Trying a different tact

R

Reggie49

New member
G'Day Guys,
I've tried to get some recommendations elsewhere on this forum for a better sound interface for my computer, but no direct recommendations.

So I'm going to try a different approach. Knowing that many of you will have bought items in the quest to get better results, some will have been successful others not so successful, but you have been there and done that. Or maybe you've heard the results a particular sound card yeilded and were suitably impressed, or turned off by a particular product.

So I want to see if I can narrow my options, by providing a dollar ceiling of say $250- $300, on what I want to spend at the moment and see what you can come up with.

My computer is not all that flash but I've been told previously, that for audio recording it will suffice. It's a PC, Pentium 4 dual core with 4Gb ram and has an el cheapo onboard sound card, but hopefully not for long. :) I'm trialling Reaper 3.05 at the moment, and already have an Alto amx-140fx mixer, why - I don't know? - seemed like a good idea at the time. I bought it before I found this site, so while it may be considered not necessary for single track recordings. I've got it now so I may as well use it, unless you can forsee problems.

So can I tempt anybody to share their experiences so hopefully I can get something that's a workable solution, rahter than try and make uneducated guess based on what's in my price range.

Cheers

Ron
 
I glanced at the Alto and it didn't say where I looked but presumably it acts like an interface?
How many tracks at once do you want, and does the Alto not do that for you?
 
Well There are about a million factors involved
You need to consider how many inputs you need and then decide on whether you want PCI, USB or Fire wire connectivity.

PCI is fast and can handle numerous inputs and you generally don't have compatability issues (assuming you have a free PCI slot on your Motherboard) but often needs external Preamps (which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you have a decent budget for Pres)

Firewire is also fast and handles numerous inputs and generally includes preamps so you get everything in one unit and you don' have to open up you PC if you already have FW ports.(pre amp quality can be varialbe and you tend to get what you pay for) and you may find yourself feeling a need to upgrade the preamps once you get into the swing of things.
Warning: Firewire can be suceptable to Compatability issues. Texas Instrument chips are the standard to which most devices are tested and generally have least issues with compatability issues. Non TI chips
can be a crap shoot as to whether the interface will work well (or at all)

USB is a much slower connection (even USB 2.0) and will not handle multiple inputs as well and can have audible latency (your recorded sound is behind the beat) especially if the interface is using USB 1 although you can often overcome this with the DAW software.. Like Fire Wire generally these units have on board Preamps with simillar pros and cons.
Compatability issues are generally not an issue

There is a big caveat when asking this kind of question that you need to bear in mind. Most of us home recordists don't have a huge wealth of experience of multiple units and how they can compare.
I have had good experience with M -audio in both PCI and Firewire Formats and for me they have been flawless seem to work OK with my Mic selection as far as I am concerned.
Feature wise they are comparable with similar products from other manufacturers HOWEVER... I have no idea whether MOTO, or Presonus or EMU or anyone elses products would give me better/worse/similar sound in my environment with my equipment and most people here are going to be in the same boat.
So while I might say I like M-Audio (because that is what I use) I don't know how that will work for you or any body else and any other opinions you get are likely to be similarly biased.
 
From what I've read on the forum and has been reinforced in the reply given, it seems either a better quality PCI sound card, than what I have or get an external sound card using Firewire connection.

BTW Mixsit, I've just tried to connect the Alto mixer to the sound card and it gives very poor results, as suggested it would do due to the on board stock standard sound card. So I'm trying to get some advice on what to look at in the way of a better sound card/interface.

Bristol Posse, you raised a very good point about most people visting this site being on a budget, but that was the very reason I was asking for guidance and specifying the limit I wanted to spend. When money is tight you hope to get some good direction, so you don't buy something that gives you poor results and then have to save up again to get an alternative. When money is plentiful you buy something, and if it doesn't work you say a few naughty words and go out and buy something better.

So can people out there just let me know what they're using to improve the sound input to the computer as my on board card is useless. :( Again a price range between say $250.00 - $300.00 and how happy they are with the results they're getting?

So I have 1 tick for M-Audio in PCI format - any others?

Cheers

Ron
 
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in that price range the quality is going to be the same for about anything you pick.

To get 8 channels PCI I have seen the Maudio Delta 1010 used in that price range. You wouldn't have to worry about the firewire port on your pc.
 
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