soundcard- audiophile 2496?

[chubby cox]

hi, everyone- long-time reader, first-time poster...
i've just started to get in to home recording, and it's already obvious that the factory soundcard that came with my dell isn't going to cut it. i have a digitech genesis 3 guitar processor (which has a coaxial s/pdif out) and also a midi-capable keyboard, and i was thinking the audiophile 2496 would be the best choice, due to its midi and s/pdif connections. it seems like i can get a new or almost new one off of ebay for $130 or less, so that would work for me, although i can't spend much more that that. do you all think that the audiophile is the way to go, or should i look for something else? also, i'm focusing on pci cards, but would a usb interface work as well (would there be lag time in recording the input while playing back other tracks?)
thanks in advance for any help

 

[tdukex]

Yea, I think the Audiophile would be the way to go, and I've seen GC advertise these things for as low as $129.

 

[AlChuck]

Make sure you understand that this card does not have a MIDI synth chip on board like a Sound Blaster-type card does. Many newbies don't get the distinction between a MIDI interface and a MIDI synth and are surprised to find out that there is nothing on the card to respond to the MIDI messages with sounds. It's less and less of an issue all the time as software synthesis, in which a MIDI instrument runs entirely in software on the host computer, becomes more commonplace and less of a resource hog on the overall resources available, but it's good to know this up front.

Most good sequencing/recording software these days includes a couple of "virtual" instruments like this.

One more thing to mention in this regard is that soft synths require a modern OS like Windows XP or Windows 2000 to be able to be played in real-time along with alread-recorded tracks. The Audiophile does have pretty mature WDM and ASIO drivers available for it (which one you want to use will depend on which recording software you go with).

 

[chubby cox]

The synth thing isn't an issue- I have Reason, I just need an interface since it's a royal pain in the ass to program tracks with just a mouse. I'm also running XP. So, i guess it seems like the audiophile is a good option then...