Laptop soundcard suggestions?

N

noodles2k5

New member
I'm trying to decide which card I should get. Here's my criteria:
-Must work with Powerbook G4 / Mac OS X (USB, Firewire, PCMCIA)
-Would like to record multiple inputs at once as separate tracks (not sure if this is possible)
-24-bit/96kHz
-Tiny budget

I already have a mixer (Behringer MX802A) with plenty of inputs. These are my options if I want to do a direct line-in.
Creative Audigy 2 NX External (USB)
Creative Audigy 2 ZS Notebook (PCMCIA)
Creative SB Live! 24-bit External (USB)
Echo Indigo IO (PCMCIA)
M-Audio Transit (USB)
I'm not really a fan of Creative's products, but they're really inexpensive compared to the Echo card. And it appears to have the exact same functions. I like M-Audio... but I hear a lot of people complain about it.

I've been looking at Firewire interfaces too. Those usually have too little (one or two) to too many (10+) inputs. A lot of them come with some form of onboard mixing, which makes my analog mixer useless. That being said, makes me wonder what advantage a Firewire interface would have... (maybe the multitrack recording thing I mentioned at the top?)
 
The Echo would be the pick of that bunch.
USB doesn't have the bandwidth to support multichannel 24/96 and monitoring.

PCMCIA is a more robust interface
 
From what I've read, FireWire is more stable for recording multiple simultaneous tracks (vs. USB). I use USB for 2-track stereo recordings, and it works great for me. If you need more, though, look into FireWire. The advantage over PCMCIA is that you can also connect them to a desktop at any time (if you have both).
 
Alright, no USB for me. I didn't see anything impressive besides the Edirol UA-1000 USB 2.0, which is way out of my budget.

Echo Layla24 with the cardbus adapter costs too much. For that price, I could just get a Presonus Firepod.

The new Emu Cardbus doesn't support Mac. :(

Sticking to the Firewire idea, I like the looks of these:
Presonus Firestation
MOTU 828MK1 (I can't find any info on this model since the MKII is out)
Both of these are about $300-$400 used, which is perfect. They only have 2 pre-amps, which is acceptable by my standards. I hear software is a pain, but it should be a breeze for me. Any more pros and cons for these two? Or how about more suggestions?

Thanks.
 
noodles2k5 said:
Alright, no USB for me. I didn't see anything impressive besides the Edirol UA-1000 USB 2.0, which is way out of my budget.

Echo Layla24 with the cardbus adapter costs too much. For that price, I could just get a Presonus Firepod.

The new Emu Cardbus doesn't support Mac. :(

Sticking to the Firewire idea, I like the looks of these:
Presonus Firestation
MOTU 828MK1 (I can't find any info on this model since the MKII is out)
Both of these are about $300-$400 used, which is perfect. They only have 2 pre-amps, which is acceptable by my standards. I hear software is a pain, but it should be a breeze for me. Any more pros and cons for these two? Or how about more suggestions?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Firestation had problems, I would recommend the newer Firepod(which is over your budget).
Too bad the Emu 1616 is not for Mac, but neither is the Creative zs notebook(you have listed).
I would therefore suggest the Echo Indigo. Great drivers, great company.
 
Last edited:
noodles2k5 said:
Looks like the Firewire Audiophile only has one input.
Click to expand...
It doesn't. An spdif (digital stereo) and two analog and inputs.

But of the ones listed I'd pick the Indigo I/O.
 
i use the echo indigo : great sounding at 24/96 and had no problems with it what so ever. it comes with its own mixer and 8 virtual inputs that can be routed to different software. awesome soundcard.
 
Firewire Audiophile is 4-in / 6-out

noodles2k5 said:
Looks like the Firewire Audiophile only has one input. I'm thinking I should just save up and get the Firepod.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at all the choices as well (maddening isn't it?). The M-Audio Firewire Audiophile is 4-in / 6-out as I understand. Here's a link:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FirewireAudiophile-main.html

The 1x input it mentions in the specs refers to MIDI, not audio.

Here's another link to most of the choices in your price range:
http://www.silentway.com/tips/equip/io.php

Also, I think the people having the most problems with USB are PC (Wintel) owners with AMD chipsets. So, especially if you only need 2 input channels and you don't need XLR (balanced mic) inputs, I think one of the less expensive options might work for you. Like the M-Audio Transit, which can be found at Florida Music (http://www.floridamusicco.com) for $68 right now. I've never bought anything from them - it's just the lowest price I found. I read a review where the transit was tested, and its performance was excellent (for the price). Here's a link to the Transit:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main-1.html

Hope this helps. Good luck (and wish me luck - I'm one of the AMD people).

Dots...
 
I said "one input" because I've never used SPDIF before and I don't plan on it in the near future. And I'm not using Midi (yet). So I don't see the point in spending all that money in a Firewire Audiophile just to use the RCA inputs. I could just get an Indigo IO or the Transit and use it with my Behringer mixer. That would be the cheapest option. It's still not convenient though, cause I would have to lug the mixer around. But it would work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top