Core Audio

From Guide

Core­­­­­­­­­Audio ­­­­­­­­­is ­­­­­­­­­the ­­­­­­­­­type ­­­­­­­­­of ­­­­­­­­­audio ­­­­­­­­­driver ­­­­­­­­­used ­­­­­­­­­on ­­­­­­­­­Mac ­­­­­­­­­systems ­­­­­­­­­using ­­­­­­­­­OSX.

Mac OS X Core Audio integrates a range of audio functionality directly into the operating system. The Core Audio HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) allows multiple applications to share the same device, while maintaining ultra-low latency performance.

A Hardware Recommendation list for RiffWorks can be found here.

More CoreAudio info can be found at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/coreaudio/