Need soundcard advice

Hi folks,

I would like to get a sound/audio interface card, and was considering a high-end consumer card like Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum. I am hoping that it will give me the ability to generate high-quality sounds and record myself, with a single card.The reason I want a single card is that my PC is short on free slots, so I would like to not go to a dedicated sound card (eg soundblaster or the like) and a separate audio i/f card, like Maudio 2496.

Are there better choices for a multi-purpose sound card? Do you know if the recording part works well, or it's too noisy? I am not looking for a professional multichannel recording, but would like to be able to record myself to put up music samples on the web, etc. Would I be able to use the audio outs with a program like a Gigasampler?

Alex,
I am using a Delta 44, it comes with a 4 in 4 out break out box and it is great.
jam on,
Terry

Alex, using a Midiman Audiophile which has the same electronics as the Delta 44 but with only 2 inputs. It is an excellent card for the price and the sNr looks very nice on the scope and I hear a very minimal Noise floor with it. I only got it instead of the Delta 44 because the store I purchased it from did not have any Delta 44's in stock, ( I was impatient at that point ), but I could easily recommend either, with a nod to the Delta card. I can use Gigasampler fine with it the audiophile.

The advantage of the soundblaster is the abilty to reproduce soundfonts. I have both an SB live and the Midiman in the computer and I use the SB only for soundfont play / editing. The Audiophile is much cleaner and has a substantially lower noise floor.

AJ

Midiman OMNI I/O Delta 66 soundcard here. Very happy with the results:
http://www.midiman.com/products/m-audio/omnistud.php

I have a Creative Audigy Platinum; I regret not having purchased the EX version (with the external box), because with the bay fitted inside the computer I tend to collect all kind of electrostatic noise (I hate when I listen to a track I just recorded with a lot of effort and, just towards the end, I hear that dreadful little "crack").
I have even considered to replace it with the new Audigy 2 EX, but after listening to recordings made on digital recorders have chosen to follow that route instead.

Frank,
Will any GSIF drivers be available for
the Audigy2 in the near future that you
may have heard about?

Hi Alex,
I have the soudblaster live platinum with the 'live drive' bay. Like Dreamer I am constantly getting the 'crack' on my recordings which in effect renders them useless. DON't be tempted. For a little more money than the audigy you can get far better. I am after a mixer at the mo but after that will be looking for a new soundcard. Let us know what you decide on and your impressions.

All the best
Tony W

Hello Frank,
After reading your reply above I get the distinct impression that you think my platinum live would do the job just fine if I had it set up properly!

Please don't get me wrong....I don't mind being told I am at fault rather than my equipment .....a) it might save me buying a new card & b) If there is a wrong way to do something then thats how I do it first

I would be most grateful if you could tell me which settings I need to change to eliminate this 'crack' sound I get when recording audio. (Midi is fine). I have the latest drivers for soundblaster and xp (got them from windows update). I only use the basic software from creative (audio HQ) as some of the other stuff like remote center and Live player seem to make matters worse.

Any hints you could give would be much appreciated.

Best wishes to you
Tony W

Hello

I did quite a thorough study on this before I got mine, (Mia by Echoaudio.com), and one thing I can tell you is those cards from Sound Blaster DO NOT RECORD AT 24/96!!!!That's right, even though you would be led to believe that by their specs, they will only process effects at 24/96, BUT THEY DO NOT RECORD AT 24/96. You can easily verify this and get the latest info on sound cards in the following forum under sound cards and hardware at: www.syntrillium.com

All the cards listed in our forum in this thread I recognize as good cards. Two cards that are the biggest bang for the buck are Mia by Echoaudo.com and Audiophile 24/96. Both should still be under $200. You will need an external mixer for the Mia, with the Audiophile you can use the computers mixer.

By sure to check the specs so you know you have what you need to be compatible on your computer. Make sure you have the correct via chips otherwise you will have clicks, noise and other problems.

Scott Langholff

Frank,
Thanks for the advice. To be honest I have been toying for a while with getting a seperate pc just for music. My current pc is not bad at 1.3g and 512mb ram but it does have to do everything. Surf the net, record my warbling, let me drive a ferrari like a madman and much more besides.

I can see how all this would impact on what I am expecting the pc to do musically. Now I started this conversation expecting to buy a soundcard and end up buying a PC
Do you work in sales Frank

Many thanks & best wishes
Tony W

That's too bad about the Audigy2 not
having GSIF drivers.
Is there any other good soundcard that
is Soundfont .sf2 and DLS 2.0 compatible, that has GSIF drivers.
If not, Frank, how are the
new versions of Kontakt and others
compared to the GigaStudio you are using?
If they are better or just as good,
do they also use GSIF drivers or some
other drivers?
Thanks.

Frank, thanks for your reply.
Is a soundcard more effecient(less CPU taxing,less MIDI delay,etc.) than using
a software soundfont player?

Friends,

Thank you for your advice. I am glad to have such a wealth of expertise in this forum. Without your feedback I could have easily made a bad decision.

Having checked again the specs of the Audigy 2, I found the bit buried in the blabber that for recording it supports 24 bit 48 Khz only. I suppose this could be enough for my ears (and for my needs), but given the other shortcomings (lack of GSIF drivers) it offers me little over the audio already on the motherboard of my computer. I believe I will go with Maudio Audiophile 2496, given its proven performance in recording and sound generation (and the bundled Gigasampler LE and other goodies).

I have a couple more questions though:
- Are there software applications which play back soundfonts using the Audiophile? Do you recommend any programs for playing GS midi?
- Frank, and others who use multiple sound cards: how do you deal with the outputs?
Can you route the audio outs of both SoundBlaster and the Audiophile/another audio I/F card through a single pair of output jacks? Or do you run multiple cables and mix them outside of the PC?
- A number of higher-end cards offer more than 2 inputs and outputs. I can see the usefulnes for multiple inputs (for digital mixing and multi-track recording). For what do you use more than two outputs?
- Are you able to use LiveStyler with the Gigasampler or another software-based sound engine?

Thanks again,
Alex

Alex
Have you considered the 828 by Motu...theres no card to install. Check it out.... Lou
http://motu.com