Echo soundcards..

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Mip

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I've been looking around for soundcards so I can start pc-recording, and i'm hoping to get something from Echo. But I had a scary thought. Do you have to buy another card to put in your computer to connect it to, or does it go straight into a com port or something?
 
They think of everything for you....:)

Believe it or not, there was a time were I sweated that same question MIP. But, rest assured, you will get all the necessary cards and breakout box or cable with the card so you can plug right in and go!

Seriously though, I would look into another line of product. I have not been very impressed with Echo. They sound alright, but it seems that they have more problems then some other brands. And, for their popularity, I was not impressed that it took them all these years to have BETA NT 4 drivers for their older products.

Good luck.

Ed
 
Here I Come TO Save The DAy!!!

In response to your Echo aound card question and Sonusman's slamming of the line, I must say that Echo overall is very good. Read on...

1)My Layla crapped out totally on me this past weekend. UP until now it has been a VERY strong performer and I have been happy. The faulty bridge on the power supply is a problem that they said happens on a few of the older Laylas. I called them up and overnighted them the card on MOnday. They promised to overnight it back to me today (Tuesday) so Ill have it for a session on Wednesday. Now THATS technical support.

2)Layla dying brought up the subject of getting a new sound card. I looked at the MOTU line and was impressed. However, the inputs- A weighted at 119Db vs Laylas 115Db, and the 24bit data path vs laylas 20bit (excluding the new layla 24) did not justtify the major price difference. It seemed that when I went to Mars that sells MOTU- they SWORE By MOTU, when I went to Sam Ash that sells Event, the SWORE BY event....but said Motu was "good".

3) Im not sure where the hell im going with this but lets just say that I could not find anything negative about the layla posted on the internet. On the Motu there were technical problems when running on a PC. The old layla is very cool......has 8ins 10 outs, MIDI in/out/thru, SPDIF in out, Word CLock. the only thing it doesnt have is optical.....but the new one does. One cool thing a about the old layla is ALL the inputs are BALANCED and there are two on the front so you can plug anything in quickly without having to go behind the rack or through the board which just adds more circuitry for the signal to go through. The old laylas can be had for around 400 bones and, aside from that problem (which Echo will fix for free even if Layla is OUT of warranty) layla is robust and very very clean.

The quest for the perfect sound card is a tedious and tiresome one....just like people swearing by n-track and Cakewalk when there is Logic out there....(shameless Logic Plug..it ROCKS)...the best judge is you. Thank God for the return policy at the major music stores.

Happy recodring!

-gen
 
Thanks!!!

gener1c, you only reaffirmed my point! Thank you.

But, the NT4 driver issue is still that, an issue. I have learned not to really trust cards that don't have them. NT4 drivers show an intelligent approach to the cards inner workings in a PC environment, and cards with BETA drivers only usually have stuff that is disabled to make it work on that platform.

Anyway, not trying for a pissing match here (I drink a lot of coffee so I would win that anyway....:) ) but the comment about "slamming the line" may be a bit harsh. A really slam would have been "They suck really bad, and have ugly colors!" or "They are the worst thing to happen since Bill Clinton!", or something like that.

My points are based upon what I have seen and heard about the line. Call it slamming, but I call it "truth" about a product line that they well deserve.

Nice that they will at least solve a major problem with the cards though.

Ed
 
Sneaky.....

Which one addresses your needs better?

If quality converters is your aim, all that have been listed are not the ticket. Look at the Card Deluxe, or the Lynx One card. But they have limited I/O, but much higher quality A/D/A chipsets.

Ed
 
Hrmmm......

Ed,

I would have to check the specs on the cards but if my memory serves me well, i believe that the Lynx is TERRIBLY expensive...all for the converters?

The converters on the Layla are fine for most people who are not Mutt Lange or Puff Daddy. The real power come into play when you start using plug ins that are high dollar.....that makes all the difference in the world. However, i am not interested in those cards you mentioned. I was comparing the MOTU 1224 with the LAYLA. They both do pretty much the same thing....but the MOTU is 600 bones more......why?

Layla is on her way back! Oh yeah baby! THATS TECHNICAL SUPPORT!!!

-gen
 
It is all relaltive isn't it?

Let's see. A Apogee Rosetta A/D/A 24/48 converter goes for about $1300 right now. Remember, that doesn't get you into the computer either. This is just one of the finest sounding A/D/A converters there is.

Compared to the the Lynx One at $450. The Lynx only differs in that is doesn't provide T/DIF I/O, and doesn't have UV-22.

Sounds to me like the Lynx card is actually cheap in comparison considering it uses pretty much the same A/D/A chipset.

When you start stacking up converters on a sound card, as well as all the other NEATO things these things do, something has to give in the price point friend. I am sorry, but Echo does not have a great line in on quality converters that makes it so you can purchase more of them for far less of a price. Things don't work that way in modern electronics. And with the stiff competition in the marketplace, manufactures truely have to offer a product that SOUNDS SUPERIOR to the AVERAGE Joe to get away with charging a much higher price.

So to answer your question, yes, "all for the converters". You don't need to bed Mutt Lange or Puff Daddy to HEAR the difference in A/D/A conversion. And once you start recording a whole bunch of tracks, applying DSP from lousy computer mixing software, throw in some gross inexperience in mixing/mastering, you will really HEAR the difference at the end product between high quality converters and consumer quality converters.

I am not dogging you hear, just trying to illustrate what many before me have discovered, and that which I have heard in my experience, and once I have shared this, others have observed. You CAN hear a difference in converter quality. Good converters ARE expensive. And buy the best you can possibly afford (actually, when I consider a purchase, I always add 25% to what I would LIKE to pay, because I am a cheapskate like everyone, but also a realist that I will have to pay more for quality).

Now, about your question comparing the MOTU to the Layla. Start browsing around some studio websites. You will notice this:

Home type of studios will use the Layla card.

Professional studios will use MOTU products.

MOTU has been in the game for a long time now, and if you are just using spec sheets to make your purchase, I feel sorry for you. Spec sheets can be deceiving. You would have to know HOW the said piece of gear was actually tested to come up with those results. With higher dollar professional products, you can bet that the specs are actually conservative. With something like the Echo products, you will find that the specs are the "best case scenario" specs, and also that they may have used tests that don't reflect real life usage of the product. There are different ways to measure s/n ratio, and it is a pretty good bet that Echo is using the one that will make their product "appear" to be as good as much more expensive products of similar design.

So anyway, this damn soap box is starting to buckle from my weight! Enough! I think I have made my point.


Ed
 
MOTU on PC

A friend of mine uses MOTU in his professional life in LA. He has a Mac and swears by them both.

He also told me '... everybody I know here uses MOTU...'

Is MOTU available for PC?

Know anything about Hammerfall?

foo
 
from everything that I've read, the motu 12i (might have the same converters as the 1224, i dont know) is slightly better than the Delta 1010 , which is slightly more transparent and more focused than the old 20 bit layla.

Now that the new 24 bit layla is out, who knows.

But as far as price goes, I think that slightly better is negligible. Of the three I mentioned, the 20 bit layla is supposed to be the worst, but listen to what shakes the clown did with it on
http://www.codyyoung.com
or http://www.offtherow.com

to me, it is perfect for $600.

I gott the delta 1010 for $700 with vegas pro though cause I wanted 24 bits and 96khz for the future.
The extra money I save from not buying a motu 1224 about $500, I will spend on Logic Audio platinum 4.5 and its' 41 plugins.
 
Yeah my non pro Layla sure does pretty nice for junk. ;-( Oh and thanks CyanJaguar ;-)

[Edited by ShakesTheClown on 08-27-2000 at 22:40]
 
Hey Shakes.....

Not to worry, I caught the "before editing" version of your last post....;)

Good and bad is a very subjective thing don't you think? I will let YOU know what I think of your card...:)

I go with first impressions of people. I only edit posts after posting them to correct grammer, never to erase things I said. I will also share what I think of You...:)

But not here. Expect email soon.

Ed
 
All is well....

And a new understanding between me and a very nice person. Thanks for the reply Cody.

Ed
 
Its amazing how you have an opinion of someone on the boards and when you actually talk to them you find out you misjudged them. And after actually talking one on one with Ed, I realized that I did that.

Thanks, Ed
 
Well....

Well then what gives??!?!?!


I just added another 128MB Ram to my computer and got Layla back from ECHO and the performnace improvements seems to be noticeable in everything but LOGIC. Sure, there are small boosts in perf. but I recorded 7 tracks ...put a few EQ's on em and some Renaissance COmps, a Stereo Expander and BOOM im out of resources again! I know that the LAyla cant be that WEAK! Would the MOTU have more DSP? I read that the MOTU really relies on the computer to do that hard work...not the 324 card.


Again...i feeli like I have a 5000.00 8 tracks recorder..

:(

HELP! Oh an Ed---you still SUCK! Just kidding' i listened to some of that hard core shit you did and it was pretty damn rockin'! Keep it up.

-gen
 
Melting down the plastic!

So I finally cracked under the pressure and have bought a real microphone (AT 4033) and a real soundcard (Mona).

Thank you to all who contributed their expertise in moving this decision along (you know who you are):)

They'll be here in two/three days - now I've got to get a sound module of some kind and a controller and I'm good to go.

I thought I needed a sampler to get good piano, bass and drum sounds, but apparently not. The Roland JV 2080 (and other Roland modules) allegedly have all of the above.

Any suggestions?

Thank you, thank you

foo
 
let me know

Dude,

Let me know hoe MONA works out....been eyeing her curves for a while..

-gen
 
foo,

You should also check out the JV1010. I have this box, because I didn't want to fork out the greenbacks for the 2080. The 1010 has all of the JV80, 1080 and most 2080 sounds. AND the best part is that it is $425. The sounds are absoultely awesome right out of the box. You won't be able to do much editing on the face of the module, but it comes with some software for editing sounds. Try it out, you won't be dissappointed.

Rev E
 
I have to second that Rev E,

I have the JV1010 and I was also thinking about Mona. The JV1010 is great for audio recording. You don't have to worry about losing effects in performance mode. And some of the best patchs use a lot of effects that make that sound awesome.
I'm going audio because midi was killing my creativity.
Foo, let us know about that Mona, can you listen to the track you are recording while recording without using the headphones?
 
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