Working with two soundcards

Working with two soundcards

Q I would like to know whether it is possible to have two soundcards in one computer and set them up so that one is used for playback and one for recording.

I have two soundcards ù one works really well for recording and gives no static, and the other one gives good playback but is not so good for recording.

Also, if you can use two soundcards, can you put them in series so the sound goes through both? I can do this at the moment but I have to have my other soundcard in my other computer and both machines must be on. This is annoying!
û Beau Rushton

A There is no problem with having two soundcards in the one computer. You donÆt even have to disable any features on either card. The Multimedia Control Panel in Windows 95 and 98 allows you to choose which device will be used for audio playback and which will be used for audio recording. After installing the second soundcard, go to the Multimedia Control Panel, click the Audio tab and select your preferred Playback and Recording devices.

Caption: Windows 95 lets you select different soundcards for playback and recording

I hope I understand what you mean by putting the soundcards "in series". You can really only use one playback and one recording device at a time, though you can switch devices easily without restarting the computer.

û Roy Chambers

Category:Hardware
Issue: September 1998