Need better then SBLive 16bit?

[rkruz]

Will I hear a big difference if I replace my SBLive 16bit with a 24bit card after I burn a CD? Arent CDs at 16bit already?

?Is there anything in the <$200 range that are PCI and can run with the SB installed as well. I still need to have the synth on the SB card. I spend a lot of time getting the SoundFonts the way I like them. (M-Audio wont work on my computer)

?Or is there another SB or E-Mu card that has a synth built in and would be almost drop and replace for my existing card and would use the same soundfonts?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[TimOBrien]

Any of the <$200 cards (Echo Mia, Audiophile, Emu404) will sound much better than the SBLive.

You can run an SBLive with another card usually (I ran an SBLive with my Echo Mia for over a year just so that I could run soundfonts.)

But you will get better sound by running a VSTi like rgcaudio.com's "sfz" or Bismark's "BS-16" to run your soundfonts. A big GeneralMidi soundfont from hammersound.net like Unison or Cadenza will sound MUCH better than an SBLive and in modern computers wont drag down your system.

(Oh, the reason for running a 24-bit card when CDs are 16-bit? ACCURACY. You are performing a HUGE number of mathematical calculations to edit sound and all the extra room in the calculations means better sound. Then when you're done you render it down to 16bit/44.1khz for burning to a CD....)