M-Audio versus what?

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freeztar

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I recently upgraded my computer system to a P4 XP system. My old Midiman PCI card will not work with my new computer. What is the best sound card to get for under $200? I know that is a small budget, but that's all I got right now. I'm looking at M-audio because I liked their sound card I used for many years and they get good reviews. What other brands/models are good in this price range? I mainly record solo tracks at a time and I want a good SNR to go with my Behringer mixer. RCA or better connections are a must. Also, Is it possible to get a sound card/break out box system that can record each input seperatly. In other words, when I'm practicing with my band, could I record all of us individually at the same time onto different tracks in my multitrack software? That way I could tweak individual tracks without messing up the whole sound of the band. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated from experieced users. Thanks!
 
Delta 10/10 LT

You can occasionally find that card for less than $200. Check on eBay.

However, if you can afford to wait, save up money and get the
Delta 10/10. It's usually around the $400 mark and probably will make you much happier in the long run.
 
Delta 10/10 LT

You can occasionally find that card for less than $200. Check on eBay.

However, if you can afford to wait, save up money and get the
Delta 10/10. It's usually around the $400 mark and probably will make you much happier in the long run.
 
theres always audigy

after looking up the specs....audigy 2 platinum is maybe 1db less on the snr ratio than m audio thats usually a 199.99 plus tax type deal and it has a 1/4 input and rca inputs too. might want to try that. I think I'm too impatient to save up enough to get the 1010LT but for solo artists..the audigy 2 platinum should do just fine i think of course me saying that is probably desicrating the art of recording and people will want to kill me cause i said that but some of us are cheap and impatient and audigy 2 platinum is at circuit city vs. waiting to save up enough to get the 1010LT and waiting 2 to 3 days for it to get to your house.
 
and another thing!

by comparison between m-audio and audigy i was using the m-audio revolution 7.1 which is 107 snr and 99.99 on www.musiciansfriend.com and the audigy 2 platinum which is 199.99 and has the same stuff as m-audio but has a front drive bay and more inputs with 106 snr.
 
If you like the idea of the neat little interface, there's always Terratec's DMX6fire, which I would pick over the Soundblaster in a heartbeat....


My choice in the $200 range would be the M-Audio stuff though.

410 is $200 new.
10/10 can be found for $200 used.

Personally, I choked up a few extra bills and went Aardvark 24/96.
 
why does everyone hate soundblaster?

lol they're just a squirell trying to get a nut. what did they ever do that was so bad? anyways...clue me in on whats so bad about them?
 
Re: why does everyone hate soundblaster?

distortedrumble said:
lol they're just a squirell trying to get a nut. what did they ever do that was so bad? anyways...clue me in on whats so bad about them?
Click to expand...

I don't hate the Soundblaster. But having had one, having their overworked and infrequently updated driver server put me in a holding pattern for hours on end, and having had terrible service from them, I've sworn off the company. Besides, my Audigy Platinum turned out not to be the true 24-bit card I thought it would be when I bought it, whereas the Terratec was truly 24 bit. I had an Audigy in my machine and wished I'd had a Terratec.

That was then and this is now. Knowing what I know now, I'd skip 'em both for the M-audio stuff. I still really like the whole breakout-box/interface idea, so I went with the Aardvark 24/96 this time.

O'course the Audigy ROCKED for listening to music as a stereo system and for watching DVDs! The soundcard build onto my Asus mobo does that duty now, though.
 
thanks for the insight

that was going to be my next buy too......m-audio it is
 
Been using an Echo Mia for the past couple of years.

Great card.
 
so m-audio vs echo mia?

who wins that bout and can i get the hot chick that holds up the round numbers to walk across my computer screen?
 
TimOBrien said:
Been using an Echo Mia for the past couple of years.

Great card.
Click to expand...
Tim:

I just upgraded my soundcard frm an ESS Allegro to an Echo Mia MIDI.

Please read my post in this forum and shed whatever light you can being as current owner.

Major issues:

Do you need an amplifier to power headphones?

Do you need active monitors. I had been using my computer speakers(which weren't all that terrible BTW), but I am hearing I will need an amplifier or active monitors.

Everyone so far has been helpful, I'm just looking for another viewpoint on this.

Thanks
 
Re: so m-audio vs echo mia?

distortedrumble said:
who wins that bout and can i get the hot chick that holds up the round numbers to walk across my computer screen?
Click to expand...
Mia.

Mia has better specified and measured sound quality than the Audiophile and balanced i/o. Thats why it costs more.
 
i'm in the same boat kinda.....i should get some powered monitors but cant afford them so i bought some logitech 2.1s with the headphone jack...I'd go with the samson headphone amp thats 99 bucks but 99 vs. 49 for a college student without rich parents is a no brainer.... anyways thats my opinion
 
If you're gonna make music(homerecording), I recommend you to stay away from Sounddblaster cards. Great for gaming and media but not for recording. Their internal clocks are running fixed at 48 khz, this causes a lot of problems down the road. On top of it the data ptinted on the box (bit rate, frequency etc..) is not accurate when you use the ASIO drivers.
 
yes yes damn soundblaster to hell! or......

poor soundblaster......people hate them like arabs hate the U.S. however if you cant afford anything else i say go ahead and get it even though it is 48khz. people will say "save your money and get M-audio" but for those of us who are impatient and broke its a better deal to get it right now... not to mention that i have one of those cars that tends to sense when theres money being saved for something and so it'll decide to break down so i have to spend the money on it....i would prefer working on something that didnt cost me a bunch before i went and bought one of those 600+ recording devices and end up destroying it becuase i didnt know what to do.
 
>My old Midiman PCI card will not work with my new computer.

What kind of card is it?
 
>My old Midiman PCI card will not work with my new computer.

What kind of card is it?
 
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