Delta66 vs. Gina24 (with SB32 or Diamond Monster)

[Brono]

The title of this message should read Delta66 vs. Darla24. Thanks to nodark who pointed out that mistake. Comments, still wanted.

I am putting together a home system to do voice recording. I should only be recording 2 people at a time. My voice and one other through a digital hybrid. I can spend $300 on my sound card. I've looked over both the Delta66 and the (correction) Darla24 at that price. I see that the Delta66 has 4 mono inputs, where as the (correction) Darla24 has 2 stereo inputs. Other than the Delta66's SPDIF's, I don't see much difference. I am not going to record any instruments on this system (I can't even play a kazoo.)

Specs on the system the card is going into.
P-II 450
128 Meg PC 100
Abit BH6 motherboard
TDK Velo CD burner
8 gig WD hard drive 5400rpm
I should be using this system with a Behringer 1604A and a Rode NT1 Mic.

Is there any reason to pick one over the other? I've read everything I could find about this subject, but I could not find a direct comparison of these two cards. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


My other question concerns a second sound card. I currently have a soundblaster 32 ISA card and a Diamond Monster Sound (First Generation) PCI sound card. I do not need midi, but I do need to be able to play cd's through my sound card. Has anyone used the older soundblasters with either of these? The Diamond? Any thoughts, comments or suggestions on using either with the Delta or Darla?

Thank you in advance,

Brono

[This message has been edited by Brono (edited 07-07-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Brono (edited 07-08-2000).]

 

[nodark]

I think you're comparing the 66 to the Darla24 cause the Gina has s/pdif as well and is a bit above $300. I chose the Delta over the Darla 'cause of the s/pdif and compatiblity with AMD (although I have an Intel) and NT. As far as just using another card for playing cds...I noticed a "fix" on the Midiman site.(if you use WinAMP)
1. Get Winamp from www.winamp.com and install it. Also install the CD
Reader v1.82 plug-in, you can also download this from www.winamp.com in the
plug-ins section.
2. Once installed, run Winamp. Go to the Menu, go to Options, then
Preferences.
3. Select Input under Plug-ins.
4. Select CD Reader on the right side of the Window (should be at the
bottom, unless you've added other plug-ins) and click configure.
5. Here you can select your CDROM drive. If you have more than one, select
the CDROM drive you want to hear CDs from. Click OK to go back to the
Preferences Window.
6. Select Output under Plug-ins.
7. Select Nullsoft waveOut plug-in (version doesn't matter here) And click
Configure.
Set the output device to the outputs on the Delta you want the CD Audio to
come through (or all audio through Winamp for that matter). Now drop a CD
in, and it should play fine through the Delta without the audio cable going
from the CDROM drive to the Delta

 

[hologram]

I've had no direct experience with the Delta 66, except that it was recommended highly by the people at Guitar Center, where I eventually ended up buying the Gina24. I had no need of more than two inputs, since I do all my mixing outboard. Also, the Gina24 comes with a rather long cable (~6ft) and has ADAT and S/PDIF, co-ax and *optical* -- a big plus for me. Also, the Gina24 card has a *digital* CD-in on the card; entails that your CD-ROM drive must have digital out to be useful, though.

As for my experience, after the travesty that was the Gadget Labs Wave/424, the Gina24 has (so far, touch wood) been an absolute wonder. Installed without any issues whatsoever, the ASIO drivers seem rock-solid (useful for Cubase, which I use) and the recorded audio is pristine. Had one small issue which was a stupidity on my part (had forgotten to set something in the software) which tech support was quickly and politely able to resolve.

Other than that, I still haven't quite come to understand what on earth all those outputs are useful for...

As for the SB32 vs. Monster -- use the PCI card. Less CPU overhead that way.

Hope this helps.

- hologram -