[PlanetCCRMA] Audiophile 2496 input, Nvidia nforce4 output, and xruns?

[Wade Nelson]

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:27:21 -0800, "Fernando Lopez-Lezcano"
<nando@ccrma.Stanford.EDU> said:
> On Thu, 2008-02-07 at 19:56 -0600, Wade Nelson wrote:
> > I'm using an m-audio audiophile 2496 for input from a mixer (using the
> > RCAs on the back) and the onboard nforce4 audio on my box for output to
> > my 5.1 speaker system.  I'm getting a lot of xruns, especially with a
> > couple apps running like ardour and hydrogen, but I can get xruns with
> > nothing but the jack server running as well.
> > 
> > I'm using qjackctl to set up the server, I've set the audiophile for
> > input, the nvidia for output... rate at 96khz, and the samples per
> > period (or whatever that setting is) down low enough that I get about
> > 5.3 msec latency.  However even at a very conservative setting where I
> > get 21.7 msec latency I'm still getting xruns.
> > 
> > Is the problem using two separate cards for input/output, or is there
> > something I need to do to get the xruns down?  When I was just using the
> > nvidia for input & output I was able to run at about 5.3 msec latency
> > 48khz and never saw a single xrun.  Seems awfully strange that I can't
> > seem to find any settings using the audiophile that don't result in a
> > bunch of xruns.
> 
> Jack can't use two soundcards at the same time unless they are
> synchronized. Otherwise the two clocks are going to be slightly
> different and the cards will drift apart until one of them will have to
> miss a period and you will get an xrun... Jack can't sync them, it has
> to be done at the hardware level. 
> 
> -- Fernando

Makes sense... is there a good way to use the audiophile to drive the
speakers, or would something like the M-Audio Revolution work for audio
output?  Or would it just be better to get a decent stereo system to
hook up to the Audiophile's RCA/Line-outs?  The speaker system I have
now is a standard 3.5mm Green/Orange/Black setup, so it really isn't
suited to the Audiophile's output in any way that I'm aware of. 



----------------------
Wade Nelson
hollywoodb@fastmail.fm
"I may have to share this planet with animals, 
but I'm doing my damn best to eat every last one of them."