The wave stream connector represents the flow of digital information to and from the waveaudio device to its associated amplifier-mixer (ampmix) device. During playback, the waveaudio device sends digitized sounds from either application memory or files to the ampmix device for subsequent conversion into audio that can be heard through conventional speakers or headphones. When recording, the waveaudio device receives waveforms from the ampmix device and stores the digital information in a file or in application memory.
Control of the characteristics of the waveform information is provided by the waveaudio device. The quality of the waveform can be controlled by setting the format, sampling rate, bits per sample, and the number of channels. As an additional service, the waveaudio device will also allow the volume to be controlled. This service is actually provided by the ampmix device in a way that is transparent to the calling application. If other advanced audio shaping features are required, the application can retrieve the device ID of the ampmix device using the MCI_CONNECTION message. Once the device ID has been obtained, the application can send commands directly to the ampmix device. Examples include set commands to manipulate treble, bass, and balance.