M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card

[Damian Gerow]

Thus spake Lev Serebryakov (lev at FreeBSD.org) [30/11/03 11:48]:
> DG> However, the drivers provided by OSS (http://www.opensound.com/) are a
> DG> little less than great.  The sound crackles and snaps, and every once in a
> DG> while, it just skips and skips and skips.  Not fun.  Not to mention their
> DG> license...
>  ALSA supports this card, so I'm porting driver to BSD now but it goes
>  very slow, I have not much time for it :(

Hey, a driver in the works is better than no driver at all!

>   I have specs of Envy24HT chip ("heart" of Revolution 7.1)

Excellent!  I still haven't heard from M-Audio, but I guess there's no real
need to chase them down anymore.

One more question, though: the Windows installation gives you the option to
select which channels you want activated, what type of audio support you
want, etc.  I'm presuming some of that is done in-software, but will there
be full mixer support?  I've been incredibly non-plussed with OSSs driver in
that regard -- none of the readily available Open Source mixers work, and
the mixer they provide doesn't give you channel control.  I can only use the
front speaker/headphone channel.  :(

>   It is strange. In Russia it costs about 1.5 times more than Aud2
> ($100 for Audigy2, not platinum version and $160 for Rev 7.1), buty it
> have MUCH BETTER sound, than any Creative's crap.

Technically speaking, I /can/ get the Audigy2 for $99 (Canadian), and the
Revolution cost $140.  But that Audigy2 is OEM -- so you get the soundcard in
a plastic anti-static bag.  If you get the boxed version, you're looking at
about $160-$260, depending on which version you get.  With the Revolution's
$140, you get a whack of software as well.

But agreed, the sound quality is a heck of a lot better.