Microcontroller acting as USB host for an audio device

Question

Are there any microcontrollers which are able to act as a USB host for audio devices? Basically I'd like to create an interface which allows my to connect my USB headset to the analog microphone/headphone jacks of my PC (so it doesn't appear as a separate sound device to the OS).

However, I have no idea if cheap microcontrollers are powerful for that or if there are any microcontrollers which support usb-audio. Googling wasn't very helpful; most controllers supporting usb-host only support mass storage devices...

I am somewhat interested in the answers for the questions. I think the act of decoding usb audio on a micro can have lots of uses, more then just sending it to a computer. — Kellenjb, Nov 01 '10 at 14:54

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 01 '10 at 14:01

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XMOS devices support USB Audio 2.0 for really high audio quality, you could dispense with the PC. They are quite cheap.

answered Nov 01 '10 at 14:01

Leon Heller

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as a USB *host*? – endolith Nov 20 '14 at 20:07
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Yes. Host mode is supported: http://www.xmos.com/multimodedock – Leon Heller Nov 20 '14 at 20:38

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 20 '14 at 20:33

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The two cheapest USB host devices I know of are Vinculum VNC2 (not sure if available yet) and Microchip PIC24FJ64GB004. You'll need to look through their USB libraries to see how much work would be needed for audio support.

However for this application I can't help thinking a more analogue solution may be a lot easier, i.e. rip out the digital stuff from the headset.

edited Nov 20 '14 at 20:33

endolith

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answered Nov 01 '10 at 14:43

mikeselectricstuff

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Removing the digital stuff would be hard as it's a wireless headset and I doubt there is an easy way to get an analogue signal from the receiver. – ThiefMaster Nov 01 '10 at 14:59
I think the PIC is his way of ripping out the digital stuff without damaging the headset – Kortuk Nov 01 '10 at 14:59

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 08 '12 at 07:29

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Unless you really like hacking USB, I'd recommend that you either buy an analogue headset or wire some audio jacks onto your existing one.

LUFA supports USB audio in both host and device mode on the USB AVR microcontrollers.

edited Oct 08 '12 at 07:29

ThiefMaster

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answered Nov 01 '10 at 13:52

Toby Jaffey

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 08 '12 at 12:35

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I'm curious about the MAX3421, but I can't seem to find anyone who's actually used it! It looks like it might be an easier solution than the Vinculum.

answered Oct 08 '12 at 12:35

Scott Seidman

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Microcontroller acting as USB host for an audio device

4 Answers4