Picking the right Introductory Soundcard

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jamie_drum

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Here's what I have: P4 2.53 Ghz with 533 FSB, a Shure SM57 mic, and both Cubase and Sonar (haven't decided which to use yet).

Here's what I don't have: a mixer or a soundcard.

I want a good sounding introductory soundcard so I can record audio, primarily guitar and vocals. It's just me so right now I don't need a lot of inputs. I can spend up to about $700.

I was thinking about the audiophile 2496 but then I have to get a mixer or separate mic preamp as well (which still has to fit into the $700 budget, so I would probably have to get a Behringer). I am wondering if I should just get a card with preamps. I have been looking at other M-audio products as well but I am open to suggestions. Does anyone have any experience or advice to share?
 
If you have $700, then what's the problem? The audiophile is only $150 and you'll have plenty of cash left over for two channels of preamp.

Slackmaster 2000
 
The Aardvark Direct Pro 2496 has 4 nice sounding pres, and it's under $500. If you want to step up to 8 mic pres, they also have the Q10 which might be a bit over $700. Check out their website at www.aardvarkaudio.com

The best/cheapest place to purchase is at www.digitalproaudio.com.

Or you can save some money for mics and other things by going Slackmaster's route.
 
Get the Audiophile and a DMP3...people have been scoring DMP3's for $120 at Guitar Center and its worth at least $1000.......

that would give you 2 very good channels to work with......



MIKE
 
whattaguy said:
The Aardvark Direct Pro 2496 has 4 nice sounding pres, and it's under $500. If you want to step up to 8 mic pres, they also have the Q10 which might be a bit over $700. Check out their website at www.aardvarkaudio.com

The best/cheapest place to purchase is at www.digitalproaudio.com.
Click to expand...

Man, I looked at quite a few items on Digital Pro Audios site and they beat just about every one. The guy Im working with ("manifold") just bought a Direct Pro 2496 / Pro Audio 9 bundle today at Same Ash for $500, mostly because I convinced him it looked like a great deal. That's the same price I've seen everywhere I looked. , which is the same price I've seen everywhere. These guys have it for $459, which is mighty tempting, especially since Cakewalk has a sale on PA9-to-SONAR upgrades (only $99 through 5/31).

Have you actually dealt with them in the past?
 
i always quote prices from digitalproaudio for people but i always advise to get someone to pricematch it because DPA charges shipping and most others do free shipping on higher $$$ items......
 
I purchased my Aardvark DP2496 from them...great customer service. Even with the shipping, it was still cheaper than any other place online.
 
good advice

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like you seem to think that it is better to go with a dedicated preamp rather than buy a low-end mixer. The DMP3 sounds like a good option. I didn't see them for $120 at Guitar Center though... they were $199.

What about the other sound cards with preamps like the Delta 1010? Or is the consensus that the Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96 is a better bet? What about the Aardvark versus the Audiophile 2496/M-audio DMP3 combination?

Sorry for the newbie type questions, but I want to do it right the first time. Also, anyone have trouble with any of the above cards and XP Home?
 
I am looking at upgrading my soundcard and am asking many of the same questions, but I have a bit of experience to offer:

1) Pres are very important
2) Flexible routing is also important
3) having the ability to use inserts is critical for compressing pre A/D converters

So, I looked at the Aardvark Direct Pro 2496 too. Looks good, has (from what I hear) decent preamps, and onboard effects....therefore can compress before recording, but I also hear that the effects aren't great. Would really like to know about the compressor. My thoughts on this are, if the compressor is good in the Aardvark, it will do everything you would need. But, if the compressor is crappy, tehn you will need a mixer at your front end to be able to compress well upfront, and mixers with inserts for compressors are not cheap. In the end, this option could get pricy.

Look at the M-Audio Omni Studio with the Delta 66 card: 4 ins/outs of analog, very flexible routing options, and with inserts for compressors. $500 for this baby, and you have money left over for a compressor. Pre-amps are DMP-2s which are decent, and you can always add the DMP-3 which is better at a later date. This option allows you to go mixer-less. BUT, no MIDI connections (but if you already have a SB card onboard, you can router your MIDI ins/outs that way).

The 1010 is good, but again, you need a mixer in this setup, because there are no inserts and I don't think it has preamps.

1010LT has preamps, but they are housed inside the card, which isn't good, and again, you still need a mixer for inserts.

Depending on how many ins/outs are critical for you, I am starting to think that the Omni Studio is the best bet for me....
 
I would reccommend taking a look at the Tascam 428. It's got 4 inputs, it is a mixer with 8 sliders. It's got Midi, and can be had for around $350 on ebay, or $450 new. It's USB so it can be used with a laptop or desktop. The main limitation is that it only has 2 outs, but it can do 4 ins and 2 outs simultaniously. It's only 48Khz sample rate, but at 24 bits (probably fine for your home signal path anyway).

Cheap, and flexible, I think. That's my next purchase very soon.
 
I tortured myself with the Omni vs. Aardvark question and finally bought a Delta Omni Studio bundle today. Part of the reason was that the guy I'm working with bought the Aardvark. I thought this would be a good way to test out both and see how they compare. If I really hate the Omni and his Direct Pro 2496 is amazing then at least selling my Omni and buying the Aardvark would be an informed decision.

I was also able to pricematch DPA's price at 8th Street, so I got to save a little bit of money. How much? $0.22 to be exact. Once you added shiping to the DPA price that's how much cheaper it was than 8th Street, who said since they offered free shipping they had to add it into the DPA price. Oh well. I just can't wait for the thing to get here so I can finally join the 24/96 club and verify that it's my writing and playing ability, not my gear, to blame for my lousy finished products. :D

Still, the Direct Pro 2496 seems like a great buy.
 
Okay, another good suggestion--thanks. I am now looking at one of three posibilities:

Audiophile 2496 with a DMP3 preamp
Aardvark Direct Pro 2496
M-audio Omni

What do people think of the options?
 
I'd get the audiophile with the DMP3.


If you really want a seriously good-sounding card, try and score a used Lynx I on ebay for under $300. If you can't find one, or if the bidding price goes way up, then stick with a new Audiophile.

A Lynx I would be one of those things where 5 years or so down the road when you get more experience, you'll be patting yourself on the back because you made that buy.
 
I searched for the Lynx, but there weren't any for sale (at least when I looked). Also I'm a bit leery of used equipment.

Thanks for the advice. Why, exactly, do you think the audiophile/DMP3 combination is better?

Anyone else have something to add?
 
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