Editing Sound card (section)

===Outputs===
The number of physical sound channels has also increased. The first sound card solutions were mono. Stereo sound was introduced in the early 1980s, and [[quadraphonic sound]] came in 1989. This was shortly followed by [[5.1]] channel audio. The latest sound cards support up to 8 audio channels for the [[7.1]] speaker setup.<ref>{{cite web|title=Realtek|url=http://www.realtek.com/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=173|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818001831/http://www.realtek.com/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=173|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A few early sound cards had sufficient power to drive unpowered speakers directly{{snd}}for example, two watts per channel. With the popularity of amplified speakers, sound cards no longer have a power stage, though in many cases they can adequately drive headphones.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000124124/why-is-the-volume-low-when-i-plug-my-headphones-directly-into-the-sound-card-jack |title=Why is the volume low when I plug my headphones directly into the sound card jack? |publisher=Dell |access-date=2021-11-24}}</ref>