Sound Card for Audio Production
Author
I am in the market for a new sound card. I have a relatively low budget. Here is the one I was thinking of getting.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121120
I'd opt for something like the MobilePre over that one; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121012.
It's a little more $$, but has a mic preamp (good if you want to do some dialog/instrument recording, or foley/sound design) and has 1/4" outs, though unbalanced, but not as high of recording/playback quality.
The Fast Track for $99 is OK too; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829998005. Has a mic preamp anyway...
If you have no use for a mic preamp, then what you picked out is fine.
But I love my Hammerfall... :P
It's a little more $$, but has a mic preamp (good if you want to do some dialog/instrument recording, or foley/sound design) and has 1/4" outs, though unbalanced, but not as high of recording/playback quality.
The Fast Track for $99 is OK too; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829998005. Has a mic preamp anyway...
If you have no use for a mic preamp, then what you picked out is fine.
But I love my Hammerfall... :P
Get one of these:
http://line6.com/toneportux2/
You can redirect your sound through the device and the ASIO built into it is really responsive. It has multiple connects for your instruments or microphones. Its Vista compatible and you can direct it straight into your DAW. IMO this is some of the best money I've ever spent.
Here's the Amazon listing for it:
http://www.amazon.com/Line-6-Tone-Port-UX2/dp/B000BP5QG2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1228748234&sr=8-1
http://line6.com/toneportux2/
You can redirect your sound through the device and the ASIO built into it is really responsive. It has multiple connects for your instruments or microphones. Its Vista compatible and you can direct it straight into your DAW. IMO this is some of the best money I've ever spent.
Here's the Amazon listing for it:
http://www.amazon.com/Line-6-Tone-Port-UX2/dp/B000BP5QG2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1228748234&sr=8-1
Author
Why are all of these suggestions for external recording devices. They also cater to guitar players. Is there a reason for that? I will be doing the majority of sequencing through a master controller. I just want to make sure its understood what I need. Thanks for the replies so far.
External work just as well as (if not better than) internal cards. However if you're really wanting only an internal card for a cheap price- I used the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum for my first 3 years. It worked GREAT!
Sound Blasters are not really considered pro cards and there are much better professional cards out there. Sound Blasters can get the job done though.
Sound Blasters are not really considered pro cards and there are much better professional cards out there. Sound Blasters can get the job done though.
Author
Alright I understand. Its just I thought PCI was faster than USB.
I read some reviews on a few of the products listed and some are not so hot and some arent friendly with vista 64. What about these cards?
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Echo-MIA-MIDI-Digital-Audio-and-MIDI-Card?sku=247016
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=240390V
If they dont look so good I will likely go with the line 6.
I read some reviews on a few of the products listed and some are not so hot and some arent friendly with vista 64. What about these cards?
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Echo-MIA-MIDI-Digital-Audio-and-MIDI-Card?sku=247016
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=240390V
If they dont look so good I will likely go with the line 6.
The USB1.0 specification rates the bandwidth at 1.5 MBits/s and 12 MBits/s
The USB2.0 specification rates the bandwidth at 480 MBits/s
The conventional PCI specification is a 33 Mhz bus at a width of 32 bits (33 * 32 = 1056 MBits/s)
The PCI2.2 revision added the ability to run the bus at 66Mhz (66 * 32 = 2112 MBit/s)
An uncomressed audio stream at 48Khz with a 16 bit data format will occupy .768 MBits/s
So I'd shy away from anything that claims USB 1.x compatibility but USB 2 or PCI should both be fine for most audio solutions.
I personally use a Sound Blaster X-Fi for my recordingand gaming, and I have to say vista support is pretty shoddy. The driver has been in beta for a long time and the driver cannot handle alot of appications using it at the same time. But the Windows XP drivers are superb. Unfortunately it's a bit on the pricey side.
The USB2.0 specification rates the bandwidth at 480 MBits/s
The conventional PCI specification is a 33 Mhz bus at a width of 32 bits (33 * 32 = 1056 MBits/s)
The PCI2.2 revision added the ability to run the bus at 66Mhz (66 * 32 = 2112 MBit/s)
An uncomressed audio stream at 48Khz with a 16 bit data format will occupy .768 MBits/s
So I'd shy away from anything that claims USB 1.x compatibility but USB 2 or PCI should both be fine for most audio solutions.
I personally use a Sound Blaster X-Fi for my recordingand gaming, and I have to say vista support is pretty shoddy. The driver has been in beta for a long time and the driver cannot handle alot of appications using it at the same time. But the Windows XP drivers are superb. Unfortunately it's a bit on the pricey side.
Quote:Original post by dragnmastr85
Alright I understand. Its just I thought PCI was faster than USB.
If you're just recording MIDI, that's mostly irrelevant since MIDI's bandwidth is tiny. I would expect that virtually any sound card that supports MIDI would suffice for the task.
If you're wanting to record audio as well, that changes things. Then it's worth considering whether you're recording direct to line-in, or via microphones, etc.
Author
Ok so I am going to drop some credit card for the sound interface. I still want to keep it on the lower end. What about this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121008
Author
After looking around some more and doing some comparing I think I might go with the line 6 that was posted prior. It looks good. Any objections?
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