Sound cards/converters - what's everyone lusting after?

Qwerty

Qwerty

New member
So - I am currently using an Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96 - 4ins and outs, balanced or unbalanced. Works great. Trouble is that Aardvark have gone out of business and I can't see a 64-bit driver being developed by anyone in the open source community...

Given that 64-bit architecture, both computing and audio processing, seems to be the way of the future, I am looking for a new sound card - either now or later, with the following features -

1. Reputable vendor that will release 64-bit drivers and won't go out of business
2. 8 balanced or unbalanced ins and outs, preferrably 16.
3. I would prefer an onboard software based mixing utility like the Aardvarks so I don't have to use a mixer; external front-end straight into the card.

So what's everyone lusting after in sound card or converter land these days?

Come spend some of my 'virtual' cash with me...

Ciao,

Q.
 
Not sure what Presonus' plans are for 64bit drivers, but the 32 bit firepod works well. 8 balanced ins, 8 preamps, no s/w mixer coz the knobs are on the front of the unit. No mixer required. About the only thing it doesn't have right now are phase flippers on each channel. Your s/w may have these anyway.
Kick.
Ass.
 
I'm not going to answer your question...

because I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. :o

I understand the benefits of the 64 bit processing internally,and the ram usage,blah,blah,blah.But how does it affect your sound card?
If I'm currently recording at 24/44.1 does it change to 64/44.1?Or is this just some kind of internal processing thing?

Also does going 64 bit make those super expensive digital converters that I can't afford obsolete?

Sorry for hopping on to your thread in this way,but I'm assuming you've got the inside track on this.

Thanks!
 
I think it's little too fast to pick our choice. Because this 64 bit converters matter is still rarely talked. We -as usual- better play safe. Wait until a year or two to replace (I mean if realy realy necessary!!!) our existing card.


...until rich folks buy them, test them, and review :D

;)
Jaymz
 
Acidrock - the only thing that is stopping me using my existing sound card under XP 64-bit edition is the lack of a 64-bit driver for my sound card.

Without that, I think I will just get the card appearing with a big red "X" mark next to it in Device Manager -- the OS won't be able to talk to it and I won't be able to record with it.

64-bit hardware means nothing without a 64-bit operating system
64-bit operating systems require 64-bit device drivers to operate components properly
64-bit operation shows the best improvements with 64-bit applications.

I am more than happy to use my existing card if I could make it work...

Ciao,

Q.
 
Sorry, but why did you pick XP 64-bit edition? :confused: Was there any urge necessity, or..? I mean, most happy champers still live happy in 32 bit world :)

;)
Jaymz
 
I was curious about the feasability of going 64bit on my setup yesterday. What I found was that while there are 64bit drivers for my stuff, some of the drivers are still in beta. That seems too risky for me. My system as-is is stable, and I havent't run into any issues with runing out of resources or with performance either.

Here's an [older] link that compares performance of 32-bit to 64-bit on the same processor. I think it's important to make such a comparison. (There's a guy on this board using Opterons (64-bit), but that is a high-end processor, and not fair to compare it to an Athlon64 in 32-bit mode.)
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1665

Using a 64-bit OS really doesn't affect your converters or their usability. It has to do with addressing more ram (which means ability to load more samples into your soft-synth, for example), and also precision of math operations (I am very sketchy on this one).

Who knows when 64-bit will be the norm? I'd guess 32-bit Windows will be around for at least 3 or 4 years. Windows Vista, the newest windows OS which still isn't coming out for a while, will be available in 32-bit AND 64-bit versions.

Unless you are dying for more performance that even the best hardware isnt giving you, there's no need to go to 64-bit, yet. But, if you have an extra 64-bit system lying around.....

By the way, I was lusting after the RME interfaces. I ended up with the Fireface. It comes with 64-bit drivers, but I am using 32-bit windows XP. Of course the fireface has very good converters, but what I have been most impressed with is the totalmix software. So many routing options, I haven't figured them all out yet. Also, it has plenty of I/O. It's more than I will probably ever need.
 
I have been using Lynx convertors for over a year now. Very pleased however, I need more than 4 channels, 5 with SPDIF, that come on the Lynx IIA. I will be selling this card in the near future and upgrading to the Aurora external which has 8 channels.
 
James Argo said:
Sorry, but why did you pick XP 64-bit edition? :confused: Was there any urge necessity, or..? I mean, most happy champers still live happy in 32 bit world :)

;)
Jaymz
Click to expand...

Haven't got it yet, James - I am still XP Professional Edition (32-bit) here at the moment - none of my hardware is 64-bit at this point in time, so the question really was hypothetical.

I am interested in native 64-bit operation simply because a lot of folks on the Cakewalk forum and reporting vast improvements in the number of tracks and plugins that can be handled -- somewhere in the order of 20-30%.

That sort of improvement makes me salivate...

Ciao,

Q.
 
MrBoogie said:
By the way, I was lusting after the RME interfaces. I ended up with the Fireface. It comes with 64-bit drivers, but I am using 32-bit windows XP. Of course the fireface has very good converters, but what I have been most impressed with is the totalmix software. So many routing options, I haven't figured them all out yet. Also, it has plenty of I/O. It's more than I will probably ever need.
Click to expand...

I know that a 64-bit OS won't affect the quality of my conversion - it is purely the fact that I can't get a driver update sometime in the future to allow operation of my existing sound card in a 64-bit OS which is prompting my speculation...

In relation to the Fireface - is there any limit to the number of tracks you can playback on it from within Sonar? I have only used PCI cards in the past and am not across the top of the whole firewire thing...

Also - what OS are you using? From what I read, WinXP SP2 doesn't properly support FW-800 as a standard which means you can only get limited performance with the Fireface on the Wintel platform compared to Apple land.

How has this impacted your use of the Fireface?

Ciao,

Ben
 
Well, for me, the Fireface was a huge upgrade I didn't really need. It was definitely a gear lust thing in a big way. I only record myself right now, so simultaneous tracks isn't an issue. I didn't even really care about the 4 onboard preamps. Mostly, I wanted the RME conversion, and the extra digital i/o for the future, and it's more convenient for me having it on a firewire vs. having a pci card with a thick (and short) data cable connected to a breakout box.

Anyway, ya, I read about the FW800 issues. I am running WinXP SP2. As far as I understand it, it's only an issue if you daisy-chain more Fireface's. (You're supposed to be able to plug 1 or 2 more into the back of the first one.) With only 1 Fireface, FW400 is plenty fast. I'm pretty sure that's enough bandwidth to handle 8 simultaneous tracks even at 24/192k. (I use 24/44.1k) I'd have to research to find out what the limit of FW400 is, but I'll bet you could use all 8 analog inputs plus at least some of the digital i/o before hitting the bandwidth limit. This makes me wonder about how many simultaneous tracks some of the other home recorders are recording at a time...

Also, I mix in the box, so track playback isn't an issue for me.

That's a real downer about the Aardvark interfaces. Everyone says they are awesome for the money. I tried to find Linux drivers in 64-bit, but didn't find anything. I guess the Aardvarks are too old to expect that.

Qwerty said:
...I know that a 64-bit OS won't affect the quality of my conversion ...
Click to expand...
I was referring to James Argo's post. He seems to be mentioning 64-bit converters?????? (was he kidding?) :D
 
Middleman said:
I have been using Lynx convertors for over a year now. Very pleased however, I need more than 4 channels, 5 with SPDIF, that come on the Lynx IIA. I will be selling this card in the near future and upgrading to the Aurora external which has 8 channels.
Click to expand...

Can I please ask some very stupid questions?

What the hell do I plug the mic into with the Aurora? Does it ship with another breakout box? Where are the analogue inputs?

Or are you using ADAT to connect a mixer?

I don't get it...(but that's not strange...)

:) Q.
 
Back to original post, most people I know, and have talked to have a big hard-on for the MOTU 828 Mark II

I got an 896 HD... it does everything I could ever want for any jack off session I can think of ever running into. I think these two MOTU interfaces are about as good as you can get in the realm of gear that a normal person could concievably afford (828mkii= about 750 USD; the 896hd= around 1000 USD). They both use firewire so you can use it with a laptop pretty easily, and also daisy chain them with another one to get more inputs (if the stock 8 isn't enough), and also have lightpipes for more inputs that way. They both do 192KHz @ 24bit so pretty sweet. MOTU has been around since the eighties, so they aren't going anywhere. :cool:
 
Qwerty said:
Can I please ask some very stupid questions?

What the hell do I plug the mic into with the Aurora? Does it ship with another breakout box? Where are the analogue inputs?

Or are you using ADAT to connect a mixer?

I don't get it...(but that's not strange...)

:) Q.
Click to expand...

The Aurora uses breakout cables for analog and digital I/O, just like the 2A.

D-sub on the Aurora end and XLR's or S/PDIF or AES on the other.
 
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