soundcard recording quality: $10 sblive vs everything else

M

MegaGoo

New member
im confused on this topic. DISREGARDING any latency differences, what is the actual difference between my 10 dollar soundblaster live value card and a 200 - 300 dollar recording soundcard? ive been recording my personal demos for years on the sblive with no problems. no hiss, no background hum, no static-y recordings.

can someone explain why i would want to spend money to get a real recording soundcard if all i need is 1 input, no need for asio, and no latency concerns?

and on the same subject, is there a REAL playback difference on a wave file ripped from CD on a cheap soundblaster vs an expensive one? i know they claim wonders as far as in-game sound playback but i figured that was just to take some of the workload off the CPU to speed up the game.

eddie
 
If you are happy with the sound, then it's just fine. Can you post a sample of one of your demos?
 
MegaGoo said:
im confused on this topic. DISREGARDING any latency differences, what is the actual difference between my 10 dollar soundblaster live value card and a 200 - 300 dollar recording soundcard? ive been recording my personal demos for years on the sblive with no problems. no hiss, no background hum, no static-y recordings.

can someone explain why i would want to spend money to get a real recording soundcard if all i need is 1 input, no need for asio, and no latency concerns?

and on the same subject, is there a REAL playback difference on a wave file ripped from CD on a cheap soundblaster vs an expensive one? i know they claim wonders as far as in-game sound playback but i figured that was just to take some of the workload off the CPU to speed up the game.

eddie
Click to expand...

Try learning more about Noise Floor and SNR (Signal To Noise Ratio). You'll find your answer there once you compare these specs on a SB Live to a "real" recoding soundcard.
 
The difference is the cheapest converters and components available vs. "everything else" generally.

It's the Yugo vs. the Hemi vs. the Rolls Royce.

All three will get you there - But in varying quality and comfort.
 
MegaGoo said:
and on the same subject, is there a REAL playback difference on a wave file ripped from CD on a cheap soundblaster vs an expensive one? i know they claim wonders as far as in-game sound playback but i figured that was just to take some of the workload off the CPU to speed up the game.
Click to expand...

With at least some of its cards, SB does some wanker crap to "improve" the sound during playback. You want all that crap disabled or your recordings will suffer greatly, since your monitoring chain will be very non-flat. This processing will also affect normal CD playback.
 
I'd say you're doing a darn good job of drivin that Yugo, but just realize it is what it is. You obviously have developed some decent recording chops, and I'm sure you will benefit from better conversion.
Look around, I picked up an M-Audio Delta 44 (4 ins x 4 outs) for a friend recently for $75.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
what HORRID things do you hear? I hear some typical mp3 artifact stuff.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought when I saw the thread. I have not ran any tests. But considering the price....one can only assume.
 
i can understand that the parts used may be cheap. but what effect does this have? do you hear anything besides mp3 artifacts? perhaps if i were doing recordings where any amount of distortion could not be tolerated like multi-tracking acoustic or clean guitars or perhaps piano where the clarity was key.. then im sure you could tell. but im running a podxt basically into my soundcard. i dont think i would be losing quality thats already lost because of the input device. not to knock pods but their not known for their supreme quality. example: i ran my j-station through my line-in then bought a spdif addon for my soundblaster and did spdif in.. no difference or un-measureable. perhaps if i had dozens of layers of instruments, the distortion would multiple but i dont go over 20 tracks usually.....

so im wondering if took the EXACT same track and had recorded everything EXACTLY the same way but just through a better soundcard if it would have come out better. this is the answer i'm really looking for here. i understand that certain recording applications demand a low SNR but for basic drums/metal rhythm guitar/lead/bass, is it really necessairy?

is there some type of test i can do? my dad has a m-audio 2496 . perhaps record silence off of a CD into both soundcards and compare? what would make the nuances show?
 
Mega (Mr Goo),
There are lotsa folks here, and in the recording community as a whole, who go to great lengths and expense to get great recordings of distorted guitars, bass, and drums. You raise a good point in matching the suck factor of your gear, and you're right in your weakest link thinking. The question is whether you want to move forward or stay where you are. Since you posted the question in the first place, the assumption is that you are interested in moving forward, and upgrading your soundcard from a soundblaster to something more pro-sumer is a good place to start.
There's more involved in the quality of your converters than just S/N and freq response, like jitter. There are things less easily graphed out that give the recording depth and definition. You'll need to decide for yourself whether you want to upgrade your signal chain, and if so, where it makes sense to spend whatever your budget is.
 
Try both. If you cannot hear a difference, then better convertors are not for you. It's that simple.

I can tell you all day long that the difference will be night and day, but ultimately, it's up to your ears. If you cannot hear it, then you where you should be. When and if you can hear the difference, you'll know.

It's also a question of skill. Maybe your skills aren't up to where you'll sound better on a decent soundcard (although I would find that hard to believe).

So, you can take our word for it or not.
 
i think the point where im at now is just exploring what options will make my recordings sound better without going all in on everything. i currently do not go to great lengths to get a flawless sound. basically i explore patches on the j-station or line6 vetta to get a sound i like, and record it with drumkit from hell samples and sometimes real bass. i dont even have a tube preamp or anything. the gear is the weakest link and i dont plan on expanding that very much at all because of finances. i dont need pro sounding stuff. just something that doesnt sound too shabby. probably the most i will go is getting an sm57 and experimenting with mic'ing my amp, but ive tried it in the past and have given up in finding the sweet spot. so im concentraiting on the sound quality of my guitar tone and mix. so if getting a better soundcard will improve that to a noticable degree, thats something i'd want to explore
 
MegaGoo said:
i think the point where im at now is just exploring what options will make my recordings sound better without going all in on everything. i currently do not go to great lengths to get a flawless sound. basically i explore patches on the j-station or line6 vetta to get a sound i like, and record it with drumkit from hell samples and sometimes real bass. i dont even have a tube preamp or anything. the gear is the weakest link and i dont plan on expanding that very much at all because of finances. i dont need pro sounding stuff. just something that doesnt sound too shabby. probably the most i will go is getting an sm57 and experimenting with mic'ing my amp, but ive tried it in the past and have given up in finding the sweet spot. so im concentraiting on the sound quality of my guitar tone and mix. so if getting a better soundcard will improve that to a noticable degree, thats something i'd want to explore
Click to expand...

If you do get a new sound card, let us know what you think about it compared to what you're using now. Personally, I think you're doing very well with what you have. I can't imagine a new sound card making a "night and day" difference in your recordings. Let me ask this though, have you noticed any noise problems with your current sound card?
 
tune sounds good. i like the bass, clear but rumbling in the back...stewing like V8 in a Baracuda....nice.

a soundcard, when your doing everything in the pc seems like a safe bet.
and you can take it back if there's no change too, being hardware.

isn't the incoming/input converter the only thing that is converting anything when everything is done in the DAW?

if everything stays in digital, until it comes out on the CD-R,
then the only other conversion is the playback decks converter that does the return to analog, the DtoA is in the playback system? right?

or am I'm whacked out again, missing a basic tech-concept here?
 
SBLive is just fine for demos and composing with virtual instruments. But as mentioned above, SBLive is not designed to produce top quality recordings and so its converters are not up to par. Not to metion that the SBLive records only in 16bit. There is definitely an audible difference between 16 and 24 bit. I used the SBLive for my first 2 years home recording, but the more I learned about what I was doing, the more I felt limited by the card. I bought M-Audio's Audiophile 2496 PCI card 2 years ago and I haven't looked back. If you want to produce high quality work that stands up to stuff tracked in a pro studio, think about getting an audiophile and a decent set of preamps. Also a good mic or two. The AP 2496 is about $100.00 or so at most places.
 
sonnylarsen said:
SBLive is just fine for demos and composing with virtual instruments. But as mentioned above, SBLive is not designed to produce top quality recordings and so its converters are not up to par. Not to metion that the SBLive records only in 16bit. There is definitely an audible difference between 16 and 24 bit. I used the SBLive for my first 2 years home recording, but the more I learned about what I was doing, the more I felt limited by the card. I bought M-Audio's Audiophile 2496 PCI card 2 years ago and I haven't looked back. If you want to produce high quality work that stands up to stuff tracked in a pro studio, think about getting an audiophile and a decent set of preamps. Also a good mic or two. The AP 2496 is about $100.00 or so at most places.
Click to expand...

Yeah!!...he sounds good now...imagine with that stuff mentioned above!! :)
 
i dont know how everybody else veiws it but i noticed a pretty good quality increase when i upgraded from my SB soundcard to the new behringer usb interface(UCA202) and it was only $30
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top