Are expensive soundcards needed

J

Josh English

New member
Hey,
I'm soon to be buying a laptop which I will be using for recording purposes. I am a solo acoustic performer (altho I do record Midi, drums, and vocals) but I have no real need to record multiple tracks at the same time. With that in mind, is there any real need for me to spend hundreds of dollors on a sound card? Other than multiple channels, are there any other important features that higher end sound cards possess?
Thanks a lot
Josh
 
A high end card will have better converters for one.
Up to 24 bit 96 KHz recording.
For a laptop, an m-audio usb interface will work well for you at a minimum cost. But to use the stock onboard card in the laptop will not be all that well.
 
Josh English said:
With that in mind, is there any real need for me to spend hundreds of dollors on a sound card? Other than multiple channels, are there any other important features that higher end sound cards possess?
Josh
Click to expand...

Hmmm.
In general:
  • Lower noise floor
  • Higher sample rates
  • Lower latency
  • Better analog to digital / digital to analog converters

Depending on the card or interface you might also get:
  • Built-in mic pre amps
  • input mixing
  • headphone mix
  • monitor / main outs
  • effects sends and returns
  • phantom power for conderser mics
  • hi -Z inputs for guitars or other equipment

Using my Delta 66 / Omni Studio setup I get:
  • 2 preamps with "combo" inputs ( 1/4" & XLR) and phantom power
  • 4 line level 1/4" TRS inputs
  • 4 direct outs
  • 4 effects sends / 2 stereo returns
  • L & R monitor outs
  • L & R main outs
  • 2 headphone outs
  • S/PDIF I/O
 
Moonrider pretty much hit the nail on the head, so I'll keep mine short....the sound difference from when I switched from a Soundblaster $5 card to the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 (~$150) convinced me upon first listen.
 
there is no need to get a high-end sound card. Just dont get a crappy sound card. And, get at least 4 ins and 4 outs. You'll end up needing them.

"the most important card is the WildCard!
 
There is no real inexpensive option for laptops imo.
Whether or not a USB interface is going to work properly is really hit or miss and from my experience something you'd better steer away from.
Getting computers to work is what I do for a living but I've recently used an M-Audio Transit on my brand new HP Pavilion laptop and it was a nightmare. Worked better on my PC but not good enough to trust it for click and pop free recordings. Sold the Transit soon after.
I think the cheapest interface that's worth trying is the M-Audio Firewire Audiophile which costs around $300,-.
(2 in, 4 out, spdif i/o, midi i/o, headphones out)
 
christiaan said:
I think the cheapest interface that's worth trying is the M-Audio Firewire Audiophile which costs around $300,-.
(2 in, 4 out, spdif i/o, midi i/o, headphones out)
Click to expand...

What about the Quattro? 4 ins, 4 outs for $150. Or is it just that you don't like usb?
 
Bulls Hit said:
Still not bad for one 50
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I have already gone through 2 USB devices which weren't trouble free even recording 2 tracks of 16/44.1 audio. USB is not worth it when it comes to audio interfaces. I plan to buy the Firewire Audiophile myself sometime in the near future.

If you do a search in pretty much any Recording forum or read user reviews for the Quattro at online retailers, you will find out people's success rate wiith that particular product is very low.
 
brzilian said:
I have already gone through 2 USB devicesQUOTE]
Just out of curiosity: Which ones exactly?

And yeah, the Quattro has a very bad rep.
$150,- is a lot of money for something that sucks.
Click to expand...
 
christiaan said:
brzilian said:
I have already gone through 2 USB devicesQUOTE]
Just out of curiosity: Which ones exactly?

And yeah, the Quattro has a very bad rep.
$150,- is a lot of money for something that sucks.
Click to expand...

I think most usb problems relate to the implementation of usb by the mobo manufacturer. My old DFI/Athlon/VIA mobo was a grunting pig whenever I tried to plug in a usb device. Plus the fact I was running 98 at the time.
My current Asus/Intel/Intel mobo is rock solid on usb.
Having said that, I've never used the Quattro myself
Click to expand...
 
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