R
robanalog
New member
What exactly does an audio interface do? I'm trying to find info but I'm just finding specs. What do they do and what do you use them for?
J
j
New member
people used to talk just about soundcards, but now that many soundcards come with elaborate input/output schemes, we talk about interfaces too. an interface is just where you plug in your audio sources and midi devices to be recorded , plus headphones, stereo, mackie powered monitors or whatever, to listen to what you are doing. the interface for a typical soundblaster is on the pci card itself, namely, the mini jacks and game/midi port. the interface for a Delta 1010 is a box that attaches to the pci card via a proprietary cable (a 'breakout' box). there are a lot of prosumer soundcards out there, with different types of interface...e.g., some offer mutiple channel inputs, while others have midi, or preamps, or whatever...these days the interface is a big part of making a soundcard decision....
AlChuck
Well-known member
J,
I think when people usually speak of "audio interfaces," they are basically using it synonomously with "sound cards."
It's a more generic term that includes the traditional SoundBlaster-type cards, multi-input cards with and without breakout boxes for connectivity, and with and without MIDI synths and/or MIDI interfaces, and with or without digital i/o of some form, as well as USB devices like the AudioSport and USB Pre, and Firewire devices like the MOTU 828...
Sure, one can be referring to just the architecture of the actual physical connections when you use this term... but in common use it's usually just another word for sound card.
I think when people usually speak of "audio interfaces," they are basically using it synonomously with "sound cards."
It's a more generic term that includes the traditional SoundBlaster-type cards, multi-input cards with and without breakout boxes for connectivity, and with and without MIDI synths and/or MIDI interfaces, and with or without digital i/o of some form, as well as USB devices like the AudioSport and USB Pre, and Firewire devices like the MOTU 828...
Sure, one can be referring to just the architecture of the actual physical connections when you use this term... but in common use it's usually just another word for sound card.
R
robanalog
New member
okay, having that answered, I have a mackie cxf20 that I would like to use to track. If I bought the delta 1010 or something similar with multiple inputs, could I run the lineouts from the mixer through the interface to the computer and have separated tracks using one of the many audio apps out there? Or would it still be necessary to buy a new soundcard? I guess I'm trying to ask if the audio interface could take the place of buying a new soundcard...
AlChuck
Well-known member
Everyting I know of marketed as a "audio interface" for computer recording includes the hardware and the drivers to get the sound into the computer. The Delta 1010 is a rack-mount box with connections and analog<->digital converters, plus a PCI card that goes in the computer and connects with a proprietary cable to the rack box.
So no, you don't need another soundcard in addition to the Delta...
unless, of course, you expect the Delta to do everything that you would expect from a Sound Blaster. It won't -- it has no MIDI synth hardware, nor does it have a MIDI interface, nor an analog connection for the audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive.
So if you need these things, you need a consumer soundcard in the computer too. (Well, there are other ways around that. You can also use a USB MIDI interface, and external synth or software synths routed through the Delta, and play your CDs through Windows Media Player or Winamp or other player that supports streaming the data off the drive digitally.)
So no, you don't need another soundcard in addition to the Delta...
unless, of course, you expect the Delta to do everything that you would expect from a Sound Blaster. It won't -- it has no MIDI synth hardware, nor does it have a MIDI interface, nor an analog connection for the audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive.
So if you need these things, you need a consumer soundcard in the computer too. (Well, there are other ways around that. You can also use a USB MIDI interface, and external synth or software synths routed through the Delta, and play your CDs through Windows Media Player or Winamp or other player that supports streaming the data off the drive digitally.)
ChuckU
New member
AlChuck, The 1010 does come with a midi interface, just no onboard synth like a soundblaster. So if you wanted to record let's say a midi keyboard part in Cakewalk, hook up your keyboard's midi out to the 1010's midi-in, the 1010's midi out to your sound module's midi in and you're all set. Also, I have my 1010 and my soundblaster both working at the same time in my PC.
I use the inserts on my Mackie to get discrete tracks via the mixer's preamps into the 1010. You can adjust input gain this way, but not eq, which can be tweaked in software.
I use the inserts on my Mackie to get discrete tracks via the mixer's preamps into the 1010. You can adjust input gain this way, but not eq, which can be tweaked in software.
AlChuck
Well-known member
Whoops, you're absolutely right, the 1010 does indeed have a MIDI interface (and likewise 1010LT)...