The Crystal Audio Device is a type of audio hardware produced by Crystal Semiconductor (later known as Cirrus Logic after a merger). It was commonly used in sound cards and audio chips in PCs during the late 1990s and early 2000s. These audio devices were typically integrated into motherboards or came as part of sound card expansion cards, providing users with the ability to play sound, music, and video on their computers.

When you install a Crystal Audio Device in a Windows-based system, you need to install the appropriate driver so that the operating system can recognize and interact with the audio hardware. Without the correct driver, the system might not produce any sound or might not detect the audio hardware at all.