Standard ALSA Control Names
This document describes standard names of mixer controls.
Standard Syntax
Syntax: [LOCATION] SOURCE [CHANNEL] [DIRECTION] FUNCTION
DIRECTION
| <nothing> |
both directions |
| Playback |
one direction |
| Capture |
one direction |
| Bypass Playback |
one direction |
| Bypass Capture |
one direction |
FUNCTION
| Switch |
on/off switch |
| Volume |
amplifier |
| Route |
route control, hardware specific |
CHANNEL
| <nothing> |
channel independent, or applies to all channels |
| Front |
front left/right channels |
| Surround |
rear left/right in 4.0/5.1 surround |
| CLFE |
C/LFE channels |
| Center |
center cannel |
| LFE |
LFE channel |
| Side |
side left/right for 7.1 surround |
LOCATION (Physical location of source)
| Front |
front position |
| Rear |
rear position |
| Dock |
on docking station |
| Internal |
internal |
SOURCE
| Master |
|
| Master Mono |
|
| Hardware Master |
|
| Speaker |
internal speaker |
| Bass Speaker |
internal LFE speaker |
| Headphone |
|
| Line Out |
|
| Beep |
beep generator |
| Phone |
|
| Phone Input |
|
| Phone Output |
|
| Synth |
|
| FM |
|
| Mic |
|
| Headset Mic |
mic part of combined headset jack - 4-pin
headphone + mic |
| Headphone Mic |
mic part of either/or - 3-pin headphone or mic |
| Line |
input only, use “Line Out” for output |
| CD |
|
| Video |
|
| Zoom Video |
|
| Aux |
|
| PCM |
|
| PCM Pan |
|
| Loopback |
|
| Analog Loopback |
D/A -> A/D loopback |
| Digital Loopback |
playback -> capture loopback -
without analog path |
| Mono |
|
| Mono Output |
|
| Multi |
|
| ADC |
|
| Wave |
|
| Music |
|
| I2S |
|
| IEC958 |
|
| HDMI |
|
| SPDIF |
output only |
| SPDIF In |
|
| Digital In |
|
| HDMI/DP |
either HDMI or DisplayPort |
Exceptions (deprecated)
| [Analogue|Digital] Capture Source |
|
| [Analogue|Digital] Capture Switch |
aka input gain switch |
| [Analogue|Digital] Capture Volume |
aka input gain volume |
| [Analogue|Digital] Playback Switch |
aka output gain switch |
| [Analogue|Digital] Playback Volume |
aka output gain volume |
| Tone Control - Switch |
|
| Tone Control - Bass |
|
| Tone Control - Treble |
|
| 3D Control - Switch |
|
| 3D Control - Center |
|
| 3D Control - Depth |
|
| 3D Control - Wide |
|
| 3D Control - Space |
|
| 3D Control - Level |
|
| Mic Boost [(?dB)] |
|
PCM interface
| Sample Clock Source |
{ “Word”, “Internal”, “AutoSync” } |
| Clock Sync Status |
{ “Lock”, “Sync”, “No Lock” } |
| External Rate |
external capture rate |
| Capture Rate |
capture rate taken from external source |
IEC958 (S/PDIF) interface
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Switch |
turn on/off the IEC958 interface |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Volume |
digital volume control |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Default |
default or global value - read/write |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Mask |
consumer and professional mask |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Con Mask |
consumer mask |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] Pro Mask |
professional mask |
| IEC958 [...] [Playback|Capture] PCM Stream |
the settings assigned to a PCM stream |
| IEC958 Q-subcode [Playback|Capture] Default |
Q-subcode bits |
| IEC958 Preamble [Playback|Capture] Default |
burst preamble words (4*16bits) |