Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 13.3. The M-Audio Delta 1010LT card is designed to work with up to ten channels of
analog audio and can also work with MIDI and SPDIF digital audio sources. Figure courtesy M-
Audio.
•
XLR input/output
—XLR analog jacks (see
Figure 13.3
) are used in professional audio and
video recording and production.
•
Analog RCA connectors
—RCA audio jacks, such as the ones shown in
Figure 13.3
,
can be
used to connect home theater systems or other types of audio hardware to a sound card. You can
also convert mini-jack input and output to analog RCA input or output with a variety of
adapters.
•
Word Clock I/O connectors
—These BNC connectors (see
Figure 13.3
) attach to cables that
send and receive synchronization signals between word clock-enabled devices such as digital
audio tape machines and other professional audio equipment. The impedance, cable, and
terminating resistor all need to be 75ohm for proper operation.
Note
The XLR connector is also known as a cannon plug or cannon connector because it was first
developed by James H. Cannon of Cannon Electric. The three-pin XLR connector shown in
Figure 13.3
is used for balanced audio connections for microphones and other equipment.
Other XLR connections have four or more connections, and various types are used by dual-
element microphones and headsets, intercom backpacks, lighting control, or fog machine
control.
•
Socketed Op Amp chips
—The quality of the Op Amp (operational amplifier) chips (also
called OPA or OpAmp chips) used on a sound card affect the sound quality, as these chips are
used to amplify analog audio. To enable users to customize the audio quality of their sound
cards, several sound card vendors produce cards with socketed Op Amp chips (see
Table 13.2
for details).
Table 13.2. Sound Cards with Socketed Op Amp Chips
Adding Advanced Sound Features Without Replacing Onboard Audio
If you use a laptop computer or an all-in-one desktop computer that lacks expansion slots, or if
you don't want to open your system to perform an audio upgrade, you can install USB-based
audio processors.
When you consider a USB-based solution, keep in mind that, unlike a normal sound card
upgrade, you don't need to disable your existing onboard sound or remove a sound card. USB-
based audio can coexist with existing sound cards. Typically, as with most hardware, the most
