Hi,
Thanks as always for your help. However, I am referring to
configuring iTunes to use a different sound output device such as
another attached sound card or USB headphones or USB Sound card etc.
What I want to do is
get iTunes to play out through an alternative sound card without
changing the default output audio device.
Yes, it is possible to configure iTunes to play to a different sound
output device (such as an alternative sound card). What you need is
a software tool like Soundflower or JackPilot, that allows you to
reroute
your audio connections for the purposes of either monitoring or
or redirecting output from one audio application to to another.
This kind of capability has been widely used by podcasters who need
to separate different audio inputs and outputs.
Here's an excerpt from an old descriptor release of Soundflower:
Cycling '74 originally developed Soundflower as a way to allow
applications developed with its Max/MSP audio environment to
process audio originating from other programs. However, it can be
used for more general audio routing tasks patching either 2- or 16-
channel data at 32-bit sample depth between any applications that
support standard Core Audio driver selection. Soundflower can be
selected as a "default device" in the Audio/MIDI Setup utility for
programs (such as iTunes) that do not allow the selection of a
specific output device. As a result, Soundflower has found
widespread use in the advanced podcasting community.
Rogue Amoeba (maker of Audio Hijack Pro and Airfoil) distributes
Soundflower with its products, but you can separately get the latest
version (1.3.1) of Soundflower from the current author at:
http://thirdcog.eu/apps/soundflower
or you can download Soundflower from MacUpdate:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14067
You may also want to get SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba's Freebies
page:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/
This is a simple menu that allows you quickly switch audio inputs
and outputs, with sliders to adjust their volume settings.
Another useful tool from the Freebies page is LineIn, which allows
simple playthru of audio from input devices.
"You can use LineIn to play sound coming in through a microphone or
any other device plugged in to your Sound In port, just as was once
available with OS 9's "Play input through output device" option."
JackPilot, an alternate solution to Soundflower, is available from:
http://www.jackosx.com/
as part of the Jack OS X download. This is a Mac port of an audio
server written for GNU/Linux. The Jack project was designed from the
ground up to be suitable for professional audio work, and is under
continuing, active development. If you've been using either
Soundflower
or Instant Hijack (as part of Audio Hijack Pro or Nicecast from Rogue
Amoeba), you have to uninstall them if you want to install Jack.
Jack is probably of more interest as a solution to someone who
needs to
do professional audio work and wants an interface tool that can
support
more configuration (set number of input/output channels, achieve
really
low device latency and support high sampling rates by adjusting the
size of the cache buffer, exploit connection interface speed and
type --
e.g., firewire 400 or 800, etc.) As an example, there's a
description
of how someone configured and set up a Traktor audio system (for DJ
work) with an iMac using Jack at this page:
http://www.djtechtools.com/2008/05/16/smart-mixing-traktor-into-ableton-4-mac/
This should get you started.
HTH
