Choose your sound output device

[cameron]

Forgive me if this has been dealt with, but I am having a heck of a time with this. I would like to be able to send sound from 2 different applications to 2 different sets of speakers running on 1 PC (using onboard and an add in sound card). To complicate things, I have Windows 7 64 bit or I would just purchase IndieVolume and be done with it.

I am running the GameEx frontend so I can play MAME on my game cabinet and would like to have that sound come from my 2.1 speaker set mounted in the cabinet. I would also like to run Spotify (or a reasonable alternative) and send that sound out to my 5.1 surround sound. Seems like a reasonable request.

I am tied to 4 things: 64 bit OS, MAME, streaming audio and 2 sound outputs. Anything else is negotiable.

I know that Media Players such as Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc allow you to select the sound output destination and do not tie you to the default device selected in Windows. Unfortunately I cannot find a way to define this in GameEx, MAME or Spotify, If any one of those apps allowed me to choose the output my problem would be solved. I have seen an article about compiling your own MAME and incorporating a diff file but the article is from 5 years ago and doesn't reference my current setup. (forgive me if I have the details wrong here). Promising, but not quite. If there is a newer version of this topic I have been unable to find it.

I have tried Fidelify, a nifty little app that does allow you to select your sound destination but requires a Premium subscription to Spotify. I have the slightly lower level Unlimited account since I do not plan to use Spotify on any mobile devices. I am not interested in paying for service I do not intend to use.

I have tried different frontends for MAME (MaLa, Maximus Arcade, etc) with no luck. I have tried different streaming options (Rdio, Grooveshark) with the same results. I have tried plugins for WMP and Winamp to allow me to access streaming audio providers. No go. Pandora is nice, but I want more control over the specific songs I am going to hear. Besides, I don't know if they have a desktop app that allows you to select the output device. I have Google Music as well, but I already own those songs. I would like to hear whatever I am in the mood for and be able to access it legally. As far as I can tell web browsers use the default sound device defined in Windows which rules out several different streaming services.

Virtual Audio Cable will allow me to send one sound out to multiple sets of speakers. Not what I am looking for.

I know there are others out there with a similar desire to send sounds from 2 apps to 2 different sets of speakers. In fact, I'm willing to bet one of you geniuses has already done this. I have been impressed on multiple occasions at the level of knowledge on this forum. I have moderate skill level and am not afraid of tweaking, building, compiling, modifying and trying as long as I have decent instructions.

If you have a solution please enlighten me so I can get back to playing Robotron . I will be forever in your debt.

Thanks in advance,

Cameron

[Draco1962]

I sincerely doubt that you would let this stand in the way of playing Robotron!

Check this thread on Hardware Central as it has some links towards the end and suggestions for the Realtek Onboard sound app. It might get you in more favorable direction. I am not aware of any other way to do what you are wanting as you have already discovered that much of this is driven byt the individual applications.

[cameron]

Thanks for the quick reply Draco. Unfortunately the solutions in that link still require at least one of the apps to select the output device or they don't support the desired music services. It sure looked promising though.

Does anyone know of a line I can add in the INI file of MAME, GameEx, MaLa, Maximus Arcade or any other frontend for MAME that will allow me to specify where to output the sound?

Barring that, how about a streaming audio service with an app that has that sort of capability?

Or even a plug-in for Spotify/Rdio/Grooveshark/Rhapsody to a media player (WMP, Winamp, Foobar) that has the capability of selecting the sound card output?

If need be I can always downgrade the OS to Win 7 32 bit and install IndieVolume.

[Draco1962]

Unless the software natively supports selective audio outputs, there will not be a command line option or .ini change to affect it.

[headkaze]

Read this thread on BYOAC specifically there is a diff to modify MAME to support multiple sound cards (although it supports version 0122u2 it most likely can be modified to support a newer version of MAME).

[headkaze]

Okay I updated the diff to support the latest version of MAME.

Once patched to 0144u6 (see Mame Compiler 64) run "mame -verbose" and it will list supported audio devices

Eg.

DirectSound: 0 = "Primary Sound Driver" (active)
DirectSound: 1 = "Logitech USB Headset"
DirectSound: 2 = "Realtek HD Audio output"

Run "mame -cc" to create a mame.ini file and set the appropriate sound device value to the one you want

#
# WINDOWS SOUND OPTIONS
#
sound_device			  0

Sound should now be re-directed to that device.

snd_0144u6.zip

[Draco1962]

I like being proved wrong! Thanks, HK!

[headkaze]

I like being proved wrong! Thanks, HK!

Well... technically you wern't wrong because it's an obscure patch that wouldn't work unless someone took the time to update it. I updated the original patch by Zinky back in 2007 from 0111u3 to 0121 and then to 0122u2. Heaps has changed in the MAME source since then so updating to 0144u6 had to be done manually again.

Anyway I sent this patch off to MAMEDev and who knows they might include it in the next official release?

[cameron]

You guys are both awesome. I can't wait to give this a shot as soon as I get a free evening. Thank you and I will let you know how this turns out.

[cameron]

It took a bit of tweaking, but this is working and I can't thank you enough Headkaze! Hopefully the MAME development team will include this in upcoming releases.

Thanks to you as well Draco1962. I appreciate your giving me an answer which was technically correct instead of leaving me hanging out there in the wind. If Zinky hadn't made the first patch and then Headkaze updated it there wouldn't be a way to tweak the ini file, and thus no control over what sound goes where.

I have a couple of notes that I will add to the instructions when I get a chance. It will save anyone else who does this a little time. In the meantime I've got some re-configuring to do to get everything back to exactly how I like it.

Thanks again to Zinky, Draco1962 and Headkaze. You guys rock!

[Draco1962]

Your documentation and sharing will be most appreciated! I hadn't thought about separate sound sources until now and I can see some merit and may apply it in my own setup. I am looking forward to reading your write-up and thanks in advance for the share!

[headkaze]

Glad the patch worked for you cameron and appreciate the tip

[Draco1962]

Somewhat related - from the Arcade Ambience Project page is an application to run Arcade Ambience .mp3 files on a separate sound card. Would be cool if someone could dev a plugin for GameEx that would play these or, if possible, act as a "front end" for any of the emus that support selective sound card support.

[cameron]

Sorry it took so long. I got lost in a marathon round of Robotron .

First of all, the instructions and process outlined by Headkaze pretty much lay it all out there for you but you have to modify things a bit to bring things up to the latest release (in my case MameUI0144u6). Instructions are written at a moment in time, but releases change so be prepared to adjust.

NOTE: Since I started writing this MAME has switched from v144 to v145. See? This stuff changes all the time.

After you install Mame Compiler follow the instructions on the page, customizing for your current setup. I would recommend creating the C:\MinGW\source\MameUI0xxx folder first then extracting the source files before doing anything else. This sets the filepath and keeps you on the right track. I somehow messed things up and ended up creating more than one exe before I got it right.

The MAME source zip files are actually a double zip file. Make sure to extract the file twice. It is easy to create a path that deviates slightly from what you intend and what the software expects.

If there are any updates apply them in order as instructed, as they are cumulative. As for the hiscore file, I believe you only need to apply the latest one. Don’t forget to get the soundfile Headkaze listed earlier in this forum or you are wasting your time.

It took approximately 40 minutes for my EXE to be created. Be prepared to go make a sandwich and relax.

Even though I ran with the -verbose switch I never got any information about my sound cards. Probably user error, but I was able to go into Windows Media Player, select my sound card and from there I determined the device number I wanted. Zero = default, 1 = first sound device, etc.

The -cc switch did create the custom mam.ini file, which I modified. If I just ran the executable file it didn’t seem to load the settings from the ini file and sound came out the default device. I ended up adding some (benign) switch when I launched the exe which caused the ini file to load and the sound to come from my selected speakers. Hallelujah!

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am by this little change. It is the one little detail that most people don’t even notice when they come over, but I love every time I fire up the machine.

If you are considering doing this I strongly encourage you. You will love the results. (And don’t forget to tip your software developer if you like what you hear!)