Soundcard?

  • Thread starter Thread starter muzeman
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muzeman

muzeman

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Hi,
I am looking to upgrade my soundcard as cheaply as possible,it's the one that came with my computer,Compaq 4824, soundblaster I think.

I'm going from my minidisc 2 track,to Cubase for 2 track mastering before converting to mp3.

Cubase only supports 16/44,so the card would have to be compatible.

I'd like to use the optical in's and outs on my minidisc if possible.

If anyone can give me any suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Pete
 
I was going to suggest Event Mia soundcard, or the M-Audio Delta 44 soundcard. But... since you want "optical" you will need to get a much more expensive soundcard. Unless, somebody here knows of a site that has an interface that offers "optical".

If the INS/OUTS of your mini disc are "digital", then you could get the Delta 66.

Browse this site http://www.midiman.net to see what they offer.

Or you could check out http://www.tigerdirect.com to see if the have any interfaces that meet your criteria.

Also... http://www.guitarcenter.com and

http://www.musiciansfriend.com

spin
 
i think there are converter cables for going from a minidisc to a s/pdif input.....but, i haven't checked into this in a while......i believe the mia has a s/pdif input as does the delta 66, but not the 44.
 
*Expensive* optical I/O's

www.marsmusic.com has the MAudio Dio 2448, which has both optical and coax S/PDIF I/O's and samples *up to* 24bit/48kHz...all for the outrageous fee of $89. :p

Perfect for that minidisc.
 
Thanks to everybody for the help,I'm checking out Mars now,I'll probably go for the 2448,never bought anything mail order before though.

Now I have to ask a stupid question,how do I change my soundcard?Do I take the old one out and replace it,or add it on somewhere.I upgraded my memory before, but never touched a sound card.Any helpful tips would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Pete
 
The manual will walk you through it pretty well. The main requirement is a free PCI slot.

You do NOT have to remove your old card as long as the free slot requirement is met.
 
i don't know anything about the optical stuff, but I do know that the M-Audio Audiophile only has great reviews, everything but preamps, and is $180....check that out at zzounds.com or something.
 
Thanks again for the help,
I went to the m-audio site and downloaded the manual for the 2448 card,looks like mabey I can handle it,if not I'll be back.

Does anyone know the differances between the 2448and the2496 besides the sample rate,wasn't real clear reading the product specs.

Thanks,
Pete
 
the Dio 2448 is a digital only card, in that you can only go in with a digital signal through the S/PDIF.....the Audiophile has analog inputs in addition to the S/PDIF ins.....
 
Check out the Frontier Designs cards, especially the WaveCenter/PCI or Dakota. They are a little higher price but are a more professional grade card than any of those mentioned, and after all, you get what you pay for. I went to a Wavecenter and the thing has worked flawlessly in syncing to MTC and flying 10 tracks (8 ADAT and 2 SPDIF) at once to the PC. The opticals are convertible from ADAT to optical SPDIF. The only downer is it only runs at 24bit/48khz which is the bare minimum you should be using.

http://www.frontierdesign.com

Go to the resellers section, most places sell the wavecenter for $289 and Dakota for $419. Dakota optionally can fly in 32 tracks over the light pipe at 24bit, which might be pretty sweet if you want to expand your setup in the future. By the way, both these cards have ASIO drivers and are WDM compatible for low latency (Cubase VST can take advantage of this). And they are have direct Gigasampler support.
 
if you get a nice soundcard, you may have no future use for the minidisk.
 
never asked b4, but what are u recording on (preamps, recorder, etc.)?....just the 2 track minidisk?....
 
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