# Audio Issues And Recommendations



## CoryG (Mar 12, 2017)

I'm having issues with audio after trying all the sound drivers, my 
	
	



```
pciconf -lv
```
 lists my available audio devices as:


```
hdac2@pci0:0:27:0:      class=0x040300 card=0xda201462 chip=0x8d208086 rev=0x05 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'C610/X99 series chipset HD Audio Controller'
    class      = multimedia
    subclass   = HDA
hdac0@pci0:4:0:1:       class=0x040300 card=0x855b1043 chip=0x0fb010de rev=0xa1 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'NVIDIA Corporation'
    device     = 'GM200 High Definition Audio'
    class      = multimedia
    subclass   = HDA
```

Which correspond to the MSI X99A GAMING PRO CARBON LGA 2011-v3 motherboard and ASUS STRIX SOAR 7.1 PCIe Gaming Sound Card respectively.

These are both relatively new devices so I don't really have much hope in getting them to work, though if someone knows a way without coding drivers for them I'd love to hear it.

The purpose of this post is to ask: does anyone know of a decent and cheap PCIe sound card with 5.1 or better audio support which is known to work (and be relatively easy to get working) in FreeBSD?  I've seen the compatible hardware list however it's rather extensive and doesn't list specific details like quality, whether the cards are still on the market, what output they have, what the slot type is, etc.

Hoping someone knows a decent PCIe card with 5.1 audio which will work.


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## ShelLuser (Mar 12, 2017)

What issues do you have?  Also: what does `cat /dev/sndstat` tell you?

Thing is, the output you shared makes me believe that the system didn't only detect your audio hardware, it also assigned it with the right drivers. Otherwise pciconf would most likely have indicated this device with none0@.... instead of designating it with an identifier.


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## CoryG (Mar 14, 2017)

ShelLuser said:


> What issues do you have?  Also: what does `cat /dev/sndstat` tell you?
> 
> Thing is, the output you shared makes me believe that the system didn't only detect your audio hardware, it also assigned it with the right drivers. Otherwise pciconf would most likely have indicated this device with none0@.... instead of designating it with an identifier.



I get no sound - the result of `cat /dev/sndstat` is:


```
cory@computer ~ $ cat /dev/sndstat
Installed devices:
pcm0: <NVIDIA (0x0070) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm1: <NVIDIA (0x0070) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm2: <NVIDIA (0x0070) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm3: <NVIDIA (0x0070) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm4: <NVIDIA (0x0060) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm5: <NVIDIA (0x0060) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm6: <NVIDIA (0x0060) (HDMI/DP 8ch)> (play)
pcm7: <Realtek (0x0900) (Rear Analog 5.1/2.0)> (play/rec) default
pcm8: <Realtek (0x0900) (Front Analog)> (play/rec)
pcm9: <Realtek (0x0900) (Rear Digital)> (play)
pcm10: <USB audio> (play/rec)
No devices installed from userspace.
```


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## CoryG (Mar 14, 2017)

ShelLuser said:


> What issues do you have?  Also: what does `cat /dev/sndstat` tell you?
> 
> Thing is, the output you shared makes me believe that the system didn't only detect your audio hardware, it also assigned it with the right drivers. Otherwise pciconf would most likely have indicated this device with none0@.... instead of designating it with an identifier.


To follow up on this, I've gotten VLC working (though only with the front speakers) by selecting the audio device `pcm10:virtual:dsp10.vp0`.  Any thoughts on how to get the rear + middle working and how to make KDE4 use this as default?  It looks like the sound icon in the taskbar pulls up all the mixers, but for some reason chromium isn't playing any audio.


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## ShelLuser (Mar 16, 2017)

Late reaction but I have no idea about surround sound. To my knowledge this isn't fully supported in FreeBSD as of yet, but that's a rough guess based on something which I think to have read somewhere when I was trying to solve my own sound problems.


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