I am planning to buy an audio/midi interface for my Toshiba laptop. I have no idea what the market has to offer (all my past experiences have been with my PC through an Audiophile 2496 card). The only thing I know about laptop cards is that they have to fit in the PCMCIA slot, right?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
A.

I have done a little research and it seems that two good options are the Edirol UA-25



and the M-Audio Audiophile USB



...oh, and they do not connect to the PCMCIA slot...

Thanks, Donny, but I need an audio interface as well...

hey dreamer!
i am just in your shues!

i also used to have a AP2496 into my desktop system.
now, when i use a AMD Turion64x2 laptop, i need another audiocard.
for my needs, usb is good enough. but you might need firewire type. just make sure about these....
my choice is http://www.zzounds.com/item--LEXLAMBDA

...now i just have to find someone to bring it in romania!

I have had everything from Soundblasters to Echo pcmcia cards. This module sounds the best with midi playback and using a controller keyboard for individual solo voices. The drums are above average. It is USB and Midi, so a MidiSport type interface is needed for Midi playback from the laptop.

Sorry, I forgot the link.
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Ketron-SD2-S...2KETRONKIT.html

How do you hope to use the lap top and the audio interface? Is it for studio work or for live performances?

You could think about getting a controller keyboard and midi and audio interface like teh Novation xstation or Maudio. they are USB

I intend to use the laptop at home; I really don't need another sound module (like suggested by Bernie 9) because I have plenty of sound sources to choose from. Right now I have:
- a Tyros 2
- a Roland G-70
- a Ketron Midjay
- a Roland Fantom XR with four SRX cards
- a Yamaha Motif ES rack
- a couple of samplers (Akai S2800 and Ensoniq ASR 10r) with plenty of sounds
- a Roland A-37 (76 notes master keyboard, which I intend to use together with the laptop)

So, in essence, all I need is an audio and midi interface, to enable my laptop to communicate with all of the above instruments and also with my digital recorder (Yamaha AW2616).
I think that the two models by Audiophile and Edirol could be a good choice, so I think that right now I can formulate my question differently: is there anyone who has had experience with one or the other and can comment on them?
Thanks in advance
A.

I have the Alesis i|O 26, few problems with drivers in the beginning, but working great with the new drivers.

Keep in mind that with any computer/interface combination there will be compatibility issues, check your laptop specs vs the interface requirements, you'll avoid lots of headaches.

I will also go for a Firewire vs. USB, even when the specs on a USB is 480kbps, and firewire 400, firewire still faster because of the way it handles data.[if you'll be recording 2 simultaneous tracks USB it's OK, maybe it'll take more tracks but it's tricky] http://www.qimaging.com/support/downloads/documents/FirewireUSB.pdf
It is also recommended that you look for a PCMCIA Firewire card with the TI Chipset.
Our laptop [Church laptop] works great with my i|O 26 and its firewire 4 pin port.




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