Echo Gina and Via Mother board

C

cowboy812000

New member
Hi,

I am thinking of buying a Echo Gina for my PC. I have a Via mother Board P4X266 PE11-L Intel Pentium 4 1500 MHz CPU and the VIA chipset VT8753 Apollo P4X266. Will this work together? I have an Alesis ADAT edit card and it was a nightmare all the way around......I'm scared....very scared to buy anything anymore. Thanks for your input.

Cowboy
 
I emailed them about a year ago, and they told me that Gina is supposed to be compatible with VIA chipsets. Just to be sure, I'd check Echo's website for the latest information on chipset compatibility and drivers.
 
I have looked at the site....no mention of my hardware...but there is a comment refering to intel processors and non-intel chipsets not being recommended. It says that some users have had luck where others have had problems. What to do...what to do?
 
Well, what you can do is email them. But Echo's customer service isn't all that great. Although I did get a response from them, I think it wasn't for at least a couple weeks. Still, I told them the chipset and when it was made, and they gave me a specific answer.

I almost went the Gina route, but then someone recommended the Aardvark Aark24 and comparing the two I noticed that Gina isnt really 24/96. It actually records at 20 bit and processes internally at 24. Since I lean towards outboard processing, I'd rather have 24 at the source and not just "internal". Of course, Aardvark does NOT support VIA chipsets, so I went with RME instead. I asked them if it was compatible and I got an answer within one day.

RME rocks.

Cy
 
Echo Audio's website says:

Check to see if you are using a compatible motherboard chipset.

Any genuine Intel chipset with an Intel processor will work fine; be sure to use only an Intel chipset with an Intel processor.

Also, we have extensively tested Athlon processors coupled with VIA KT-133 and later chipsets, and these set-ups work very well. Older chipsets may be incompatible with your Echo hardware. For specific information about compatible chipsets click here!

If you don't know the maker of your CPU or motherboard chipset, it is a simple matter to find out. You can use a utility called Sandra.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the info from the site...I know what chipset it is(VIA VT 8753 Apollo P4X266) but am not sure if it was produced later then the KT 133. As stated in the original post....had a terrible experiance with the adat edit card. Just want to dump tracks from my adat machine to my computer...and record some more tracks directly into the computer....mix it and burn it to a cd. not too much to ask right? just don't want to spend a hours and hours trying to get something to work that never will not to mention the money spent on hardware I can't use.
 
The key thing is that it says to only use an Intel chip with an Intel chipset.

When it says Via works, it means only in conjunction with AMD chips.

So if you have an Intel cpu, get an Intel chipset-based motherboard.

You're going to run into a lot of problems with soundcard manufacturers with an Intel/Via combo.
 
I almost went the Gina route, but then someone recommended the Aardvark Aark24 and comparing the two I noticed that Gina isnt really 24/96. It actually records at 20 bit and processes internally at 24.
Click to expand...

How did you compare the two? I wasn't aware of the 20 bit recording and would like hard proof on this. Regardless, I think it's a great sounding.

Warren
 
Damn, you know what? Let me take my foot out of my mouth to correct myself. The Gina 20 is the card that processes 20bit analog and 24 bit internally. The Gina 24 is fully 24bit.. My memory is a bit foggy, but I think what happened was someone was going to sell me the Gina 20, and reading the 20s specs on Echo's site, that kinda stuck in my mind..

I decided to instead lean towards the Aark because for a bit more cash I would get a card similar to the Gina 24 only with clock I/O, which I felt would allow me future flexability...

Why didnt I go back to Gina? Because what I REALLY wanted was clock I/O and 16 I/O without using ADAT sync, and RME allows that option, albeit with expansion boards..

Sorry 'bout that.. thanks for calling me on it!

Cy
 
Cowboy,

What is your budget? The Echo Gina24 will run you about $350, but I wouldn't take a chance with the Intel/VIA combo. I think MIDIMAN products (Delta, etc.) would be ok for your combo, but you'd have to check with them for sure.

I'd agree that you very well might run into probs. with the Intel/VIA combo with various manufacturers.
 
Cyrokk,

That's cool. Guess it should be officially called Gina24 - I do remember the 20 bit card.

As for the Aark being a bit more cash, isn't it like $200 more? I looked at that too, but was trying to keep my costs down and still get decent quality.

Warren
 
I think I'm going with the terratec ews88d. It has what I need and via supplies the chip....i have 45 days to return it....the dice have been rolled...ha ha
 
cowboy812000 said:
I think I'm going with the terratec ews88d. It has what I need and via supplies the chip....i have 45 days to return it....the dice have been rolled...ha ha
Click to expand...

Maybe do a search here first to see if others have used it, and maybe get some good input on it. Just a thought (maybe you already have).

Warren
 
warble said:
As for the Aark being a bit more cash, isn't it like $200 more? I looked at that too, but was trying to keep my costs down and still get decent quality.

Warren
Click to expand...

Yes, The Aark is about $200 more than the Gina. Below are the specs for each, which I just copied off of their websites. To be honest, I don't know what half of this means. However, if I am reading them right (possibly not), the Aark has clock I/O but the Gina has a slightly better signal to noise ratio, which may be completely inaudible to most of us. Gina typically comes with Cubase software, whereas Aark comes with Cakewalk Pro-Audio 9. But since software has little to do with fidelity, that shouldnt be much of a concern. The biggest contrast though is in driver support: Gina typically works well with VIA, Aark is pretty safe with Intel. Still, that's not cut and dry either, anyone shopping for a soundcard should always send an email to the manufacturer to find out if their individual configuration will work. Just because Aark doesnt have driver support on their site for VIA chipsets, that doesn't mean the Aark won't work. They are just trying to please as many people as possible.

FWIW, many people on this site have been very happy with the Gina 20 and I have heard nothing bad about the Gina 24 in comparison. If you do get the Gina 24, I'd be willing to bet that you'll be quite satisfied with its performance and fidelity.

Aark 24
True 24 Bit A/D D/A.
Eight 1/4" TRS Analog I/O
Switchable +4 dBu/-10dBv
.002% THD+N
ADAT® Optical I/O
ADAT® Sync
S/PDIF Digital I/O
MIDI I/O
TOSLINK Optical I/O
Word Clock I/O TASCAM® TDIF I/O (optional)
AES/EBU I/O (optional)
10 Channel Full Duplex Simultaneous Rec/Play
Monitor Mixing Software
Easy and Flexible Signal Routing
Shielded PCI Host Card w/ 24bit DSP
19" Rack Mount (optional)
Expanded I/O with additional Aark24
Win 95/98 & Steinberg™ ASIO Drivers

Gina 24
THD+n: <0.0012%, 20Hz-22kHz A-weighted (plot)
Crosstalk: <0.0004% Crosstalk
Nominal Input Level: +4dBu or -10dBV (software configurable)
Maximum Input level: +18dBu or +4dBV (software configurable)
Input impedance: 10KOhm
Analog Output
8 Balanced TRS connectors
Accepts unbalanced signals
Frequency Response: 15Hz-22kHz, ±0.25dB (plot)
Linearity: -120dBFS-0dBFS, ±1dB (plot)
Dynamic Range: 110dB A-weighted
THD+n: <0.001%, 20Hz-22kHz A-weighted (plot)
Crosstalk: <0.001% Crosstalk (plot)
Nominal Output Level: +4dBu or -10dBV (software configurable)
Maximum Output level: +18dBu or +4dBV (software configurable)
128x Oversampling converters
24 bit data resolution maintained throughout signal path
Multiple sampling rates supported: 8k, 11.025k, 16k, 22.05k, 32, 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k
S/PDIF Digital Input/Output
Up to 24 bit resolution
Optical-TOSLINK-Lightpipe connector
Coaxial connector
Consumer/Professional Switch
44.1kHz and 48kHz sample rates supported
ADAT Digital Input/Output
8 Channel 24 bit input/output over TOSLINK connection
44.1kHz and 48kHz sample rates supported
Digital Sync
Can sync to S/PDIF or ADAT
Esync in and out for syncing to other Echo cards
Headphone Output
High quality ¼” headphone jack
Volume control on front panel
On-board 24-bit Motorola DSP for mixing and monitoring
Bus mastering PCI host interface
 
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