Best soundcards < $400? Suggestions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shag
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Shag

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I'm currently in the market (well, buying for my girlfriend, anyway) for a
good quality soundcard at a relatively low price (who isn't?) and am trying to figure out what my options are. So, I turn to you
all. The card needs to be under $400, and I would like it to have the
following features:

4ins/2outs (minimum)
Midi port (not 100% required, but would prefer to have it)
breakout box (again, not 100% required, but would prefer)
Clean sound
ASIO drivers
SPDIF (not necessary, but would be an added bonus)

I think that about covers it. So far, I have come across the following
contenders:

Guillemot ISIS
midiman dman2044 (no midi)
Gadget Labs Wave/424 (no breakout box)
Midiman Delta 66 (no midi or breakout box)

And that's really about it. I know there have to be more out there that meet
my criteria, I'm just not sure where to find them. I haven't been able to
find a whole lot of opinions on the above products, so if you have any, let
'em fly. :)

We will be recording mostly vocals (sometimes multiple vocals at once), acoustic guitar, and will interface with a Yamaha Clavinova. We plan to use Cubase as the software.

It'd be nice to pick up a Gina or a Darla, but the 2ins just won't cut it.
The ISIS seems to meet all my needs, but I'm a bit concerned about quality. I
can't seem to get a general consensus on the card - some love it, some absolutely hate it. Ugh.

What products fall into this category and what would you recommend?
 
Hey Shag, I Picked Up A Core 2 Recently And Am Very Pleased. Previously (And Also Currently) Used SBAWE64Gold Sound Quality Way Above SB64 Notice Though, Not Many Talk About Core 2 In This Fine Domain (Thanks Drag)
 
Guitar Trader has been selling the Dman 2044 with breakout box for $199.00. It's a lot of card for the money. I've read some good reviews on it but can't remember where.

Duke
 
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