Generic Sound card basics, is there a way to find out about them

[matrixofdynamism]

I understand the task of sound card is to change the sound stored inside the computer into a format that can be sent off to speakers and also to digitize the input sound to the computer itself. I understand that this is the basic function of the device.
What I wish to know is the structure of a typical sound card in a PC with example. I wish to know to the basic from real world sound card used for demonstration with the function of each of the components on it explained. I wish to know how it accomplished its intended task.

Do you know of any resources for this purpose?

 

[thebadtall]

Hello!

Most sound cards use a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), which converts recorded or generated digital data into an analog format. The output signal is connected to an amplifier, headphones, or external device using standard interconnects... I could copy the whole page from wikipedi! but i will just give you the link!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_card

If you wish to learn the scheme of its functionality , it is a simple thing, but if you would like to design your own, that would be a difficult task, and will need to deal with digital circuits

 

[DineshSL]

Hi,

Check whether following link is useful;
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/105672-diy-sound-card-building-resources-links.html

 

[sky_123]

Basically, the early sound cards relied on a variant of FM to produce sounds, and was basically used in soundblaster types of cards. It was all done in a single chip, so there wasn't much of a structure. You just sent commands across the bus to program the various registers inside the chip, to generate a sound. It became a standard. Later came cards with better DAC capabilities, which meant that you could use software to create high quality sounds (samples, wave table synthesis) etc.
Below is a high-res image of a late 1990's "Soundblaster 16 PCI". As you can see, there is not a lot to it.

The chip bottom-right is the device responsible for retrieving data off the bus and serializing it to the codec. The datasheet for it is here.
View attachment ES1371.pdf
The chip near the center is the actual codec (DAC/ADC). You can see the datasheet here.
View attachment cs4297a.pdf
The remainder circuitry is just analog supplies and audio amplifier.