This is a follow-on to my other thread of woe in this forum.
So my old XP machine died and I'm going to need something new.
I still have a Great River preamp that I like and still want to use. I have a Delta 44 that I used for AD conversion. I also used the Delta for playback - the outputs went to a Mackie mixer that, in turn, went to my monitors. I originally wanted to continue to use these components and just get a new computer. But the scarcity of computers with PCI slots for the Delta give me two choices: 1) a rather expensive new computer, or 2) the risk of getting an old computer off ebay. Both of those options are possibilities. But...
I also thought of getting small-to-midsize replacement computer and something to replace the Delta. Something that would: 1) provide AD conversion, 2) act as the output for playback, and 3) support a typical small-to-mid computer (which don't come with PCI slots anymore). So I did some looking around....
But in shopping online I'm having some difficulties. One is with the available converters. At the low end they either seem to be from companies I've never heard of (e.g., Cambridge audio) and don't know if I can trust. Or companies I have heard of (Behringer) and don't want to mess with. At the high end (e.g., Lynx) the damn things cost almost as much as a car. I'm sure they're good, but I doubt I'd notice much difference from my Delta.
The other difficulty is with playback. I can't figure out how these things connect to a computer and if they can drive playback.
I just want something to replace that damn Delta, do it fairly cheaply, and support a modern, midsize computer. I can't figure the crap out.
So my old XP machine died and I'm going to need something new.
I still have a Great River preamp that I like and still want to use. I have a Delta 44 that I used for AD conversion. I also used the Delta for playback - the outputs went to a Mackie mixer that, in turn, went to my monitors. I originally wanted to continue to use these components and just get a new computer. But the scarcity of computers with PCI slots for the Delta give me two choices: 1) a rather expensive new computer, or 2) the risk of getting an old computer off ebay. Both of those options are possibilities. But...
I also thought of getting small-to-midsize replacement computer and something to replace the Delta. Something that would: 1) provide AD conversion, 2) act as the output for playback, and 3) support a typical small-to-mid computer (which don't come with PCI slots anymore). So I did some looking around....
But in shopping online I'm having some difficulties. One is with the available converters. At the low end they either seem to be from companies I've never heard of (e.g., Cambridge audio) and don't know if I can trust. Or companies I have heard of (Behringer) and don't want to mess with. At the high end (e.g., Lynx) the damn things cost almost as much as a car. I'm sure they're good, but I doubt I'd notice much difference from my Delta.
The other difficulty is with playback. I can't figure out how these things connect to a computer and if they can drive playback.
I just want something to replace that damn Delta, do it fairly cheaply, and support a modern, midsize computer. I can't figure the crap out.