[Alsa-user] m-audio revolution (ice1724) 32-bit issues

[<ar...@gm...>]

Hello, ALSA users!

I've recently acquired m-audio revolution 7.1 card, that uses
snd-ice1724 driver. I have some issues with it, that I didn't manage
to cope with (alsa 1.0.11, kernel 2.6.17):

1. While I can properly adjust the volumes with alsamixer, "alsactl
restore" (on boot) only raises the volume in the right channel. Left
channel stays silent, until I change the PCM control up-down in
alsamixer...

2. The card's specification says, that it's playback format is 24 bit.
But playback only works, when I convert audio to 32-bit format
(S32_LE). Jack also works in 32-bit "mode". Just how can that be? Is
the card's actual resolution 32 bits??

There's one more thing: if I enable hardware monitoring of output
ports in JACK, and raise the input signal level beyond maximum
amplitude (> 1.0, JACK uses floats), the monitored signal does not get
clipped, but is properly displayed. Does that mean, that card supports
signal range above 1.0? I thought, that integer PCM signal must get
clipped above maximum range (e. g. 65535 for 16-bit)...

3. The card's documentation also says that it's recording rate is 96
kHz, but I can run arecord with just any sample rate up to 192... This
is also quite confusing. Does it mean that the input signal gets
resampled?

I would be extremely grateful for any help provided. I also apologize,
if I'm asking lame questions. Thank you.
--Artem