USB Sound Card with no "native" sound card

Question

On a PC (HP ML110 G60), with no soundcard, Can I achieve sound/microphone plugging a USB sound card? Runnning Linux.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 28 '13 at 15:21

1

Can I achieve sound/microphone plugging a USB sound card?

Yes but you must ensure that drivers are available for your chosen Operating System.

The link you gave says

Operating systems: Win XP/Vista/Win 2000/Win 98/Win ME/Mac OS or a Sony Playstation 3

So the vendors of that specific device do not provide Linux drivers.

I'd search the intertubes for one that does.

answered Jan 28 '13 at 15:21

RedGrittyBrick

I've read about people about using that product for Linux. What about USB speakers, will they work out of the box? – jacktrades Jan 28 '13 at 15:29
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@jacktrades: I'd expect USB speakers to work out of the box. This is because these usually conform to a standard USB device class. I'd still check (ask the vendor - that way you can return for a refund if they are not fit for the specific purpose for which they were expressly purchased) – RedGrittyBrick Jan 28 '13 at 15:33
that standard USB profile will it work even for Linux? So those USB speakers have a built in audio card.... – jacktrades Jan 28 '13 at 15:35
@Jacktrades: USB speakers mostly don't contain audio circuitry to support all the features you'd expect of a sound card: microphone-input, host-based volume-mixing, etc. They are examples of powered-speakers (i.e. a bit like "monitors") rather than passive-speakers in that they contain an audio amplifier. – RedGrittyBrick Jan 28 '13 at 15:41
they should contain a simplified version of an audio card then, right? it's an audio card at the end of the day – jacktrades Jan 28 '13 at 15:45
@jacktrades: Nope. Cars and planes both have wheels, that doesn't mean a car is a plane at the end of the day. A USB speaker and a USB "sound-card" are both USB audio devices. I wouldn't take it further than that. – RedGrittyBrick Jan 28 '13 at 16:10

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