The
uaudio driver provides support for USB audio class devices.
A USB audio device consists of a number of components: input terminals (e.g. USB digital input), output terminals (e.g. speakers), and a number of units in between (e.g. volume control). The following types of units are handled by the
uaudio driver and are accessible via the mixer (see
audio(4)) interface:
mixer
A mixer has a number of inputs and one output. Each input has a control that determines its volume in the output. The name of the control is mixN-S, where N is a number that identifies which mixer it is and S which input.
selector
A selector unit selects one of multiple audio sources such as mic-in and line-in. The name of the control is selN-S1S2S3..., where N is a number that identifies which selector unit it is and the sequence of Sn indicates candidate units for the audio source.
feature
A feature unit changes the sound in some way, like bass, treble, mute, or volume. The name of the control is determined in a heuristic way. If the unit changes the sound to a speaker output terminal, the names of the controls may be outputs.speaker.bass, outputs.speaker.treble, outputs.speaker.mute, outputs.speaker, or likewise.
processing
A processing unit does one of a number of audio processing functions (e.g., channel up-down mixing, Dolby ProLogic, or chorus effects). The name of the on-off control is proN.M-enable, where N is a number that identifies which processing unit it is and M which kind. Depending on the type of processing unit there may be other controls as well.
extension
An extension unit performs some unspecified audio processing The name of the on-off control is extN-enable, where N is a number that identifies which processing unit it is.
For more information the USB Audio class specification is indispensable reading.