On 17-04-08 23:30, Rene Herman wrote:
James, I believe you are the emu10k1 person? Data:
TerraTec DMX = ESS Canyon3D (ES1970MS-3D) + Sigmatel STAC9704T
Creative Audigy 2 (SB0240) = Creative CA0102-ICT + Sigmatel STAC9721T (+ Crystal CS4382-KQ which seems to provide digital attenuation as well)
At 0 dB master the Audigy 2 is much louder than the DMX is and audibly distorts. Judging by hearing, keeping the master at -16 dB (60 in the integer scale) gets things about the same. Was that scale provided by datasheet or just guessed? Especially the distortion would seem to indicate that something is actually doing analogue amplification at the 0 dB ALSA setting...
Expanding, with the 'Line' control at 0 dB (74 integer) and 'Analog Mix' at 0 dB (100 integer) everything does sound right with both 'Master Capture' and 'Master' at full, and too faint with 'Master' at -16 dB. I guess this indicates that it's something at the DSP side only? (sort of loosing my way in this bewildering array of controls so if I need to be guided to possibly say sensible things -- please do)
When I do actually capture, -16 dB master is again the correct setting when playing back (with everything else still set to 0 dB as described above). It's then equally load as when directly monitored during recording. I expect then the Master dB scale needs to be adjusted down? If yes, I'll try to make very, very sure that -16 dB now is the correct new 0 dB.
Can we narrow this down a bit please. Run speaker-test -c2 -twav Do the test to each sound card with alsamixer set to 0dB for most controls accept the master, and leave the master at a sensible setting for your setup so that you can hear sound at a sensible level With the same dB values on the Andigy 2 and DMX, do you get the same loudness of sound output to the speakers?
Very much not. Sorry, it seems the report (unsnipped above) got a little confusing due to the followups but with everything at 0 dB on both DMX and Audigy 2, the Audigy 2 is much louder and distorts.
DMX has 'PCM' -34.5 --> +12 dB and 'Master' -46.5 --> 0 dB. I always keep both at 0 dB for a good, comfortable level (adjusted further externally).
Audigy 2 'Front' and 'Wave' are both at 0 dB (max) (everything default in fact) and with 'Master' at 0 dB, it's much louder then the DMX. Setting 'Master' to -16 dB (60) gets things the same.
I would like to find out if the problem is in the playback path, or the capture path.
Playback I'd say and I personally consider DMX right here, due to the distortion from the Audigy.
Only introduced capture into the story above as "additional evidence" where I could do a a comparison using only the Audigy itself and not the DMX: with everything at 0 dB in the capture direction, a captured file needs to be played back at -16 dB 'Master' to be equally loud to what I hear _during_ capturing as well ("hear" from 'Analog Mix' at 0 dB). So I get the feeling it's a simple matter of transposing 0 dB on the Master scale for the Audigy (ie, new 0 dB is old -16 dB).
I should have another emu10k1 driven card here somewhere. Is it useful if I try to dig it up and see if the story's the same on it?
Was this a useful report?
Rene.