cheapest 4 input sc for laptop

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lascalaboy

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what is the cheapest ones out there with 4 inputs for a laptop?

Would it be cheaper to buy a 2nd hand pci card and get a pcmia adapter?
 
lascalaboy said:
what is the cheapest ones out there with 4 inputs for a laptop?
Click to expand...

USB 1.1? USB 2.0? Firewire?

Ebay has some good used musical equipment I hear tell...
 
I hear that you can't record 4 tracks at once with USB..?
 
And just where did you 'hear' that? Is someone spreading vicious rumors around here again?

USB 1.1 does not have the greatest spec, but assuming everything else is in place it is more than sufficient for 4 tracks of 16 bit 44.1K audio. USB 2.0 is a little faster than Firewire, and can handle everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat!
 
The computer, first of all. You would need a fast enough computer so it would be able to process the audio streams. Any P4 or equivalent should do. Then you would need software capable of recording 4 separate tracks at once from 4 inputs. A USB sound card with the required number of inputs would be the last link in the chain -- here's a link to a popular one:

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOOMNISTUUSB
 
ssscientist said:
USB 2.0 is a little faster than Firewire, and can handle everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat!
Click to expand...

That's not totally true ... USB 2.0 vs FireWire ...
USB 2.0 will preform better than FireWire on small file sizes due to it's higher burst rate, but once the file size reaches upward of 1Meg FireWire pulls ahead due to it's greater sustained transfer rate.
Unless you are only dealing with short (few seconds long) audio clips, you'll get better performance streaming large amounts of audio data via FireWire.
Once FireWire 800 1394b (Gigawire) is more mainstream .... USB 2.0 will have a lot of catching up to do.
A PCI interface is the best device to use, but when mobility is concerned such as with a laptop ... FireWire is the best alternative, second to a PCMCIA interface such as a Echo Layla Laptop ... Though PCMCIA doesn't allow for chaining multiple interfaces as FireWire does.

It wouldn't be cheap at all to use a PCI card via a PCMCIA to PCI expansion chassis. Magma 1 slot expansion
 
I'm not running a P4 - I've got a celeron 2.6.... but I'll only be doing like 3-5 mins at a time max... at 4 inputs..

I just did the exchange on xe.com and the omni for $190 works out at around $260AUD which is pretty decent... but I hate to think what postage to oz will cost..
 
grrr. both those sites.. zzz and mf, had great prices, but don't ship to australia...

I have managed to find an australian place that has the Maya 44 USB for AU$249 (US$180) which looks pretty good... any thoughts?
 
I decided to look on ebay first.. the shop would still have the maya.. and I just won the auction for a practically brand-new M-Audio Quattro USB for Au$275... ($190 US)
 
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