not all soundcards are created equal

[dobro]

Recently I soundproofed my studio, and started hearing all sorts of things I hadn't heard before. For instance, when I'm saving something to the hard disk, I can now hear tiny whirrs and chirps through the headphones, and this is obviously associated with the computer working. I see no reason why this isn't also happening when I'm recording, adding noise to every track I do.

I'm using a Gadgetlabs soundcard, which has a breakout box, but the converters and other sensitive components must be on the soundcard inside the computer casing, picking up on the workings of the computer. Am I right in thinking that the way to avoid this computer noise being added to tracks is to have a soundcard with it's converters OUTSIDE the computer casing, away from its magnetic fields?

Also, has anyone else noticed something similar? How do you get around it?

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Hmm...I *think* that the converters on a gadgetlabs card are indeed in the breakout box, but I might be wrong.

At any rate, I have heard nothing but good things about gadgetlabs...in fact I would have bought a wave 824 if they hadn't gone out of business.

Tell me something, is the noise actually IN the recording, or is it just during playback?

Slackmaster 2000

 

[dachay2tnr]

My recollection is that the A/D converters on the Gadgetlabs cards ARE on the PCI card. I remember trying to decide between the Delta 1010 and the Gadget 824, and the fact that the converters were inside the computer on the Gadget was one of the reasons I went for the Delta.

However, like the slackman, I have heard nothing but positive things about the Gadget (except for the fact that they went belly-up and you can't get new drivers any longer).

 

[pglewis]

Yes, the converters are on the card, but my 8/24 hasn't ever had that problem *fingers crossed*. Mine is quiet, quiet, quiet. Are you using the CD-ROM audio input on the card? Those can be noisy, and it wouldn't surprise me if they picked up tons of interference.