buying a new comp - but which soundcard ?

N

nisthana

New member
Dell is offering me the following
-- Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
-- Sound Blaster® Live! 24-bit ADVANCED HD™ Audio
-- Sound Blaster® Audigy®2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, and IEEE 1394
-- Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1

The only card I know about is SB Live since thats what I have in my current computer and it records pretty good. I have no idea about others :-(

So the questions are
1. Which one of these is best ?
2. Is Audigy a sound interface rather than a PCI card (use of IEEE 1394 in the description above confused me)
3. Is sound interface a better option than sound card ? If so which interface do you suggest in not-so-expensive range ?

Thx for the help.
 
I wouldn't use any of them. You might be able to get a discount by telling them to leave it off. Then you could purchase a good card like;

Delta series by M-Audio Maudio
RME Hammerfall RME
ECHO Labs cards Echo
Mark of the Unicorn cards MOTU
 
JoeNovice said:
I wouldn't use any of them. You might be able to get a discount by telling them to leave it off. Then you could purchase a good card like;
Click to expand...
+1

Often, the sound cards used by Dell are proprietary (i.e. Turtle Beach Santa Cruz). The excellent (non-Dell) TBSC is now discontinued and I absolutely refuse to use the Dell oem version of this card. It requires proprietary drivers, and is generally a pain in the ass. The fine print on eBay TBSC cards usually reveals they are Dell cards.
 
bgavin said:
+1

Often, the sound cards used by Dell are proprietary (i.e. Turtle Beach Santa Cruz). The excellent (non-Dell) TBSC is now discontinued and I absolutely refuse to use the Dell oem version of this card. It requires proprietary drivers, and is generally a pain in the ass. The fine print on eBay TBSC cards usually reveals they are Dell cards.
Click to expand...
+1 again. Almost every built-in or even regular consumer soundcard (like any SoundBlaster) downright sucks next to even basic recording-targetted interfaces such as the M-Audio Delta. The other consumer stuff is designed to have good output sound and other features like surround sound, but most of the time the recording capabilities and quality takes a much lower priority.
 
i was wandering i only have a beginner peavey electric guitar with amp

that i bought a couple of years ago, and a fabtone dirtortion pedal, what should i get to record it

or should i infest in a more expensive guitar and amp for the quality

or is it still good

but im not looking to record lots of tracks so what should i get for recording it if im not gonna do alot of tracks of intruments

but would still like to try it digital or does some stuff still have to be with the equiptment to pull good quality off, just wandering whatever you guys recomend i'll take your advice
 
scott333_newbie said:
i was wandering i only have a beginner peavey electric guitar with amp

that i bought a couple of years ago, and a fabtone dirtortion pedal, what should i get to record it

or should i infest in a more expensive guitar and amp for the quality

or is it still good

but im not looking to record lots of tracks so what should i get for recording it if im not gonna do alot of tracks of intruments

but would still like to try it digital or does some stuff still have to be with the equiptment to pull good quality off, just wandering whatever you guys recomend i'll take your advice
Click to expand...

Maybe you should try posting a new thread (your own topic instead of someone elses)? Or just search the forums - you'll find plenty of discussion on options for sound cards/interfaces. BUT, in regards to your question(s): guitar and amp aside (which actually are important) - you'll need to think about a microphone to mic the amp with and about a pre-amp to use to plug that mic into. Getting the sound you want might be a chore depending on how the amp sounds to begin with - don't know what model you have.

Lots of things to think about, and just browsing around the forums here will give you some insights into recording.
 
Get a proper Interface for Multitrack recording .. The integrated and Soundblaster cards that come with package computers SUCK ..
I myself have not used the soundblaster cards but my research tells me NO to them ...
 
nisthana said:
2. Is Audigy a sound interface rather than a PCI card (use of IEEE 1394 in the description above confused me)
Click to expand...

That just means it has one built into the back, not that you connect it using IEEE1394, it's just a normal PCI card.


X-fi Specifications (From Creative's site)

"24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion of analog inputs at 96kHz sample rate
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of digital sources at 96kHz to analog 7.1 speaker output
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of stereo digital sources at 192kHz to stereo output
16-bit to 24-bit recording sampling rates: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz
ASIO 2.0 support at 16-bit/44.1kHz, 16-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/44.1kHz 24-bit/48kHz and 24-bit/96kHz with direct monitoring
Enhanced SoundFont support at up to 24-bit resolution
Audio Performance (Rated Output @ 2Vrms)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Weighted)
Stereo Output: 109dB
Front and Rear Channels: 109dB
Center, Subwoofer and Side Channels: 109dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (20kHz Low-pass filter) = 0.004%
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input ) = <10Hz to 46kHz
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/192kHz input) = <10Hz to 88kHz (Stereo only)
Connectivity

FlexiJack (Performing a 3-in-1 function, Digital I/O1 / Line In / Microphone) via 3.50mm mini jack
Line level out (Front / Rear / Side / Center / Subwoofer) via 3.50mm mini jacks
AUX_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
One AD_Link (26 pin) connector for linking to the X-Fi I/O Console (upgrade option)"



I've noticed everyone here says Soundblaster cards are crap, but wasn't the soundblaster one of the first (if not THE first) soundcards available?
And from the reviews I've read, the X-fi sounds quite good.
The SB X-fi Elite also seems to be targeted towards recording-



"The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro features professional-quality digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with 116dB SNR, plus an I/O module with a comprehensive selection of connectivity for audio creation with easy-to-use control knobs for the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS- 3D (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround), 3DMIDI, and EAX. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro also features 64MB of on-board X-RAM - audio memory dedicated to higher gaming audio quality and performance, in addition to a built-in pre-amp for direct recording, and high-impedance inputs for electric guitars. The "top of the line" Sound Blaster X-Fi solution, the Elite Pro includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the entire family of Sound Blaster X-Fi cards (described below), in one ultimate solution.

Audio Creation Mode
For Xtreme Fidelity Home-Studio Music Recording & Creation


Highest quality, most feature-rich recording available in its class!
Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro delivers the highest fidelity of all the X-Fi products, delivering pristine 116dB SNR audio playback quality. In addition you will enjoy recording capabilities up to 96kHz and playback of up to 192kHz, plus advanced features and effects for music and audio creation.


Advanced Audio Conversion Engine.

Sound Blaster X-Fi features an SRC (Sample Rate Conversion) engine that is 300 times more precise than the previous Sound Blaster solutions and can convert any audio to any resolution at near transparency with 136dB THD+N, providing you the freedom to record at your preferred resolution without concerning yourself with the final output quality. Sound Blaster X-Fi also supports digital-matched recordings in resolutions from 44.1kHz to 96kHz.


Lowest Latency ASIO Recording.
You'll get ASIO recording with latency as low as one millisecond and zero CPU load for the most precise audio recording capabilities in any class!


Advanced Features and Effects for Music and Audio Creation.


Sound Blaster X-Fi supports up to eight different 24-bit hardware effects, all of which are accessible through the special Audio Creation Mode Interface and can be used with any of the inputs.

You will also enjoy unprecedented hardware synthesis capabilities with 24-bit SoundFont sampling!

For the first time, create multichannel MIDI content with 3D MIDI"


I'm not disagreeing with anyone who said there are better cards (I don't know enough about this anyway) I'm just wondering what your opinions are on this card.
 
Miseria_Cantare said:
I've noticed everyone here says Soundblaster cards are crap, but wasn't the soundblaster one of the first (if not THE first) soundcards available?

I'm not disagreeing with anyone who said there are better cards (I don't know enough about this anyway) I'm just wondering what your opinions are on this card.
Click to expand...

A. Being the first soundcard doesnt have anything to do with the actual quality of the sound.

B. I dont know that particular card, hard to judge something I havent used :cool:
That said, in the past I have had two SB cards, I think they were called Live and PCI 512. They are in a different league than the stuff people usually use for home recording, not even close in quality. They were terrible.

The only way to judge them is by comparing them to an m-audio, echo, etc. and see how they actually sound in the real world. You simply couldnt record with the two I had. They are also NOT cheap, you can get a basic but REAL audio card for the same price ( Like the audiophile).

Agreed, people bash Soundblasters a lot here, same with Behringer. I cant speak for Behringer, but the two soundblasters I had couldnt come close to the Darla24 and M-audio firewire I have also had, they werent in the same league.

Keep in mind that Soundblasters are NOT made for the recording market. They are made for gamers and the mp3 crowd. :)
 
DavidK said:
Keep in mind that Soundblasters are NOT made for the recording market. They are made for gamers and the mp3 crowd. :)
Click to expand...

Does this mean the M-Audio cards would be any less good for gaming/audio playback?
If not, then why are the creative cards so expensive in comparison, yet not as good?
 
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