A cheap but good soundcard

  • Thread starter Thread starter charon17
  • Start date Start date
C

charon17

New member
Anyone have any recommendations for a soundcard that is cheap but good? I was thinking something around 200$ canadian... or a bit more... tell me if I'm crazy asking a question like this (like Charon, are you nutz, how the hell can you get off thinking that quality sound cards and cheap prices are even related?) ..

Charon
 
$200 Canadian whats that about $13.75 American?

OK, I know what it is ( I get paid in Can$ :( ) its $130 US
I would maybe take a look at Hoontech SoundTrack Audio DSP24 Value.

From their web site:

"Very affordable 24bit/96kHz Digital Recording Interface with professional audio quality based on our successful DSP24 series. Two analog in- and output channels (RCA) and optional digital + MIDI I/O - msrp: $128 US."

I've never used their stuff, but they are in your price range for what appears to be a board with decent specs.

http://www.hoontech.com/english/index.html

They mention 100 dB dynamic range, but do not mention SNR on the A/D conversion. I would find it hard to believe that they can attain 100 db SNR on a card with converters on the PCI card itself. But hey, what do you want for $200 Can.

Anybody out there use Hoontech?
 
I do. The DSP24+ADC/DAC2000 that I've been using a bit is great value as far as I can tell. If you need fewer ins, the DSP24 mkII or Value are probably good choices.
 
Yes I can say that the ST24 rox.

I've bought the STDSP24 with the DACIII/ADCIII outboard boxes.

They quote 120dB @ 24/96Kh (the converters are in the racks)

8 Balanced ins 116dB S/N A-weighted with 8 preamps, they sound very nice, great for the $$$ (IMHO).

8 Balanced outs 110dB S/N A-wighted (Can Finally use my outboard FX in realtime).

ASIO2 drivers, WIN98, ME, Linux, NT.

Onboard monitoring 0 latency, with ASIO direct I'm getting a latency of 11ms in cubase recording with the TrueTape32bit enabled @44.1kh.

The drivers are VERY stable only poping if I try to open another program at the same time.

BLAH BLQH BLAH Sorry bout the rave, Nah I don't work for them I'm just VERY happy with the package ($1400AU). You can get the DSP24 for AU$400, (CA$200?) and add to it as you go, I'm going to get another DSP24 with the C-Port rack, they support up to 4 cards that sync together internally via the PCI bus :)

Thanx to OLA for putting me onto em in the first place :)

http://www.hoontech.com/english/products/system3/info.html#

Bones
 
Great to hear that you're happy with the setup Bones. I took my ADC/DAC2000 box to the store yesterday to see if they can fix the fried inputs, my fault:(, at a resonable price. If not, I'm probably getting the DSP24 mkII for starters and a ADCIII if I need extra inputs.

Cheers

/Ola
 
yeah bones,

us cowards where just waiting for someone to take the gamble and buy one of those...

could you post some recordings?

i want one too but as i stated earlier i'm a coward (or plain smart for letting you take the risk) ;)

great man... that means theres actually a good deal around with the hoontech thing. have you compared it to anything?

greetz guhlenn
 
I tried out the LAYLA and Digi001, the echo looks great, esp with the word clock added but $$$.

The Digi001 should be great but it would lock me into the ProTools road and thet's very pricy. And it didn't do it for me soundwise.

I'm still getting the hang of the beastie but bang for buck, I think it's the one.

http://www.mp3.com.au/stovetop

There are 4 trax at this site,
Stick together is the most recent, totally recorded on the SystemIII (not sure on the mix, is the hammond too loud...grrr)

Bowup (bit of a filler)Recorded @16bit with an ISIS. Mixed before I got monitors and it shows

Curry stomp, off our old EP as is Flying or Falling. I want to remix these but I have to find the ADAT...hmm...

This the ramble you were looking for guhlenn :)
 
where to look

Where can I find this Hoontech soundcard?
 
at http://www.hoontech.com ofcourse, go to the international part and you'll find the world wide shipping hoontech store.

and bones i'll check 'm out as soon as i can... be sure to tell me all about it, problems your having etc. you know the pros and cons.

thanks !

guhlenn;)
 
listened to the tracks... on an onboard computer speaker it still sounds good. hanging with my ear in front of the speaker so i can hear something...
the dat (flying&falling) was a bit dull sounding on this thing but stick together was really good, considering what wasd my playback system it must sound good on a decent stereo!

thanks man! keep me posted when you record something, kay?

greetz guhlenn:)
 
Bones,

What computer platform you using with the Hoontech?
 
OK, the only probs I have had so far was getting my MIDI to function...Upon further (groan) experimentation, the problem was user error :( All very fine now.

Did have some troubles with popping and clicking in playback, but this was due to the ASIO2 drivers being totally adjustable, jus a matter of getting the Buffer sizes to match the config of my box.

I'm running
Hardware;
A-Open AX6BC (intel 440) next bit to upgrade to ATA 66-100

PIII500 @667mhz-256/133RAM

TNT2 N64 Vid Card (had some issues here)

/: C -72000rpm Seagate 20GB /: E -CDR (1sr IDE)

/: D -72000rpm Seagate 40gb /: F -4.1gb crappolla backup (2nd IDE)

Software;
Win98 2E
Cubase VST5
DX 8

Seems very stable with the new sound but it's all tweaks and fiddles to get Audio solid on a homemade PC.

Bones
 
If you can muster up a little more cash the egosys waveterminal 24 is the way to go.It has good asio 2 drivers for both pc and mac as well as drivers for motu and cakewalk.Also it has a good reputation.Perhaps the hootentech is a diamond in the rough though.I do like the price, thats for sure

check it out:
http://bayviewproaudio.com/SaleTimeDetail.asp?Specials_Action=Find('ProductID','egwt2')&Specials_Position=FIL%3AORD%3AABS%3A56KEY%3Aegwt2PAR%3A
 
why do you recommend the egosys waveterminal? checked it out and i don't understand why you think it'll be better then the hoontech...

greetz guhlenn
 
I've read pretty similar reviews about the WaveTerminal and the C-Port but I think the C-Port is better value.

/O
 
Anyone know of an equivelent sound card that's mac compatible?

I checked out the Hoontech, but it's PC only.

I'm looking to spend a max of $300 US, prefebly slightly less.

I'm working with ultra low frequencies so low latency is highly important. It also has to be compatible with older macs as I'm still running a 604 based machine (4400), but will be upgrading as soon as the bank allows :(

I need RCA and digital would be nice and I don't use midi.

Cheers,

Ben
 
The wave terminal has asio 2 drivers for mac.Also it has drivers for gigasampler,motu's mas, and cakewalks direct x.And of course asio 2 drivers for pc.

Many soundcards for mac dont have asio 2 drivers for mac, they have asio 1 wich doesnt give the same performance for latency.

Ive heard good things about the wave terminal.Lots of people complain that midimans asio drivewrs for mac are crap.well, egosys mac asio drivers are not.

I havent taken a good look at the hootentech yet, the price is great.But, Ive heard good things from users about the waveterminal.

If your too cheap with this stuff you end up getting crap.
btw, avoid the lexicon core 2, it has "issues" with some software.
 
Also the wave terminals s/n ratio is 110 db

I copied this from http://www.bayview pro audio where its $299.And it works on great on mac.

24-bit 96kHz AD/DA with 32-bit Internal Resolution
Waveterminal uses 24-bit 96kHz AD/DA converter with 32-bit internal resolution.That means your original analog audio sources retain their sonic integrity with full dynamic range and frequency response. You will notice a striking difference in the sound quality when you compare Waveterminal with other PCI sound cards.

32-bit PCI Bus Mastering Support
With PCI Bus Mastering support, Waveterminal works faster and more efficiently than other audio cards - allowing your CPU to allocate more resources to your audio programs. Typically, Waveterminal uses only small amount of your system resources, compared to 20~30% for other audio cards.

+4 dBu Balanced Analog I/O
After you've spent all the time and money for the advantages of digital audio, you don't want to let it go to waste with mismatched impedance. If you know anything about analog audio, you'd never hook up professional audio equipment with consumer audio gear. All pros use +4 dBu balanced I/O's.

Full Duplex Recording & Playback
Waveterminal can record and playback 4 channels of analog and/or S/PDIF digital audio simultaneously. For example, you can record digital audio from your CD-ROM and analog stereo audio simultaneously, while you playback some other digital audio samples through S/PDIF and analog outputs ? all at the same time.

The Professional's Choice with Entry-level Price
Just check out the specs, and you will understand why more professionals choose Waveterminal. Yet, you will be surprised how affordable it is. You simply get more performance and quality workmanship. Waveterminal 2496 also supports Mac OS for ASIO 2.0 and Apple Sound Manager drivers.

Technical Specifications
- High quality 24 Bit/96kHz A/D convertors; 100dB Dynamic range and 64 x oversampling
- High quality 24 Bit/96kHz D/A convertors; 110dB Dynamic range and 128 x oversampling
- Signal -to - Noise Ratio (D/A) ; 110dB
- Analog 2 Inputs and 2 Outputs; +4 dBu Balanced/Unbalanced 1/4" (tip ring sleeve) phone  jack 
- 4 Channel Recording and 4 Channel playback (2 Ch. Analog / 2 Ch. Digital ) at the Same time
- 24 Bit 96kHz S/PDIF Digital In & Out (Electrical model)
- Supports multiple Sample Rates: 8kHz, 11.025kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 24kHz, 
  32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 64kHz, 88.2kHz ,96kHz
- Full Duplex - Simultaneous Record / Playback
- Uses 32 Bit PCI slot; PCI bus-mastering support
- Up to 3 Cards support
- Real-time hardware sample-rate converting
- CD-Rom Digital input
- Digital connector for Sound Blaster Live (SB-Link )
- Internal Word Clock Connector
- Optional SMPTE/4x4 MIDI Interface
- Frequency Response: 0 ~22kHz
- Microsoft Windows 95/98 MME, DirectSound driver, ASIO 2.0 driver,
  Gigasampler(GS I/F 1.6), EASI Driver, Mac OS ASIO 2.0, Apple Sound Manager
- Compatible with all major software: Cubase, Cakewalk, Digital Performer, AudioMaster,
  Sound  Forge, etc.)
 
 
Sure the wave terminal looks nice esp for the price and of course the Mac option will turn a few heads, but it just dosn't have the I/O options I need.

The other cons I can see are;

a)It can only handle 4 In's and outs at a time, the hoontech has 10x10 and when I can afford it I'll buy another that syncs up internally to give me 20x20.

b)Only has +4dB, which is fine for pro gear but geez a Balanced patchbay...+leads....$$$ Most Pro gear these days has both +4dBu and -10dBv on it, as does the Hoontech. If I want to use +4dBu I can, for that input/output.

c)It also only gives you 110dB on the D/A not the A/D which is 100dB, is that a weighted referance BTW? (Hoontech System3 A/D 116dBspl A weighted, D/A 110dBspl A weighted)

Hoontech has also just released multi client drivers that give a latency of 4-11ms specifically for Giga Sampler.

The Wave terminal looks like a nice card and a great price but the upgrade road looks very rocky compared to the System 3. I'd say it's the Mac option, but for PC...

Bones
 
Back
Top