Hi Adam ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Sunday, November 11, 2018 7:24 PM, Adam Thompson <athom...@athompso.net> wrote:
> Hello, > > I’d like to use OpenBSD to build a MIDI synthesizer using SoundFonts, as the > OpenBSD MIDI and audio subsystems are remarkably understandable and sane, > compared to everything else out there today. > > � > > However, I’m having difficulty finding a combination of hardware that is > known to be supported. (I tried this a few years ago, but was unhappy with > the results due to the quality of the audio-out ports on the laptop I used.) > > � > > I’ve heard a fair bit here about USB audio not working very well, or at all, > in -stable right now. I’m unsure if this only applies to XHCI ports or not? As far as I know isochronous transfer mode required by USB audio class devices is not supported by the xhci driver. I believe a few people are poking at this, but that doesn't mean there will be support anytime soon. However - not all is lost... > > � > > Therefore, ideally, I’d like a fanless amd64 architecture system, that boots > from SATA (not eMMC) with either onboard stereo++ audio (up to and including > 7.1ch) or a PCI slot for a sound card. > > A laptop with really good audio-out would work, too, but I don’t know of any. > > If connecting USB audio to a RPi or BeagleBone Black works well, then I could > try that, too. > > � > > I intend to use USB MIDI interfaces, as they appear to be supported and > working fine (IIRC). > > � > > The problem is that, as I browse the list of embedded, fanless systems I can > get from DigiKey, Mouser, et al., all the boards with audio have HD Audio > Codecs that I cannot confirm work with OpenBSD, and I don’t know enough about > how azalia(4) [et a.] works with random unsupported DACs to drop $250-$500 on > something that may or may not work (i.e. the codec isn’t explicitly > supported). > > � > > Can anyone make any recommendations for specific hardware that’s fanless and > has working audio-out ports? > > � > > And/or if I’ve gone off completely in the wrong direction about USB audio, > please tell me so. (Working multi-channel USB audio would made this a lot > simpler/easier/cheaper.) I am a basic audio user, but I have a fanless system and an external USB DAC. Here is my setup: Computer: Intel NUC 5I5RYH <https://ark.intel.com/products/83255/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC5i5RYH> Case: Akasa Newton S <http://www.akasa.com.tw/search.php?seed=A-NUC15-M1B> Audio: JDS Labs Objective2+ODAC Rev B <https://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/objective2-odac-combo-revb/ For the NUC, USB 3.0 can be disabled in the bios, forcing the ehci driver, and allowing me to use the USB DAC without issues. From dmesg: [...] ehci0 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 9 Series USB" rev 0x03: apic 2 int 23 usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0 [...] uhidev0 at uhub1 port 3 configuration 1 interface 0 "Yoyodyne Consulting ODAC-revB" rev 1.10/0.01 addr 3 uhidev0: iclass 3/0 uhid0 at uhidev0: input=19, output=28, feature=0 uaudio0 at uhub1 port 3 configuration 1 interface 1 "Yoyodyne Consulting ODAC-revB" rev 1.10/0.01 addr 3 uaudio0: audio rev 1.00, 2 mixer controls audio1 at uaudio0 [...] I don't miss USB 3.0 for my work, but that could be a non-starter for you. Anecdotally, I've heard the Behringer UCA-202 works fine on OpenBSD but have not tested myself. It may have more of the features you're looking for (rather than the ODAC). An simpler alternative to the NUC and Akasa case could be the Zotac ZBOX C Series <https://www.zotac.com/us/product/mini_pcs/zbox_c_series> which I've heard some OpenBSD users are happy with. > > � > > Thanks in advance, > > -Adam > > � Good luck. If you put together a system, let us know how it goes.
