hr.com ROCKS! Equipment curiosity

[crucial]

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me decent input on recording my vocals. Mindset fixed my problem I had with my onboard setup. I'm completely content the way things sound/work right now, but I'd sure love to start making this a music box.

Question #1:
Is the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 a good card that I can keep around for a while? Or will I get frustrated with it and eventually upgrade? Also, can I just do a basic line-in with my mic (minus pre-amps and mixers) with this card, or is it going to require more things to get my mic plugged in?

Question #?: (#1 ended up being a few different ones)
I've seen internal synthesizers for the computer (basically processing synth thru the hardware rather than taking up CPU usage). Are these good buys? Or is it basically the same thing as adding an extra stick of RAM or an upgraded CPU?

Question #??:
I want to upgrade in pieces so I don't burn a HUGE hole in my pocket for just a hobby. What are the first pieces of equipment I should buy?

I have a microphone I'm more than fine with and produce my music all digitally (via fruityLoops and/or Reason3.0). Help me out, you oh-so-knowledged bunch of audiophiles. Thanks in advance.

[groovyisland]

hey. i got a usb interface which im happy with. tascam us-122. you can do midi in and its got 2 mic preamps. its sort of like a sound card that goes through the usb ports.

the cool thing about an interface like this is you can hook it straight to your monitor system for direct latency-free monitoring while you listen to your fruity tune.

[StackableMusic]

Originally Posted by crucial

Question #1:
Is the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 a good card that I can keep around for a while? Or will I get frustrated with it and eventually upgrade? Also, can I just do a basic line-in with my mic (minus pre-amps and mixers) with this card, or is it going to require more things to get my mic plugged in?

It is an acceptably good card with decent convertors and reliable drivers. You will want to upgrade if you ever want more channels, but it's fine for 2x2.

You will not, however, be able to plug your mic into it. It has RCA ins only.

Question #?: (#1 ended up being a few different ones)
I've seen internal synthesizers for the computer (basically processing synth thru the hardware rather than taking up CPU usage). Are these good buys? Or is it basically the same thing as adding an extra stick of RAM or an upgraded CPU?

They're good but they're a bit boutiquey: for the price you could get some nice outboard gear instead. If you're dead set against using outboards and you have a lot of cash then they're a good value. (I assuming you're talking about things like the UAD).

Question #??:
I want to upgrade in pieces so I don't burn a HUGE hole in my pocket for just a hobby. What are the first pieces of equipment I should buy?

It depends very greatly on the kind of music you plan on making and what you have already. If you want to record mainly through one mic, then a preamp is going to be the next thing. If you have several sound sources that you want to connect up, then you'll need a mixer. If you're making electronic music and don't actually need to record any instruments, a midi controller would be the next thing.