[gentoo-user] AMD hdaudio: why do I have two audio devices and two mixers?

[walt <w41ter@gmail.com>]

Fresh gentoo install on new lenovo desktop.  Both linux and win7
(lenovo installed) tell me that this machine has two audio devices:

00:01.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI BeaverCreek HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6500D and 6400G-6600G series]
	Subsystem: Lenovo Device 3625
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel

00:14.2 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Hudson Azalia Controller (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Device 3625
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel

crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14,  0 Mar 29 18:07 /dev/mixer
crw-rw----+ 1 root audio 14, 16 Mar 29 18:07 /dev/mixer1

crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  3 Mar 29 18:07 controlC0
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  7 Mar 29 18:07 controlC1
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  2 Mar 29 18:07 pcmC0D3p
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  6 Mar 29 18:07 pcmC1D0c
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  5 Mar 29 18:07 pcmC1D0p
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116,  4 Mar 29 18:07 pcmC1D2c
crw-rw----+  1 root audio 116, 33 Mar 29 18:07 timer

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  12 Mar 29 18:07 pci-0000:00:01.1 -> ../controlC0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root  12 Mar 29 18:07 pci-0000:00:14.2 -> ../controlC1


I spent an entire frustrating day discovering that the reason I
have no sound is that every app wants to use /dev/mixer when only
/dev/mixer1 actually works :(

Only some apps (like audacious) will let me choose which mixer to
use, and those apps work perfectly.

Anyone else seen this before, I hope?  Got a fix?

Thanks :)
-- 

P.S. -- No, I don't use pulseaudio.  Why do you ask?