Analog Tape to/from PC: Advice on Best Interfaces?

[kbro]

A basic question, perhaps, but critical to me both sound quality- and money-wise...My goal is to find the best and most cost-effective unit with which to send tracks recorded on a Tascam TSR-8 open reel deck (1/2" 8-track tape) thru a Tascam 1508 8-channel analog mixer to my PC (WinXP/P4 1.6 Ghz/768 mb DDRam/USB 1.1/ 3 open PCI slots, etc.) to edit, add efx, and generally futz around with in the digital domain (ie: in .wav format, etc.), send them back to tape...and later burn CDs from the results. Here's the current situation:

SO, I've surfed around for hours and looked at the Emu 1820, 1820m systems (PCI soundcard with a desktop breakout box) and the Lexicon Omega system (USB-connected box) and sort of briefly checked out the M-Audio lineup, the Edirol stuff and some other oddz'n'endz... bottom line is, I'm highly conflicted on the route to take. Seems like a PCI souncard/ box setup would sound better, have better bandwidth and be more upgradeable, but the USB solution would be easier to install and transfer to a (potential) new PC in the future...but relatively poor performance. Of course, the USB I currently have is 1.1, so whatever I get must be able to interface with that standard and still work later with 2.0.... sigh... Has anyone on the BBS recently purchased (or used) a system to take signals from the analog tape format to the digital PC realm and back again, and do all of the above and more... and what were your experiences? What is the best solution (under $500) and have I missed anything in my search? (Of course I have!) TNX for your responses...
----------------Kbro----------------------------------------------------

 

[The Ghost of FM]

The TASCAM SX-1 would work like a bloody charm but, you'll never lay your hands on one for 500 bucks.

They're closer to 3 or 4 gees.

Sorry, man.

Cheers!

 

[gugon]

lexicon omega

I recently purchased a Lexicon Omega interface. I haven't yet tried recording analog tape to the PC yet, however, for the money (about $350), the Omega is the most versatile interface you can buy.

It handles MIDI, analog, mics, line-outs from stereo (or tape), if it has a line out, you can send it through the Omega.

So far, I'm extremely happy with the sound quality and performance of this thing.

The only drawback is if you are recording more than two tracks at the same time, the USB might have a little trouble handling it. For my purposes (one track at a time), it's perfect.