still searching found some new brands

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cBas

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Still looking for a 24/96 analog recording soundcard. Allready have a sblive value. But midi would be good anyway. Dont want to pay more than 400 american dollars. Heres what Ive been considering...

Aardvark LX6 it looks sweet...
M audio delta 66, 44 or 1010
Egosys Waveterminal
SEK'd Sienna
Lynx Studio Lynx one
Terratec EWS 88MT (too expensive but if I find a good deal..)

Tell me what you think!! (pros, cons, experience)
 
The card you need depends on what your goals are, how many simultaneous tracks do you want to record? What external devices do you need to connect? What types of things do you want to record? What gear do you own already?
 
well since we are on that subject... i am in a similar bind with the same price range and this is what my needs are.

- i only need to record one to two tracks at a time...its just a hobby nothing serious at this point.

- i dont mic any amps in. its all lined in directly via a line 6 pod. however i am thinking of purchasing a vlz pro 1202 mackie to get some nice analog warmth, as well as to get better aquainted with serious mixing.

its basically just my guitar and bass, a mic, pod and drum machine. i just want a decent sound card that will provide a way to get maximum results in sound quality. with that said, feel free to name off a decent card that would give me what i need at this point.
 
I have a 1604VLZ. It is a great mixer with clean pre amps and plenty of headroom. But.......

A Mackie mixer will not give "analog warmth". Warmth is usually a term associated with tubes, which the Mackie has none of. If you're looking for "warmth" you should look at a tube pre-amp, like the Presonus bluetube, ART TubeMP, Joemeek.

That is if you buy into the whole "warmth" idea at all. "Warmth" seems like it is usually a preception of noise that old gear made, and with new digital gear it is just very clean so some people say it's not "warm".

Oh well, just my opinion.

H2H
 
Oh, and I use the Delta audio stuff. I have a Midiman 1x1USB and a Delta44. 4 ins - 4 outs, works for me.
 
They're all prety similair...

But I would have to agree with H2H, you'll get a lot of milage out of a 4bus mixer and a 4 in/out card like the Delta.

I have the Direct Pro, which is similar to the LX6, but with pre's. A word of advice on the Aark's - I would not buy them for the integrated compressor. You definitely get what you pay for in this case (which is not much). Also, while the pre's are good, having them integrated takes away some flexibility.

One last small point, most of the JoeMeek stuff isn't tube. If they have any tube stuff its only in the high end (>$1500).
 
Ok,

Just getting started so Im not sure how many tracks Ill record at once probably no more than two.
I am recording from a Kurzweil K2600 keyboard and at this time I have no need for mic preamps.
I was not looking at the Aardvark for its effects, Im looking for a card with midi/very good converters, a headphone out, preferebly with independant volume control and hopefully a breakout box.
It looks to my like the LX6 is perfect but Im not sure. I want great converters! From SOS
Electronic musician and the likes reviews of the Direct Pro, the LX6 looks great.
 
cbas,

I have very similar goals to yours- just me, pod, guitar, drum machine, keyboard; ok, so I do own a tube amp, but just one, and it's small- although I do occassionly help buddies with recording their live bands. I would strongly urge you to go with at least 4 inputs. I started with a Roland VS-880 w/ 4 inputs and sometimes I wasn't happy with even that. Pod sounds best in stereo, ditto for my drum machine, and then if I want to sequence something stereo at the same time, that's six tracks- just little 'ole me. Sure you can do it all one at a time, and I usually do, but many times I need it all at once for maximum fun and inspiration.

As far as specific recommendations go, I looked at probably 10 to 15 candidates, made a chart with all the features as well as subjective opinions and finally decided on the Delta 1010- and the 66 was second. I think because of the higher than average dynamic range(although the importance of this at this level may be unimportant- they're all awesome, the 1010 just a little more so), number of inputs, and price, in that order. The only disadvantage is no headphone out. I usually just run the outputs to my monitor and headphones out of that.

I don't even own a mixer although a simple passive mixer would be nice. I can just run everything to the 1010. I usually leave the levels on max in the software, and control the levels at the actual equipment(pod or whatever)- it's all within arms reach. The only time I need a mixer is to record my buddies' bands. Sure, I'd like a mixer, but in the mean time, I'm enjoying my Rode NT-1, SM-57, and BlueTube I could afford instead!
 
ap,

thanks for the advice. the 1010 was looking very appealing and i think its what im going with. a quick question about the software that comes with it... right now im using n-track which is about as simplistic as it gets, which is how i like it, but it is a little difficult to get the sound quality where you need it at times. is there a good mixing board program that comes with the 1010, and is its recording software pretty easy to use?
 
I remember being confused about this before when I was looking- what exactly does that software do? My 1010 came with no recording software. They might come bundled with some "lite" version of something now- haven't looked in a while. The Delta software that comes with it is basically a mixer. I go into it to check my levels before it goes to the recording software. There's quite a bit of routing options and you also set sample frequency, and other stuff in there. You can also save settings.
 
Aark vs. Delta...

In terms of specs, the LX6 and the Delta 66 are very similar, though I think you point out correctly that the Aark has a headphone out with a volume control. (something I wish my DirectPro had). The aark is also bundled with Cakewalk software, which is a nice thing to throw in, I use it myself (well, now I use SONAR). I would have to give the delta the edge when it comes to drivers, and market. The more people that use these products the better the support is likely to be.

In terms of converters, I think wither the Delta or the Aark could be selected with confidence.
 
I am @ a similar junction....so:

would a Delta 66 + a compact mackie mixer be a better value than just the Delta 1010
 
Alright so im pretty sure now either the 66 or the LX6. How is thi Midi implementations and the sound quality and converters on the LX6? Whatabout its drivers?
 
Don't have the LX6...

But have the Direct Pro. The MIDI has been bullet proof. The drivers are fine, with asio and directsound support. No WDM, which bumms me out since I'm running SONAR. They're working on it, but they won't be out 'til summer.

I would give the edge on drivers to delta.
 
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