Audio Devices

Q: "Why is there different names for the same input audio device?"

A:

Ah yes, this is a common source of confusion in Linux audio systems! There are multiple layers and subsystems that handle audio devices, each with their own naming conventions:

USB Device Level

Bus 003 Device 002: ID ff01:0009 MV-SILICON CMTECK

• This is how the USB subsystem sees the device.
• Shows the raw USB information:
  • Bus number
  • Device number
  • Vendor ID (ff01)
  • Product ID (0009)
• Shows the manufacturer (MV-SILICON) and product name (CMTECK).

ALSA Level

CMTECK [CMTECK], device 0

• This is from aplay -l or arecord -l.
• Format is typically:

  card_name [driver_name], device X

• More hardware-oriented view of the audio device.
• The number (device 0) is the ALSA device index.

ALSA Device String

CMTECK: USB Audio (hw:2,0)

• This is the ALSA device identifier used in configurations.
• Format:

  name: description (hw:card,device)

• hw:2,0 means card 2, device 0.
• Used when you need to specify which device to use in ALSA configurations.