10.4: Fun with Audio Units

May 02, '05 12:35:00PM

Contributed by: nevyn

Tiger only hintYou can do some mighty cool stuff with the new audio system in Tiger. Want to apply realtime AudioUnit effects such as reverb or pitch to your main sound out? Or perhaps you want to have quadrophonic sound by connecting two sound systems to your computer? Read on... Here's how to play with real-time Audio Unit effects:

You could've done all this stuff with Audio Hijack Pro, too, but this way is more fun. To revert these settings, quit the Au Lab tool, and then just go to the Sound System Preferences panel, click the Output tab, and choose 'Built-in.' You can also remove Soundflower using the uninstaller on its disk image.

Read on for a 'bonus hint' to create "Quadrophonic" sound...

How to create Quadro-or-whatever-phonic sound ... so you're sitting there with both Built-in audio out and your shiny USB sound system. What a shame that you can't combine them to have four channels of sound. Or wait! You can! You might already have guessed how:

  1. Plug two speakers to the usual headphone jack on the computer.
  2. Plug two speakers to your USB/Firewire (an iVoice with stereo out or whatever)
  3. Open Audio Midi Setup
  4. Menu Audio: Open Aggregate Device Editor...
  5. Press the shiny "+" button (they're all shiny, aren't they?). Name the new aggregate device "I Can't Believe It's Not Surround!" or whatever.
  6. Put a box in "Use" for Built-in Audio and another box at the device corresponding to your USB device. (Checking Soundflower won't be much use, as those are virtual outputs, dummy...).
  7. Drag the device that you want as front speakers above the device that you want as rear speakers. Press Done.
  8. Properties For drop-down: Select your new aggregate device
  9. "Configure Speakers"-button
  10. Check all the checkboxes in the box at the top
  11. "Multichannel"
  12. "Stereo" dropdown
  13. choose "Quadrophonic"
  14. Click the buttons to make sure you get sound. Beware, the buttons are laggy. Don't click like a maniac.
  15. Press Apply and Done.
  16. Default Output: [name of your new aggregate device]
Congrats! You now got almost-surround. Go play some DVDs!

[robg adds: I tested the first part of this hint, but not the second. The first part worked well, and there are tons of settings to tweak for each Effects setting. Quite fun, if not entirely productive :) ]

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