Linux sound system advice

[gnychis]

Hey all,

I am ready to move from the portable world to the desktop world now that I have a pair of HD650s that sound *amazing* with my iPod and tomahawk and absolute trash with my current computer setup.

Right now I have an old SoundBlaster emu10k1 5.1 that I got off of Ebay a couple years ago due to its great compatibility with Linux. It drives my Logitech X-530 speaker setup and thats all I use it for. I do not do any sort of recording, or anything fancy... just output. To listen with headphones, sadly enough, I connect them to a port on one of the Logitech speakers because there is no other output port on the soundcard.

So, I'm looking for suggestions to start building a desktop setup where my computer is the source. Like I said, I run Linux and thats all I ever plan on running. I don't need advanced recording capability, and I would still like it to support my X-530 speakers.

I assume I would want something with a digital out in case I ever want to use an external DAC in the future? What do you suggest? Money is not really an issue, but I'm not looking to spend a ridiculous amount (>$300) on the sound card.

Thanks!
George

 

[tot]

An amp with USB DAC is one choice. I have used Total Bithead and Corda Aria with Linux to drive HD-650's.

 

[gritzcolin]

Just get a long mini to mini cable and hook your Tomahawk up to your sound card. Bam problem solved for $15.

 

[gnychis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gritzcolin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just get a long mini to mini cable and hook your Tomahawk up to your sound card. Bam problem solved for $15.

i don't see another open slot on the back of it... all of them are taken by the speakers.

can the amp and dac be seperate? like, can I get just a DAC and use it with my tomahawk?

 

[gritzcolin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnychis /img/forum/go_quote.gif i don't see another open slot on the back of it... all of them are taken by the speakers. can the amp and dac be seperate? like, can I get just a DAC and use it with my tomahawk?

Yeah Dacs take usb/digital connections and have rca/mini outs on them typically. Just look and see what kind of input the dac uses.

 

[gnychis]

hmmm it seems like the corda aria is no longer available? and the bithead is also an amp?

 

[nelamvr6]

Sound is one of the problem areas with Linux.

You can get pretty much anything working in Linux: scanners, printers, iPods, PDA's...

But audiophile quality sound cards? Good luck!

I've had fairly good luck with USB DAC's like the Alien and the Bithead, but USB interfaces like the Transit or the E-Mu USB devices? Forget it! At least right now.

Actually, the Bithead would be a pretty good choice, since it has an amp built in. Otherwise I would recommend a straight USB DAC like the Alien.

 

[tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnychis /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmmm it seems like the corda aria is no longer available? and the bithead is also an amp?

I think Aria was discontinued late this summer, replaced by Cantante.

Total Bithead is portable amp/USB DAC combo. Not very good amp, but it can drive HD-650 ok. I don't really listen to that anymore, but still use occasionally with my laptop -- it is USB powered, very lightweight and attaches with velcro to the laptop cover.

Both are just plug and play with alsa drivers. I have not experienced any computer related noise even under heavy load (unless disk is too busy and player can not keep up.)

 

[003]

Well, aside from the fact that HD650s plugged into a headphone jack on the X-530s is about the best thing you can do if you are trying to get them sounding as bad as possible, it is VERY tricky (and sometimes impossible) to get high quality or bit perfect sound output. First of all you will want the media player called Aqualung, it is the closest media player you can get to foobar in terms of quality. Next thing you will want is to get the JACK audio system for linux, it is the closest thing to ASIO in linux.

 

[nelamvr6]

Hmmmm....

Aqualung...


Haven't heard of that one. Seems to be new, the deb package is listed as "testing" and it isn't in any repositories that I have loaded.

Are you on the development team? How long have you been using it? Does it support replaygain/vorbisgain?

 

[error401]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sound is one of the problem areas with Linux. You can get pretty much anything working in Linux: scanners, printers, iPods, PDA's... But audiophile quality sound cards? Good luck!

Well, the software is light-years ahead of anything on Windows from a 'good architecture' point of view. ALSA and Jack? Unsurpassed. ASIO is nowhere near as flexible.

Problem is that you're right, not many high-end devices are supported. It looks like all the E-mu PCI cards will be supported 'soon'. Support is in the code, but hasn't yet appeared in a 'stable' release. It's targeted for the next version to come out. Apparently the 1212m currently has support in the latest version of ALSA.

The USB devices, however, may be a while. Creative is apparently being helpful and has provided hardware samples and datasheets to the ALSA developers though, so I'm pretty hopeful you'll see support eventually.

At the moment I'd recommend something with a standard USB Audio Class interface; many DACs use this standard, the only real deviation you'll see is with major commercial products. Most audiophile DACs won't use a specially designed USB interface due to the work required to do so, and the ease of using the USB chips that do all this for you. I don't really know any specific devices that would be suitable though. I've heard that the HeadRoom MicroDAC is quite good, but haven't heard it myself.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmmm.... Aqualung... Haven't heard of that one. Seems to be new, the deb package is listed as "testing" and it isn't in any repositories that I have loaded. Are you on the development team? How long have you been using it? Does it support replaygain/vorbisgain?

I am not on the dev team and I've only used it once... try it and you will see what I mean by the features it has. It's actually not that new, been out for a while now. There is a linux audio mailing list you can subscribe to somewhere, they are very big on aqua lung and could help with any problems.

 

[gritzcolin]

I am also curious about this crazy Linux player, I use Amarok but have noticed a bit of tinny sound lately.

 

[003]

Main page for it:
http://aqualung.sourceforge.net/

It has native support for JACK audio server output, which is good.

BUT, keep in mind, you MUST have proper drivers for your soundcard! No generic drivers or ones that have resampling or no native 44.1KHz support! Otherwise setting up JACK and Aqualung will be a living hell!

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not on the dev team and I've only used it once... try it and you will see what I mean by the features it has. It's actually not that new, been out for a while now. There is a linux audio mailing list you can subscribe to somewhere, they are very big on aqua lung and could help with any problems.

Well I prolly won't install it until the deb package is stable. I use Squeezebox & Slimserver at home so it would only be an issue when I'm on the road, so i would definitely need it to be rock solid.

Thanks for the tip!