Audio hardware is required only to hear the results, or to record signals from external sources. You need no audio hardware (sound adapter/card), either built-in or external, to use VAC for digital audio transfer.

If you simply need a function like 'Stereo Mix' under Vista/Win7/Win8/Win10, there could be better to try to enable it in your audio adapter. VAC behavior is similar to the 'Stereo Mix' ('What You Hear' or 'What U Hear') feature of some hardware audio adapters (cards).

Therefore, double digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions are performed in case of such connection, and audio quality is degraded. However, the digital audio signal produced by the source application will come through a digital-to-analog converter, then through the electric cable, then through an analog-to-digital converter, and finally recorded by the destination application. Download Virtual Audio Cable for Windows PC now! VAC performs such signal transfer completely inside the computer, with no audio hardware, and with no quality loss (if no format conversion and/or volume control are involved). Then, you can select playback and recording endpoints in source and destination applications, so they become connected to each other. You could create the same path, connecting the analog output of any audio adapter (sound card) to its own analog input by a plain electric cable. The 'Virtual Cable' term is used only in the VAC description, actual device/endpoint names are different. VAC provides a set of virtual audio devices named Virtual Cables. You definitely know that traditional hardware audio devices (CD/LP player, FM receiver, equalizer tool, amplifier, etc.) may be connected together by electric (analog or digital) cables. With Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) free software, you can connect Windows PC audio applications together, routing audio signals between them.

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