Using a USB Audio Device With a Raspberry Pi
My previous tutorial on the Raspberry Pi, Using a Raspberry Pi as an AirPlay Receiver,
made use of the device’s built-in 3.5mm jack for audio output. This,
however, produces sound that is mediocre at best and if you’re wanting
to use the Raspberry Pi for any amount of audio listening, it’s going to
have to produce a better quality of audio. We’re not going to squeeze
much more out of the built-in components so, in this tutorial, I’ll
explain how to set up and configure a cheap USB sound card as the
Raspberry Pi’s default audio output device, providing a better quality,
and volume, audio.
Before You Begin
This tutorial will follow on from my previous tutorial, Using a Raspberry Pi as an AirPlay Receiver.
It will be expected that you have completed this tutorial and your
Raspberry Pi is currently able to act as an AirPlay receiver, albeit
with its built-in audio output.
USB Audio Device
Back in the good old days, most audio devices needed their own set of
drivers and software to work. This often proved very frustrating for
end-users and developers alike.
The reason for this is that many devices from different manufacturers actually use the same
chipset,
the physical components that make up the device. This is what the
drivers and software are for and you’ll often find that a number of
different audio devices from many manufacturers will use the exact same
chipset, the only difference between them will usually just be the
branding.
Nowadays, most modern operating systems and audio devices have no
such requirements as most chipsets work to an accepted standard, and
since most manufacturers will make use of the same small number of
chipsets, providing widespread support is far easier. There are
certainly a small number of more specialised audio devices that require
additional software but any generic audio output device is usually just
plug-and-play
