hello Franck and Jose,
I've been using a delta 1010 (LT) and can testity that it has worked great with pd (midi as well) (one config with 6 channels and one config with 4 channels+spatialisation). Sound quality is good (analog outputs are non-symetric though). And well, i was using ubuntu - that i would recommend for its simplicity (i found it quite easy and reliable to setup a debian-like install this way).

Frank, could you may be explain a bit more what were your thoughts concerning this distro?
Is it related to the kernel realtime-capabilities?
or some more general flaws?

by advance thanks,
vincent


Frank Barknecht wrote:
Hallo,
jose manuel berenguer alarcon hat gesagt: // jose manuel berenguer alarcon wrote:

  
I am considering the possibility of running some multichannel pd  
patches in some machine running some linux distribution. The patches  
would reach some complexity and address sound over 6 independent  
analogic audio lines. Could anybody give me some advise about which  
linux distribution and hardware setup (computer and sound card)  
should be needed for such a project?
    

If you just need 6 channel audio out, than most soundcards can do this
in these days of "surround sound". If you want good quality you may
want to buy something like the M-Audio Delta 1010(LT).  Many cards
based on that chipset (ICE1712/1724) are supported well by ALSA, they
have great sound quality and lots of channels. If you need more than
12 mono channels out, you will need to buy a RME card. 

Regarding Linux: just install Demudi or Debian with the Demudi kernel.
I wouldn't recommend Ubuntu for your setup.

Ciao