=default. (array of int)
|seq_ports:Allocated sequencer ports for internal synthesizer. (array of int)
|max_synth_voices:Maximum number of voices for WaveTable. (array of int)
|max_buffer_size:Maximum sample buffer size in MB. (array of int)
|enable_ir:Enable IR. (array of bool)
|subsystem:Force card subsystem model. (array of uint)
}}

{{Matrix:Soundcard|name=Creative EMU based|module=emu10k1}}

Matrix:Module-emu10k1

2024-01-08T12:27:00Z

Ossi: update/rewrite e-mu d.a.s. section

{| align="right"
|__TOC__
|}

==Card specific information==
===E-MU Digital Audio System Cards===
Last updated: 2024-01-08 for Linux kernel v6.6

The whole range of PCI, PCIe, and CardBus cards is fundamentally supported.
The USB cards are not subject to this driver.

What should work:
# 44.1kHz and 48kHz word clocks are supported (switchable using the mixer). The default devices (hw:x,0) support hardware resampling, so (almost) arbitrary sample rates can be chosen, with some quality degradation.
# Playback to ALSA devices at 16bit:
#* front
#* rear
#* center_lfe
#* side
#* surround40
#* surround51
#* surround71
# That playback or ALSA devices arrives in DSP channels 0-7. One can then select with alsamixer which actual physical output one wishes the sound to come from. It loads with mostly sensible defaults.
# Stereo 16bit sound capture with the default device
# 16-channel 24bit (S32_LE) in-phase capture (hw:x,2) suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# 16-channel 16bit (S16_LE) in-phase playback (hw:x,3) suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# A switch to select the clock source. (Note that the 02 CardBus card has one dead option due to lack of documentation/testing; please report your findings.)
# Switches to enable PADS (attenuation) on the inputs and outputs.
# ADAT/SPDIF switching on the TOSLINK (optical) ports (unavailable on 0404 cards)

What is not supported (by upstream kernels):
# High sample rates (non-1x word clock multipliers).
# The "sync" LED is not to be trusted.
# Almost anything else not mentioned above. :-)

====Downstream Patch====

A large patchset with extended features is available [https://github.com/ossilator/linux/tree/ossis-emu10k1 on GitHub]. Differences to upstream:
# full support for native 88.2/96/176.4/192 kHz sample rates
# 16-channel 24bit (S32_LE) in-phase playback suitable for use with jackd/ardour.
# not everything is tested due to lack of hardware; a call for testing was posted [https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxaudio/comments/11i7qf6/call_for_beta_testing_emu10k1_driver_improvements/ on Reddit].

Details can be found in [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ossilator/linux/ossis-emu10k1/Documentation/sound/cards/emu-mixer.rst the documentation].

The patch is based on Linux v6.6. You can/should merge the latest (stable) kernel tree that works (v6.6.10 and v6.7-rc0+ are tested) and follow whatever build instructions are appropriate for your distribution.

Upstream refuses to merge the patch, because they deem features that might crash poorly programmed mixer applications unacceptable, even as an opt-in. Go figure.

===Audigy 2 Platinum EX ===
Infrared remote control and MIDI in/out on Audigy 2 ZS pro and Audigy 4 pro.

There is an issue with the Audigy 2 Platinum Ex soundcard and the Audigy 4 pro (and probably some other Audigy 2 cards as well), whereas the IR sensor, MIDI and the buttons on the LiveDrive do NOT work at all until the LiveDrive is initialized by sending the sequence of '0xf0, 0x00, 0x20, 0x21, 0x61, 0x0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0x0, 0xf7' to the MIDI port. Before doing this, even the LED on the LiveDrive won't blink, as it usually does when a button on the remote is pressed. As far as I know, this behaviour is different than with most LiveDrives manufactured by Creative. For more information see this link. The easiest workaround to this is to add the following line to /etc/modules.conf

post-install snd-emu10k1

echo -e '\360\000\040\041\141\000\000\000\177\000\367' > /dev/snd/midiC0D1

If it doesn't work, try

echo -en "\xf0\x00\x20\x21\x61\x00\x00\x00\x7f\x00\xf7" > /dev/snd/midiC0D1

It works for me and it should be distribution-independent (with exception to Debian, where you change /etc/modutils/alsa and run update-modules afterwards, Debian users will know anyway).

=== Audigy 2 ===

The soundcard has a '''hardware bug''' (the address bus is only 31 Bit wide, instead of 32 Bit) that makes it impossible to load and address large soundfont2 files on an '''64 Bit Kernel''' and more than 4 GB RAM above the 2 GB Address memory space.
But a workaround does exist:

First, one needs to identify one's sound card.
Open a terminal windows and type:
cat /proc/asound/cards

This has been tested with the following cards:
0 [Audigy2 ]: Audigy2 - SB Audigy 2 Platinum [SB0240P]
SB Audigy 2 Platinum [SB0240P] (rev.4, serial:0x10021102)

Then reboot the OS and press "e" when grub is loading.
In grub's edit menu search for the word "splash" and then add after this word the following option
memmap=2048M\\$6144M

Then continue booting the kernel.
This kernel option will limit your Hardware RAM for this session your OS can use to about 2-4 GB which leads to a solution for the Audigy 2 which now will be able to load large soundfont files
in the now limited 2 GB address space of your RAM.
This setting will be lost after reboot. To add a permanent solution edit your grub menu config file.

An alternative to this solution would be using a 32 Bit Kernel, instead of a 64 Bit Kernel.

Finally, an even better alternative to using a 32 Bit Kernel or limiting your system RAM is to apply the following small patch to the kernel:

<pre>
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
index 0bdb0c5..0dccbc6 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/dma.h
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
#define MAX_DMA_PFN ((16 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)

/* 4GB broken PCI/AGP hardware bus master zone */
-#define MAX_DMA32_PFN ((4UL * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)
+#define MAX_DMA32_PFN ((2UL * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) >> PAGE_SHIFT)

#ifdef CONFIG_X86_32
/* The maximum address that we can perform a DMA transfer to on this platform */
</pre>

For more info about the MAX_DMA32_PFN DMA zone read this [https://lwn.net/Articles/152337/ LWN article]. And [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/awesfx/+bug/183456 the solution provided here] explains the technical background for why the loading of the soundfont fails.

===Audigy 2 ZS Notebook.===

Status of current ALSA hg repository support:
changeset: 4743:5282de1ad7ef (or alsa-driver 1.0.14)

Supported:
# 7.1 Sound analog playback
# Sound capture from Mic/Line in. (newly added)
# Digital PCM out
Not yet supported:
# Digital AC3 out (requires implementation of the p17v PCMs)
# Digital input

For older alsa-driver 1.0.13
Supported:
# 7.1 Sound analog playback
# Digital PCM out
Not supported:
# Digital AC3 out
# Digital input
# Sound capture from Mic/Line in.

[https://bugtrack.alsa-project.org/wiki/wikka.php?wakka=Audigy2 original]

===Audigy4 capture===
First, one needs to identify one's sound card.
Open a terminal windows and type:
cat /proc/asound/cards

This has been tested with the following cards:
0 [Audigy2 ]: Audigy2 - Audigy 4 [SB0610]
Audigy 4 [SB0610] (rev.0, serial:0x10211102) at 0x9400, irq 201
This note applies only to the SB0610 and may or may not work for other Audigy 4 cards.

The controls that have been tested and verified are:
Mic and Line-in.
In order to get sound capture working, set the following controls as they affect both Mic and Line-in:
On the alsamixer Capture display:
# Master -> 100% or 0dB (affects both analog and digital capture sources)
# Analog Mix -> 100% or 0dB (affects only analog sources)

Controls that affect Mic input:
On the alsamixer Playback display:
(these will eventually appear on the capture display once developers add the feature):
# Mic boost (If you need +20dB boost)
# Mic Select -> Mic1
On the alsamixer Capture display:
# Mic -> 100%

Controls that affect Line-in input:
1) Line -> 100% or +12dB

[https://bugtrack.alsa-project.org/wiki/wikka.php?wakka=audigy4capture original]

{{Template:Modinfo
|module=emu10k1
|description=EMU10K1
|author=Jaroslav Kysela
|index:Index value for the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of int)
|id:ID string for the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of charp)
|enable:Enable the EMU10K1 soundcard. (array of bool)
|extin:Available external inputs for FX8010. Zero=default. (array of int)
|extout:Available external outputs for FX8010. Zero=default. (array of int)
|seq_ports:Allocated sequencer ports for internal synthesizer. (array of int)
|max_synth_voices:Maximum number of voices for WaveTable. (array of int)
|max_buffer_size:Maximum sample buffer size in MB. (array of int)
|enable_ir:Enable IR. (array of bool)
|subsystem:Force card subsystem model. (array of uint)
}}

{{Matrix:Soundcard|name=Creative EMU based|module=emu10k1}}