Getting a new Sound Card

[Casio]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting a new soundcard, problably the M-audio Delta 44 or Delta 66 but I don´t know what I have to have in mind when selecting the card.
From what I´ve read the sound card has to be compatible with the computer chipset or something of that sort. I don´t really know what chipset is in my computer so I´ll have to find out, how do I go about that?

I have a Studio Projects C1 condenser microphone and a Yamaha mixer (MG10/2) and I far from being happy with the sound because the mixer is supposed to have really good preamps, the sound is low or when I turn up the volume I either override the mixer or the software/soundcard. I´m really hoping the the soundcard is at fault

The soundcard I am using came with the motherboard (its a Dell computer) and it´s called SoundMAX digital Audio, the Asio drivers are so poor I can´t monitor through Cubase because of the high latency...

So is the Delta 44/66 a good card to use with cubase, can I be certain the sound will improve vastly with a new card, or do have to get a new microphone and a mixer?

What else do I have to have in mind?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated since I am getting eager to try and record my acoustic guitar meanders

 

[warble]

Well, off the top of my head I believe Dell's come with Intel Processors and perhaps Intel chipsets. M-Audio hardware should very well be fine with that. I didn't even know that the SoundMax built-in sound was capable of ASIO.

The Yamaha mixer is a great mixer, and the pre-amps are great quality. You might do better with a pre-amp such as the M-Audio DMP3, but I feel the MG10/2 will suffice. I'm using an MX12/4 and have been happy. I've seen great feedback on the DMP3 pre-amp as well as the VTB-1 from Studio Projects.

The C1 is a great mic too. I think it's more tailored towards the high end frequencies, and should work very well on voice (if that is your intention). Do a search in the forums here on this.

Your main focus should be getting a better sound card/interface. Once you get that going and make sure you're using the latest drivers, you should be a happy camper.

Warren

 

[Casio]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[warble]

You're welcome. Hope it helped (if even a little). You should be happy with M-Audio's quaility. I personally use an Echo Gina24 (due to my wonderful VIA chipset) and have had zero problems. You're best bet would be to search these forums - you'll end up with a lot of reading, but with some good input from a lot of good people around here.

Warren

 

[Casio]

After some concideration I have ordered M-audio Delta 1010... I can´t wait for it too arrive. I was going for the delta 66 but it doesn´t have midi and I want to have all options available, although I had to cash out a little bit extra. I got it for $449 which I think is a fine deal considering that at a local store an Audigy goes for something similar.