quality question

Barometer

Barometer

New member
Right now I am recording on a DAW that resides in our studio with a Delta 1010. Often I take projects home and work on them on a different machine. This computer happens to have a crappy old soundblaster card in it. My question: is there going to be a difference in what I hear because of the different soundcard? I mean if I'm using decent monitors on both machines (Let's just say for instance I use the exact same monitors in both places). I'm just wondering about the pure signal that is output from the two different cards. Thanks ahead :)
 
The Delta 1010 will sound better. The difference between my Audiophile and my SB Live is quite clear.
 
in this instance youll only be using the D/A converters, and there will be a difference but it wont be that substantial.....

it wont effect the actual work that you do the track.....for instance, if you add the exact same thing on both machines it will come out the same, just the diiference in converter quality may make you "hear" it different....hope that makes sense......

now if you start adding tracks using the A/D converters of the Live, youll looking for problems.......
 
Thanks guys, I don't intend on doing any more additons to the projects, just editing the tracks and I want to be sure I'm not being mislead by what comes out of the SB card :)
 
Actually the difference is quite important. I have both an SB Live and a 1010 in my box and I play music through both, and the difference in sound is definately noticable.

If you're going to mix or edit (aside from simple edits like cutting out noise), you might pick up a better card for your machine. If you're just listening for pleasure, etc, the SB is definately good enough!

Also, your crappy old soundblaster isn't going to play the 24bit files you record with your Delta.

Slackmaster 2000
 
>and there will be a difference but it wont be that substantial.....

If your monitoring system sucks it sure as hell won't matter.

Otherwise it WILL and in a substantial way.

I listen to stuff on a SB/PC speaker system all day and then go home to a Delta 1010 thru Event 20/20s. No comparison.
 
Barometer said:
Thanks guys, I don't intend on doing any more additons to the projects, just editing the tracks and I want to be sure I'm not being mislead by what comes out of the SB card :)
Click to expand...

If all you are doing is editing you should be fine as long as you can hear everything. I wouldn't try to do any mixing though.
 
Thanks again everyone. I had the feeling the difference would be significant enough to keep me from finishing work on the machine with the SB. Would anyone recommend a good cheap card for that computer that would allow me to monitor with essentially the same results as the Delta 1010? I won't need inputs or anything, just to mix down. :)
 
I agree with almost everything said, in fact I'm getting ready to buy an Audiophile 2496, however I should say that I have played 24 bit .WAV files through my SB Live card at work. It is obviously chopping them down to 16 bit during playback, but it DOES play them.
 
I wouldn't worry nearly as much about your card as I would about the accoustics of your listening environment. Unless your playback area is treated as well, accoustically, as the studio you work in . . . you'll hear a very drastic difference, no matter what kind of card you're using.
 
Cool thanks guys. I have another quetion relating to these monitors. One gives a weird buzz on certain notes from the keys and bass. I've swtched the output from right to left but the same monitor gives the buzz. It doesn't happen on the other monitor no matter which line out. And it doesn't happen to either monitor when going direct out of the mixer (before the soundcard). I thought maybe it was my PA output, but wouldn't the buzz switch monitors when I swapped the outputs? Does it sound like I need to get my monitors looked at, could it be a physical problem with them? :confused:
 
Make sure the buzz is coming from the monitor itself and not something near the monitor (you'd be suprised). Also, make sure the connectors on the monitor are tightly fastened, as they are a common source for rattles.

Other than that, if the buzz is really coming from one of the monitors, you should probably have it replaced. Got warranty?

Slackmaster 2000
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top