i need help on some sound cards: event gina vs. soundblaster live platinum?

[signal2112]

yes, I pretty much gatherd that the sound blaster platnum was more of a mainstream consumer sound card pointed towards gamers and teenage mp3 fanatics(or is it), wich i really dont care for much. I'm into finding a card for my home recording needs. I was mostly attracted to the live drive that comes with the sblp. I like the way it neatly fits into an open drive bay of your computer. unlike the breakout box on the gena wich seems kinda bulky and awkward.(i know that being away from the computer helps noise reduction)
a freind of mine, who has a lot of knoladge in this area has a gina and a soundblaster live(wich is the same card found in the platinum package) and says that dispite all the good reveiws the gina card tends to have more signal to noise ratio hiss than his sound blaster live, and was not really impressed with his $300 or so investment.
i know this probably sounds weird to you all...or does it?
can you think of a reason why this is(besides my friend doesn't know what he's talking about, I trust he knows his stuff pretty good.)
do you think the soundblaster live platinum can be a contender as a decent home sound recording card?. I know it may not have as many ins and outs found in more pro cards, but i don't need much as far as that. the price i like too, at $142.00 where the gina i have only seen at $300-250.

i know this is a event ele./ gina bulletin board, but if you guys could give me an unbias opinion on this i would appreciate it very much.

[AlChuck]

Well, the Sound Blaster is certainly passable as an audio device, but the Gina is definitely better hands down. Of course there are other differences. The Gina has no MIDI synthesizer, for one. I'm not sure but I think you probably can't connect a CD-ROM internal audio cable to it to play audio CDs with it like you can with the SB Live. It's certainly more expensive than the SB Live.

If you're thinking about the Gina card you should also check out the M Audio Delta 44 and Delta 66 and the Gadget Labs cards.

-AlChuck

Gina Hands down no question!
Soundblaster is not a homerecording device or at least not what i consider a homerecording card. As far as the noise there is know way Gina has more noise than a SBL but one thing SB does have is problems. Get what you want but you get what you pay for, if its cheaper there is a reason its cheaper..

[bball jones]

I got me the sblive and never got it to work right so I am just using the old, trusty soundblaster. I use it mainly for the midi connection, cd player, and winamp. I've seen some posts here where people have used the sb for recording and have had a fair amount of success. But, from my own experience it would be well worth your time and money to spend a couple more bucks.