Ber Ring Her

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U CA 2 0 2 ( U CA 2 2 2 ) U S B AU D I O I N T E R FAC E O N L I N U X

THE BEHRINGER UCA202 (UCA222) USB AUDIOINTERFACE ON LINUX

The Behringer UCA202 (UCA222) USB Audio Interface ... http://www.larrytalkstech.com/behringer-uca202-uca222...

1 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

What To Do?

My kingdom for a horse!For several years, I used a Pro “Cheese-grater”, with two

, as my . The

video was fine (as long as I ran it at 720P), and the audio was very good with fiber optic “out” . Its agingMac worked well with

(version “Eden”), – my favorite software. All was

bliss until XBMC released its “Frodo” version, and for the Power PC was dropped. For a few months, I tried to

decide whether to keep my current setup, or buy/build a new HTPC (home theater personal computer).Then my file

expired. The was decommissioned as a media server, and , like Pegasus,

rose from the ashes as a ,complete with a “BIG”

, and a

.Now, what to do about the HTPC?

My choice for a HTPC would meet the followingrequirements: At least two gigs of

, a dual core

or dual processors running at 64 bits,

out (this video, along with an adapter,can attach via

to

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2 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

my flat-screen TV), digital/fiber-optic “out” for audio, and all of this for “CHEAP”. To say I had a tightbudget would be an understatement, so building the HTPC was out of the question. I needed a

. After some looking and head-scratching, I decided on a “brand” first. Hewlett-Packard becamethe obvious choice because I have had good look with them in the business world, and as HP sells a lotof computers, the odds of a “no hassle” (or “low hassle”) Linux

and configuration would be in my favor. Now for someEbay searching. I found a 5-year-old HP DC5850 that met all my requirements, except for the audio(analog “out” only). It would ship without a hard drive for $60 (freight included). I bought it.

A week after my purchase, the HP was sitting in my living room. It came in very clean with surprisinglyno visible signs of wear. Cool!!! Next, I pulled an unused Western Digital 500 gig hard drive from my“parts” closet (yes, only a true Geek will have a parts closet). With the hard drive installed, Debian soonfollowed. With the exception of a little work getting a driver for my Nvidia graphic adapter, the install andconfiguration of Debian was painless. Then came XBMC (“Frodo”),

av, , , VLC, and so

on….. Once all the software was in place, I fired the PC up, launched XBMC, and did a littleconfiguration. The end result: my “new” HTPC has worked very well for nearly two years, but……..

I still wanted digital audio. I am not too concerned about 5.1, as Dolby Pro Logic II and Datasat Digital Sound (

) Neo: 6, as used inmy Onkyo AV receiver, do a good job of converting two channel stereo into 5.1 surround sound. Iwanted a simple, inexpensive digital solution.

To keep both the installation and use of the sound card simple, I decided on using a USB external soundcard. I looked at variants of

, , Startech, and a good number of cheap Chinese solutions. They

were, for the most part, very very very cheap, and as a result, I concluded that quality and reliabilitymight be an issue. I liked the USB version of Creative Labs SB1090 X-Fi 5.1 Audio System. It lookedpretty good, but at $60.00 it was at the top of my budget, and 5.1 was questionable, as drivers had to beinstalled if one were using Windows. Though 5.1 wasn’t a significant factor in my buying decision, if I ampaying for it, I should be able to get it working. I

the Creative X-Fi would work on Linux; however, I was not sure that Dolby 5.1 wouldbe available. In addition, my history with Creative Labs has shown their drivers can be a bit quirky tobegin with, so installing the device with open source Alsa drivers and codecs found in Linux, might workbetter than those from Creative, or they might not. There were just too many unknowns for me toconsider the Creative X-Fi. I nearly settled on the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II. A device with adiminutive sound card built into a USB Toslink. It uses a single 3.5 mm jack for analog audio out, or withan included adapter, it has digital out. The product is advertised to work on Window’s and Macs. DolbyDigital comes from an optional driver for Window’s only. As I read

reviews, it seemed the Micro II would work fine on Linux, sans theDolby Digital option. As I read more, some reviewers were displeased with the Micro II’s sound, and had

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3 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

Behringer UCA202

Behringer UCA222

selected a device by Behringer. I then did some research on Behringer’s products. The item indeedlooked impressive. I purchased a Behringer UCA202 for $30 (US), from Amazon.

A Rose By Any Other NameOnce you start doing some research on theBehringer UCA202, you will find that for both itsprice, flexibility, and audio stats, it is a verydesirable product. It also must hold a record forthe most names given to a device. It is called, theBehringer UCA 202, the Behringer U-Control UCA202, the Behringer UCA202 USB Sound Card, theBehringer UCA 202 USB DAC, the BehringerUCA202 Audio Interface, and from Behringer’sWebsite: The Behringer U-Control UCA202

Ultra-Low Latency 2 in/2 out USB/Audio Interface with Digital Output. Yikes!!!

Now for more confusion, the Behringer UCA202has a fraternal twin, the UCA222. As near as I cantell, the UCA202 was introduced in 2009. It has asilver case. In 2011, the UCA222 was introduced,and this item has a red case. The later, typicallyretails for $5.00 more than the former. With theexception of the case color, the items arethe same. So, why the $5.00 variance? It seemsthat both items at one time had

’s of software in their product box.The UCA222 had more software, and it was more specialized. OK, if you need more, and morespecialized software, and prefer red over silver, then the UCA222 might for you; however, another twist,neither item ships with the CD’s anymore. The software is now all downloadable. You can freelydownload software for either product from the Behringer website. Here are the URL’s:

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx (http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx)http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx (http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx)

The bottom line: Today, the red UCA222 is a $5.00 upgrade over the silver (choose a name from aboveand insert it here)______________________________________. But wait, there’s more: there is also aUFO202, that at first, looks identical to the UCA202 (Silver, also). This item differs from the UCA202 inthat it adds a small phono

, and does not have a TosLink S/PDIF optical out.

Enough nitpicking, here are some features of the UCA 202/222:

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4 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

2 X RCA input2 X RCA output1 X TosLink S/PDIF optical output3.5 mm headphone outputVolume control for the headphone output

allowing you todirectly listen to what is coming in on the stereo inputsFull duplex record/playbackLow latency driver

Here is without a doubt the most exhaustive I found on thisproduct, complete with performance spec’s:

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/behringer-uca202-review.html (http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/behringer-uca202-review.html)

There are many ways to use this device. For me, the UCA202’s USB cable carries digital audio to theUCA202, and exits via a fiber optic cable to my Onkyo receiver. Here are some more specialized usesfor the UCA202 and UCA222:

Behringer UCA202 sample configuration, Figure 1

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5 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

Behringer UCA202 Sample Configuration, Figure 2

Double, double toil and troubleInstalling the UCA202 or UCA222 is as simple as plugging the device into an available USB port, andturning on your computer. Done. No drivers needed, kernels to patch, etc.

The configuration of the UCA202 or UCA222 will depend on how you are going to use it. Here is how is Iconfigured the device in Debian Linux, using UCA202’s S/PDIF out, with a fiber optic cable to my Onkyo

:

1. Find Sound Preferences. In Debian, the easiest way to do this is to find the Speaker icon on thetool bar, and right click on it. You will see in the drop-down box “Sound Preferences”. Click it. A

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6 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

window with multiple tabs appears on your screen. The window is entitled “Sound”.2. Click the “Hardware” tab. Under the “Choose a device to

:”, choose PCM2902 Audio 1 output/1 input

Digital Stereo Duplex (IEC958). Now at the bottom under “Settings for the selected device:”, clickon the drop down arrow on the right in the “Profile:” box, and find and Digital Stereo Duplex.3. Now, click on the “Input” tab. Under “Choose a device for sound input”, highlight PCM2902 AudioCodec Digital Stereo (IEC958), now just above, verify the box to the right of “Connector” displays:IEC958 – Stereo – Input4. Click on the “Output” tab. Under “Choose a device for sound output:”, be sure to highlight:PCM2902 Audio Codec Digital Stereo (IEC958). At the bottom of the tab, to the right of“Connector”, verify the box displays: “Digital Output (S/PDIF)”. Occasionally, during setup, I havehad the Connecter box display “Analog Stereo”. If it does, just go back through the “Input” and“Output” tabs, and verify that “PCM2902 Audio Codec Digital Stereo (IEC958)” is still highlighted.5. That’s it. You can test your setup on the “Hardware” tab, by clicking (what else?): “TestSpeakers”, in the lower right hand corner of the tab.

For those of you using XBMC, here is my audio setup. Before I go further, XBMC is cable of runningdifferent “skins”. These can vary Settings, the appearance of the GUI, and other variables. That beingsaid, I am using on my Debian Linux install, XBMC version Frodo. The skin (which is by the way, beyondCOOL!!!) I am using is Aeon MQ5. Here are my settings:

1. Go to “Settings”. Find and click on “System – & Hardware”.

2. Find and click “Audio Output”. Depending on your installation, there could be 4 or more itemsshowing here. For both clarity and brevity, I am only going to mention the items I changed:

Audio Output: Optical/CoaxSpeaker Configuration: 7.1Boost Volume Level on Downmix: OffOutput Stereo to All Speakers: OnAudio Output Device: Playback/recording through Pulseaudio Sound ServerPass-through Device: HDA ATISB, AD198X Digital S/PDIF

What light through yonder window breaks?I have used the device now for sometime. As a test, I reconnected and configured it as an analog stereodevice for sound output. Though the analog output sounds fine, the digital output is indeed muchclearer. I have kept it as a digital device. The UCA202 works flawlessly. For a $30 investment its hard tobeat.

There are some downsides:

No Dolby Digital. It must rely on a receiver to do two channel stereo into DTS Nero: 6, or Dolby ProLogic II to get surround sound.The device has been around since 2009, and some of its components are showing their age: such

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7 of 22 02/06/2016 07:52 PM

1

as, the USB is version 1.1

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