Audio Playback

Audio Playback on the Server Workstation

The server does not have any built in audio capabilities. This is easy to overcome by installing an external USB sound device. We have selected the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro (SB1290) adapter. There are many non-branded, inexpensive USB audio adapters that are available for purchase. We auditioned some of them and determined that they were buggy, and the sound quality was quite poor. The Sound Blaster product performed very well in terms of quality and was very reliable.

The Sound blaster USB audio device should be plugged in a USB slot adjacent to the keyboard and mouse that is driving the server workstation

Note that even though the Sound blaster is directly attached, it is still presented as a virtual audio device since this is a Mult-point Server.

Sound Blaster setup

• There are no drivers required for the USB audio devices
• Use the accompanying USB extension cable to connect the device. This allows the Digital-to-Analog (DAC) hardware to be physically farther from the computer, and reduce interference.
• Make sure you plug in to the port that is adjacent to the keyboard and mouse that is driving the server workstation
• The Sound blaster USB audio device will not be available to the L300 workstations

If needed, an external USB audio device such as a separate headset or high quality Mic using USB connectors can be installed on the server workstation. Only one set of recording and playback devices can be used at once, though. For example, you could use a fancy USB microphone, and the output from the Sound Blaster card, but the microphone input from the Sound Blaster would not be available. You may need to reinsert the devices in a different order to accomplish your desired configuration. You must only use the USB ports adjacent to the keyboard and mouse driving the server workstation.

Sound Blaster ports

Audio Playback on the Ncomputing Workstations

The Ncomputing L300 workstations have a built-in headphone and microphone jack. The quality of the audio input and output may not be as good as using the Sound Blaster on the server workstation, but is certainly acceptable. If you require very high quality recording, you may want to consider using the server workstation.

The L300 does not support any USB audio devices

L300 ports