How do I verify which Audio output channels from MAX/MSP are assigned to the headphones left and right ear?
Hello,
I am creating a MAX/MSP Patch in which my end goal is to listen to stereo signal over headphones. I am using ezdac~ in my patch. In ezdac~, there two channels Audio Ch1 corresponding to Channel 1 and Audio Ch2 corresponding to Channel 2. As per the MAX/MSP Audio Status documentation, the logical channels of ezdac~ are assigned to the ones listed in Audio status Ch1 - 1 Output 0 and Ch2 - 2 Output 1.
Is there a way to verify that Channel 1 corresponds to the Left channel/ear of the headphone and Channel 2 corresponds to the Right channel/ear of the headphone? Is there a default convention that MAX uses?
Does the live.gain~ object also follow the same convention?
let´s put it like this: i had yet to see an audio software where 1 would not have been L.
You have one: Max
[dac~ 1]
Not necessarily Left :-)
Regarding the original question:
Normally channel 1 is Left and channel 2 is Right. Testing? Delete one of the virtual cables and the sound on this side goes away. Bear in mind that many people have audio interfaces with more than 2 outputs. If you want to use such an interface for stereo channels you follow the L/R method in stereo pairs by using odd/even channel numbers: Channel 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, ... and so on. And yes, this applies also to the live.gain~ object.
Instead of ezdac~ you can also use dac~. In default state, both objects have 2 channels. In dac~ you can easily set channel numbers as arguments.
Example:
[dac~ 3 4 7 8 23] uses 5 defined outputs of an interface. These could be 2 stereo outputs (3/4, 7/8) plus one mono (23). Or 5 individual outputs. Or something else, what ever you like. The same system is used for audio inputs with the [adc~] object.
i was about to declare a convention that the order would follow how we write.
but of course there is arabic, too.
or [dac~ 2 1] for that matter.
:P
@Roman Thilenius @Peter Ostry, thanks very much for your comments. I created a test patch (attached) in which I read a two channel file. If I delete, one of the virtual patch cords it i very straightforward that Ch1 corresponds to Left ear and Ch2 Right ear by default. However, when I open the Audio/Status window, under Output I see Ch1 and Ch2. By default, the logical channels are mapped to physical channels. But here I have the liberty to send the Ch1 output to my right ear and Ch2 output to left ear. If I do this, all the left channel output is sent to my right ear and right channel output to my left ear. I don't understand where is this applicable. Can someone help me out on this?
Reversed output channels look like that:
But this is a global and permanent setting for all open patchers. You should never change your audio channel mapping unless you have a good reason to do it.
If you want to reverse channels, connect the virtual cables crosswise or use an object like [matrix~].
changing the assignment directly in the app or driver settings starts to make sense when you have a 16 speaker setup with kilometers of cables and one of them went wrong.
stereo is only one out of many possible cases.