Laptop Recording-USB

[vmock]

OK here is my current setup:

*Dell Inspiron E1505
*Samson c01U USB Studio Condenser
*Acid Pro 6 (Soon Cubase CX 3)

also I have a USB MIDI controller (M-Audio Keystation 49e)

I have been trying to get clearer recording and Im not quite sure where I need to start to upgrade my sound. Im trying to figure out if its, the mic, sound card, or my the software im using. Any advice would help....thanx

 

[dgatwood]

OK here is my current setup:

*Dell Inspiron E1505
*Samson c01U USB Studio Condenser
*Acid Pro 6 (Soon Cubase CX 3)

also I have a USB MIDI controller (M-Audio Keystation 49e)

I have been trying to get clearer recording and Im not quite sure where I need to start to upgrade my sound. Im trying to figure out if its, the mic, sound card, or my the software im using. Any advice would help....thanx

As for why the sound quality is bad, it's both the interface and the audio interface, as they're both the same device. Yeah, your sound card is being used for output, and probably sucks, too, but decent output comes for free when you get decent input hardware.

Your software is probably fine. You'd have to work pretty hard to write audio software whose sound isn't identical to every other piece of audio software (sample rate conversion and bit dithering on mixdown notwithstanding).

My advice about USB: don't. USB audio pretty much sucks. Save up the extra money and get a FireWire card with a TI chipset and a decent FireWire interface.

 

[ssscientist]

USB audio pretty much sucks.

I have a Compaq Laptop and the 4 pin Firewire port might as well not even be there. It's so fragile and in such a poor place on the housing of the computer that I'm sure any 6-to-4 adapter or cable would break right off in the tiny little port at the slightest invitation.

USB is not much more robust, but the ports are in better places on my machine so I can feel better about not potentially breaking either the costly to repair port or the expensive device involved.

Laptops are made for USB interfaces because of their (relatively) slow hard drives and relatively limited RAM. They also break easily and get stolen regularly. If vmock decides he likes computer recording he will eventually make an investment in a real dedicated desktop computer and keep it for music only.

As far as a USB connection for anything that uses Midi goes, even you can't find fault with that. Midi is a 31.2kB serial language from the early eighties and can't POSSIBLY tax a USB bus --- even the old 1.0 spec --- anywhere near capacity.

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[Robert D]

USB audio pretty much sucks.

I understand the bandwidth issue with USB, but how does USB audio suck? Are you saying it sounds bad?

 

[dgatwood]

I have a Compaq Laptop and the 4 pin Firewire port might as well not even be there. It's so fragile and in such a poor place on the housing of the computer that I'm sure any 6-to-4 adapter or cable would break right off in the tiny little port at the slightest invitation.

Don't get me started on laptop manufacturers using 4-pin FireWire ports. The 4-pin spec shouldn't even exist, IMHO, much less on computers. At best, it's okay for cameras and camcorders that have minimal case space. For computers, it's a crude hack, and if you have a choice, you should always favor a computer that doesn't use one.

IMHO, if a manufacturer cuts corners in the power budget and can't handle a powered FireWire port, you have to ask yourself what other corners they cut. I guess I could maybe accept it in some subcompact laptop, but even then, it's pushing the bounds of acceptability, IMHO.

BTW, you could always use a 6-4 cable. Then, there's no adapter to break off. Or you can use the reverse adapter at the opposite end of the cable in the 6-pin jack where the connector is strong enough to actually support an adapter.

Laptops are made for USB interfaces because of their (relatively) slow hard drives and relatively limited RAM. They also break easily and get stolen regularly. If vmock decides he likes computer recording he will eventually make an investment in a real dedicated desktop computer and keep it for music only.

In all my life, I've never had a laptop stolen. Where do you leave your laptop?

Laptops are the place you most want a FireWire interface. The CPU in most laptops is woefully underpowered. USB devices eat CPU power for breakfast (and even more so if they're hanging off a UHCI controller).

For very slow devices (keyboards, mice, MIDI), the transfer rate is slow, so you don't notice. For devices that push significant amounts of data (hard drives, audio interfaces), that extra throughput can make the difference between your computer being able to keep up and ending up with pops and crackles.

As far as a USB connection for anything that uses Midi goes, even you can't find fault with that. Midi is a 31.2kB serial language from the early eighties and can't POSSIBLY tax a USB bus --- even the old 1.0 spec --- anywhere near capacity.

True enough. USB MIDI works fine. I wouldn't call it audio, though.

 

[ssscientist]

I wouldn't call it audio, though.

Neither would I.

But to some not so experienced in the world of using computers as recording devices as we are the distinction may not be so obvious.

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[vmock]

Thanx for all the advice I'll prolly invest in some type of preamp and a new mic

Laptops are made for USB interfaces because of their (relatively) slow hard drives and relatively limited RAM. They also break easily and get stolen regularly. If vmock decides he likes computer recording he will eventually make an investment in a real dedicated desktop computer and keep it for music only.
.

I have another Dell DeskTop I left at home (College Student) I just chose to bring my laptop to save space

 

[dgatwood]

I understand the bandwidth issue with USB, but how does USB audio suck? Are you saying it sounds bad?

Extra CPU load, pops and crackles are common, there's a fundamental limit of one USB interface of any given model/brand due to lack of UUIDs to distinguish one from the next, and you can't have an eight channel interface and stay within the letter of the spec. (The USB 2.0 audio spec came out a couple of weeks ago, so that last issue will go away eventually, but for the time being, it still remains....)

 

[ssscientist]

Extra CPU load, pops and crackles are common, there's a fundamental limit of one USB interface of any given model/brand due to lack of UUIDs to distinguish one from the next, and you can't have an eight channel interface and stay within the letter of the spec.

A USB interface must've done one of the following to you, dgatwood:

-Kicked your dog.

-Runnoft with your wife.

-Insulted your religion.



Me, I've had no such trouble because when I moved from using my laptop for recording I switched from USB to Firewire. And I didn't feel like I was betraying anybody or anything.

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