Did I get the wrong sound card?

U

ultrajosh

New member
I posted in another thread because this started as a cakewalk question, but I'm starting to think it is more of a soundcard question.

I track onto an alesis HD24, and I want to edit and mix on my PC. My PC has a Creative Audigy2 ZS card. I picked that card because it incldes a Firewie port and supposedly is 24 bit.

I have an Alesis Fireport that lets me export the tracks via FireWire as .wav files to my pc. The attributes of the .wav file I'm currently working on: 48000 Hz, 24 bits, Mono.

When I try to import one of these .wav files into a track in Homestudio4, I get the message:"Unable to import wave file. The file's audio format is incompatible with the Project."

I changed the sampling rate and bit depth in HomeStudio to match the .wav file's attributes (48000, 24bit) but it still won't let me import.

I checked the properties of the card via Audigy's software and the highest bitrate it shows for the analog side of the card is 16 bit! It shows 24 bit on the SPDIF side).

Questions:

1) Is the music software limited by the capabilities of the soundcard? e.g. if the soundcard can only do 8 tracks at 16-bit, then I can only Edit that many?

2) What the frig? They say it's a 24 bit card but it isn't unless I come in digitally?

3) What card do I need to get to end my aggravation? Note that the HD24 can record up to 96kHz.
 
1. yes your soundcard can limit your software recording capabilities...my mobo soundcard cant record or playback in 24 bit so when i first installed sonar, i couldnt hear a thing.

2. spdif is a digital in...the audigy is 16 bit in and 24 bit playback and of course people will say its not true 24 bit playback either

3. now check these out if your going for firewire
http://www.americanmusical.com/sort--k-ACFW2--o-2.html
 
You wasted your money on that creative labs soundcard. At least your video games will sound good, that's what the card is designed for anyway. Creative Labs Audigiy= overpriced gaming card that home recordists who don't do their research are tricked into buying. "But the guy at the computer store told me that the audigy was a good card for recording." Do you buy your mics at a computer store too?
 
Thanks for the info. Those interfaces are more than I need, because I already have an 8 channel pre-amp with ADAT optical and analog out. I just want to be able to MIX on the computer. Ability to do overdubs might be nice, too, but I can always go back to the Alesis for that if neccessary. Maybe I should just buy a mixer and use my computer for graphics. :o
 
Noiseportrait: I'm pretty happy with my choices so far, actually: I have a digital 24-track recording system that doesn't require a computer, and the associated b.s. (like soundcards that aren't as-advertised).

I have computer, and no mixer, so it seems like a reasonable jump to me. Comparing specs and prices, the Creative seemed like a good deal. I plan to send it back and order another one, so my money isn't wasted, just my time. What do you suggest given my requirements?

I considered an RME or Frontier card with tons of ADAT i/o's and just transfer in real-time onto the computer, but I was encouraged to go the FirePort route (faster), so now I'm trying to make that work.
 
I dont think the Alesis exports to wave. They might have their own type of file. Is it one big file or a bunch of small ones? I know they use OMF or something but i dont know if thats bundled or not.


Danny
 
The Alesis FirePort 1394 hooks to the drive itself, and allows you to export to 4 different formats: WAV, AIFF, SD2, or DIG/SD. Each track comes over as a separate file. They provide software called FST/Connect to do the transfers. I believe I can change the bitrate to 16 using this, but I'd rather be able to edit the tracks at the same depth that I recorded them.
 
success

I pulled the Audigy and put in an Echo MIAMIDI, then installed Cubase SL and I'm off and running! Worked like a dream to import the aif files... and now I'm learning Cubase. Never did get the Cakewalk import to work, whatever. :D
 
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