On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 09:27:41PM +0200, Lennart Poettering wrote: > From reading through the ALSA drivers I know that a lot of sound card > mixer controls usually have a much higher dB resolution near 0dB then > the have near -90dB. Most of the time the steps they choose are very > arbitrary however.
With many cards the gain control provided by the HW mixer is not meant c.q. not usable as volume control, but just as a means to match the card to the external hardware - to ensure that the maximum digital level more or less corresponds to the maximum analog level expected externally. Given the arbitrary steps some HW provides, a 'master volume control' can often be much better implemented in software, leaving the HW's gain setting for a one-time adjustment only. Of course this doesn't work with really low-fi cards that produce so much noise or interference that you have no choice but using the analog gain if you want low listening levels. Ciao, -- FA Io lo dico sempre: l'Italia รจ troppo stretta e lunga. _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-dev mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
