Cheap setup

  • Thread starter Thread starter emlyncorrin
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emlyncorrin

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OK, I recently bought a Sony ECM-MS907 stereo electret mic, to play around with recording some acoustic instruments onto my PC. It turns out that it doesn't work with the built-in soundcard, so I need something not too expensive to get it working (around 100 Euros, maybe 200 max), preferably USB so that I can use it with a laptop too.

I was looking at the Audigy 2 nx. Will the mic work with the mic-in on this card, or will I still need some sort of preamp?

Otherwise, the M-Audio MobilePre looks interesting, but I quite like the SoundFont support on the Audigy...
 
Creap=crap

Crap in=Crap out

I bought the NX to play with a fiew months back and returned it 2 days later. Don't waste your time on USB. Get a Firewire device or PC-Card interface intead.
 
I realise that I'm not going to get great sound, but I really haven't got loads of cash to spend on this. Maybe later I'll get something better, but for now I just want something that works. What was wrong with the NX? Would it at least work with the mic, or would I need a separate preamp?
I suppose a firewire device is an option, but I just bought a USB2 interface card for an external HD. In what way is firewire better than USB2?

Thanks for your advice.
 
Its always a good idea to search through old posts, especially if you're new here. The USB vs. Firewire topic has been beaten to death 10x over here.

The NX does not have what it takes for DAW work. It does not have decent WDM or ASIO drivers and certainly does not have mic preamps.

The NX, just like every other card Creative makes, is a gamer's card - nothing more.

USB has limited bandwidth. Firewire is still faster than USB 2.0 because USB's communications protocol is not very efficient.
 
Ok, firewire is way better than USB, but when you are planning only to record one or two tracks at once you can consider USB.

It is less good, but not always crap. I would do a search on www.Soundonsound.com , great reviews there. The only USB device I used though was the MBox and that's maybe a bit out of your price range I think, so I can't help you with any tips. I just want to reassure you that you can get good results with USB.
 
BrettB said:
I just want to reassure you that you can get good results with USB.
Click to expand...

Hardly. USB is a hit and miss experience when it comes to trouble free operation.

The NX I bought couldn't even handle sending a 5.1 AC3 Dolby Digital signal to my 5.1 receiver to watch a DVD. Dropouts everywhere...
 
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