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Does this mean my android 2.3.4 tablet may use a USB/DAC after CyanogenMod rebuild?
That's a good news.
I think Android will loose some market share due to the lack of USB/DAC support.
Yes, it is possible.
If your tablet is able to support the USB host feature, your tablet has the USB host controller chip, or hardware, allowing the USB audio support.
Concerning the software allowing the USB audio support, Android relies on Linux for core system services such as driver model. The Linux kernel acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the rest of the software stack.
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture or ALSA is a Linux kernel component.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Linux/AudioArchitecture.htm
Android includes the ALSA source code which can be compliant with USB audio class devices, like standard USB DAC.
https://bitbucket.org/paulobrien/android_kernel_galaxynexus/src/bc4f9b72a51d/sound/usb/card.c
If the hardware is able to support USB host, it remains to enable the USB audio feature with proper software configuration settings.
For the time being, the standard USB devices for USB host-capable Android devices are only USB hubs, USB mass storage devices and USB class for human interface devices (for example, mice and keyboards).
We have to lobby for imposing USB DAC as a standard Android USB device, like a standard USB device for every Mac or PC (i.e. we don’t have to request each individual PC manufacturer to add the USB audio capability).
Google should include USB host (and USB audio) on every new Google "Nexus" device, which is supposed to be a reference Android device for others.
The 1st out-of-the-box (i.e. without modding) Android device able to support USB audio is the Android 4.0 ICS powered Archos G9.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/15/archos-80-g9-turbo-ics-tablet-now-shipping/
http://update.archos.com/9/gen9/changes_firmware_archos_android_gen9it4.htm
Archos G9 & Logitech USB speaker
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=23852275
The Google issue "Enable USB audio", requesting Google to standardize USB audio on Android smartphones/tablets, is currently ranked 15 of 20,090.
url=http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24614&sort=-stars&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20Stars
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