I've gathered from reading posts on this site that the preferred (under $500) sound cards are the M audio cards (audiophile or delta44's). My question is how are the midi patches on these cards? Do they even have midi?
The reason I ask is, I'm currently on a SB 'Ensoniq' card, 16 bit ( don't laugh) but I like the midi patches. The Ensoniq chip has great piano, bass, drums, string and even sax and horn patches that I don't want to loose. Can I run both say an Audiophile card for 24 bit 4 channel I/O while also having the SB card for midi sequences? Or do the M Audio cards have good midi patches. I prefer to stay away from cards with Roland synth chips as they tend to make everything sound like a Nintendo.
The reason I ask is, I'm currently on a SB 'Ensoniq' card, 16 bit ( don't laugh) but I like the midi patches. The Ensoniq chip has great piano, bass, drums, string and even sax and horn patches that I don't want to loose. Can I run both say an Audiophile card for 24 bit 4 channel I/O while also having the SB card for midi sequences? Or do the M Audio cards have good midi patches. I prefer to stay away from cards with Roland synth chips as they tend to make everything sound like a Nintendo.