is there a BIG difference between a sbLive and recording card?

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Jotosuds

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is there a large audible difference that even a non-musician, non-recorder could notice? is there actually a sound quality difference? or is it just "a little" better.

thanks
 
Yes. There is a HUGE difference between a Sound Blater sound card and a professional soundcard.

There is even an audible difference between a SB soundcard and a M-Audio soundcard.

spin
 
when you said m-audio card, did you mean like an audiophile? what "pro" cards were you referring to?

thanks a lot!
 
Jotosuds said:
Is there a BIG difference between a sbLive and recording card?
Click to expand...

YES!
Been there, I know. Started on Audigy...not I have Aardvark.
 
No, there is no difference at all. No one can recognize the difference between a SBLive recording and a Pro-Card recording.

It's only a matter of fashion. In the 80's I saw people recording radio hits with equipment that now today is considered just like trash. Well the sound quality of the recordings it's still very good.

The only purpose of a sound card is to record. The only problem you can have with your sound card is the noise. But you can avoid this with a noise gate. What? Dynanic Range? Don't take care of this.

MaxB
 
MaxB said:
No, there is no difference at all. No one can recognize the difference between a SBLive recording and a Pro-Card recording.

It's only a matter of fashion. In the 80's I saw people recording radio hits with equipment that now today is considered just like trash. Well the sound quality of the recordings it's still very good.

The only purpose of a sound card is to record. The only problem you can have with your sound card is the noise. But you can avoid this with a noise gate. What? Dynanic Range? Don't take care of this.

MaxB
Click to expand...

:confused:

Do you think how it sounds is all that matters? Do you realize the benefits of recording and mixing in 24bits? How about the quality of the drivers?

:rolleyes:
 
Yes brethren yes

i'm having a soundcard pb so i know
invest in a pro card , you might begin to think you don't need mastering, but then you will wake


but still, if possible buy your dream card or something comparable

dis, ca va Spin
 
brzilian said:
:confused:

Do you think how it sounds is all that matters? Do you realize the benefits of recording and mixing in 24bits? How about the quality of the drivers?

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

24 bit mixing vs 32bit Float mixing... Mmmm....
Basically it's the same.

Drivers: sblive can use KXDrivers, currently the best audio drivers in the world, in my opinion.

Mate, I've done a recording some day ago to test my Akai S2000 samples. I was trying to emulate a real orchestra. The recording was done with a SBLive + KX Drivers. No one tell me "the sound quality is poor" or something like this...

Some time ago I've posted a song in the MP3 Mixing forum...
Review: "Mixing wise, sounds good, maybe bring up the lead melody a little at some spots. Right now it's very rhythm driven".

Ok, this song was recorded and mixed not with a Live but with a SB128.

Now I'm working for a professional project. I've sent a demo to the producer. It says that it sounds very clean. SBLive again! :)


Max B
 
24 bit mixing vs 32bit Float mixing... Mmmm....
Basically it's the same.

Thats not the point. What good is 24bit mixing if you're bringing audio in in 16bits? Its like working with a 256 color file in Photoshop when it can handle true color files.

Drivers: sblive can use KXDrivers, currently the best audio drivers in the world, in my opinion.

Of course!!! What was I thinking?!? That explains why I get better latency values with my M-Audio card than the SB Live using softsynths.

:rolleyes:
 
would it be worth it for me to invest in a card for a small scale studio (very small), like the soundblaster audigy 2 zs platinum pro.
would this do the trick for only single line in's from stereo outputs from my mixer?
 
brzilian said:
24 bit mixing vs 32bit Float mixing... Mmmm....
Basically it's the same.

Thats not the point. What good is 24bit mixing if you're bringing audio in in 16bits? Its like working with a 256 color file in Photoshop when it can handle true color files.

Drivers: sblive can use KXDrivers, currently the best audio drivers in the world, in my opinion.

Of course!!! What was I thinking?!? That explains why I get better latency values with my M-Audio card than the SB Live using softsynths.

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Take a look here:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=97837&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
 
packratlouie said:
would it be worth it for me to invest in a card for a small scale studio (very small), like the soundblaster audigy 2 zs platinum pro.
would this do the trick for only single line in's from stereo outputs from my mixer?
Click to expand...

Unless you plan to watch DVD's, play games and listen to DVD-A as well, your money is better spent on something actually designed for recording.

Audigy ZS - $179
Audiophile or MiaMIDI - $149

I'd rather have a card that does one thing well than something that does everything in a mediocre way.
 
so how big was the contrast? when you went from audigy to aardvark? was it like, "yeah, it does sound better..." or "DAMN, that sounds a lot better!!!"?

i would be stepping up from onboard sound card using the "mic in" with a radioshack mic, to a audiophile 2496 with an Audiobuddy, using MXL 1006 and SM-58.

how big would the contrast be approximately?

this song was recorded using the radioshack mic w/"mic in", and mixed w/headphones :D lol. it's too trebly i'm told, and i'm out of tune a lot. oh well...


http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2611&alid=-1
 
Jotosuds said:
so how big was the contrast? when you went from audigy to aardvark? was it like, "yeah, it does sound better..." or "DAMN, that sounds a lot better!!!"?
Click to expand...

It was "DAMN!"

i would be stepping up from onboard sound card using the "mic in" with a radioshack mic, to a audiophile 2496 with an Audiobuddy, using MXL 1006 and SM-58. http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2611&alid=-1
Click to expand...

Yours should be an immense improvement. Hell, the mic change alone is going to make a difference!

I can't listen to your post right now, I'm at work, no soundcard...
 
Well for what it's worth, I moved from a single input Yamaha XG card to an M Audio delta 44. Although I'm still only recording 16 bit/44.1Khz, the quality of the mix is far better. I believe this is due mainly to being able to mic my drums to 4 individual tracks, rather than all scrunched up on one track. Of course the AD/DA converters are supposed to be better as well
 
all about the benjamins...maybe a few lincolns too

i guess the hardest part of this is the stress of shelling out the kind of money to get the aardvark and all that other stuff....I'm dumbfounded when it comes to midi so i dont even deal with that......heres a question.....these recording cards that are midi hooked up, are they better than an analog sb live or something? arent they harder to deal with? i've seen the price of that 1010 ardvark and as good as it looks...the price changes my mind almost every time.
 
I think if you hit the soundblaster with a GOOD sound source to begin with, it'll be fine for starting out. When you need more inputs is where you will probably want to upgrade. I believe the soundblasters even have digital inputs now too. They would work great. Sure there is a difference, but what goes into yor mic (and not that radio shack crap) will make a difference 100 times over. Save your money and get the sm58 or whatever, and start off with something good as your front end. The audio buddy will suit you MUCH better than your computer's mic in.... that's the downfall in those *computer* cards.....using the mic inputs with $10 mics.
 
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