upgrading soundcard?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rusty K
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Rusty K

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Hello,

I'm considering upgrading my sblive value.

Questions:

1. 16 or 24bit?
2. Which is the best quality 16bit card?
3. For a limited budget, are there good sites/places to pick up a gently used card?

My system:

700hz AMD Duron, 256MRAM, ME

Thanks,
Rusty K
 
defining you "limited budget" and letting us know your sonic expectations(just playing around, demo quality, pro quality), and also input/ouput needs would help.....also what chipset does that Duron use, it may be a factor?.....
 
The price break for a 24/96 card is right around $150-200. That's just for a simple stereo card. If you can't even afford this much, then don't consider upgrading yet.

And it's really not about 16bit vs 24 bit anymore...it's basically consumer vs. prosumer vs. professional. On the consumer end you have cards like the SB Live! going from $30 to $150. These will all be 16/48 and they'll all sound somewhat poor when recording audio (fine for MIDI and synth stuff I'm told).

The prosumer cards are the next level up. Cards from companies like Echo and M-Audio which are designed specifically for recording and sound great. These will start at about $200 and seem to cap out near $1000. They will all be 24/48 to 24/96.

Then you have the professional soundcard systems which will vary in bit depth and sample rate capabilities, but generally offer superior peformance at bank breaking prices. From $400 for something simple like the LynxOne (two channel) up into the many thousands for the gnarlier stuff.

If you're looking for used stuff, generally avoid eBay but take a look anyway. Then I'd recommend the classifieds at harmony-central.com for more reasonable prices. Of course you're always taking a risk buying used...especially from somebody across country. Consider using an escrow service.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Gidge,

Well I'm a pro musician so my ears want pro but I can't say as I'm a pro recording engineer. My dream is to record my own songs and have them satisfy me/my ears first. Whatever happens after that is just "gravy".

Where do I find out which chipset I'm using? Sorry for the dumb newbie question but......hey I'm a dumb newbie.

Slackmaster,

The LynxOne sounds like it might be in my price-range? And you say you get pro quality results with it?

It might be kind of nice, I thought, to have a 4input card so as to be able to dump tracks from my four trac digital if I ever did a live recording with it.

Is there an escrow svc. connected with harmony central or do I have to find one?


Thanks guys,
Rusty K
 
I might advise listening to some of the stuff in the MP3 mixing clinic done on prosumer cards (Delta, Aardvark,Echo)...in the right hands, these cards just may get you what you want....on the other hand , that Lynx card is nice from what Ive heard...and theoretically, you could dump 4 tracks with it...it would take two dumps, and then line them up(not as hard as itmay sound)...I know AMD had some compatability issues with some cards and some of the chipsets the motherboards used, but Im not sure about that Duron...Slack would be the guy to help you out more on that issue...do you know what motherboard u have?....
 
Gidge,

Thanks man!

My motherboard is 1st Mainboard AZ11 and the chipset originally in there was via kt133. I just had my puter in this week to fix a problem and they may have changed the chipset to award? as I've seen a fresh screen that comes up when I boot. If you could tell me how to get to that screen I could find out exactly which chipset is in there now.

I do know that they by-passed the motherboard soundcard to install my sblive value. I've been told it would be better to have a motherboard with no soundcard. Is this true, and if so can I still find an upgrade that will work?


Rusty K
 
Well, sonusman (Ed Rei) uses the LynxOne and is very impressed with the converters. The reason I trust him is that he's a professional and I've heard plenty of his recordings. The Lynx is more of a mastering card though, hence it's limited to a stereo pair. If that works for you though, it's probably the best card in your price range. http://www.lynxone.com/lynxone.html There is also now a LynxTwo with 4 ins/outs and it does 24/192...but I think it starts near $1000.

I'm not saying that you'll get "professional" results, that depends on so much. But if you get a good soundcard then it'll probably be the strongest link in your chain for a good long time.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack,

I'm leaning in that direction. Now it's just a matter of campatibility with my system. If you have any thoughts on that please pass them along to me.

Thanks so much,
Rusty K
 
Rusty, if the BIOS screen that pops up when you boot your PC has changed since it came back from service, then it is 99.999% likely that your motherboard has been changed. While it could be a newer revision of the same motherboard, I would look carefully.

Not that there is anything wrong with getting a new motherboard, but when I used to be in service I would always TELL the customer when I replaced one - and give them the manual.
 
RWhite,

Sounds like I need to talk to the techs that built my puter. I'll call tomorrow.

Thanks,














RustyK
 
I think the best snd card for its price would be the Delta 66 OMni Package they ahve this at sam ash for $399

it comes wit 4 analog in out, spdif in out

2 XDR mic preamps

line ins and out and effects knob and phantom power its basically a snd card and mixer in one

I have the Delta66 not the omni package though and just the 4 in out and spdif is good and it sounds great noise is almost nonexistent
 
Teacher, it will really depend on the results he wants...while those Delta cards have to be some of the best cards in its price range and the converters are really really good, the Lynx converters are a step up, Pro....also, although I have no experience with it, I wouldnt think that Omni is a pro level pre-amp.....
 
Gidge,

I've checked with my tech and they didn't change the motherboard or chipset so what I listed before is correct.

Man there ought to be a site where one can just punch in your system specs. and up pops the most compatible sound cards etc.. Might be a good project for a forum like Homerecording?

I know AMD does it with chipsets and motherboards cause I was directed there by a friend.

I called Mars Music about the Lynx One but they don't handle it so I couldn't find out any more about compatibility issues. I'll try back at the lynxone website again. They claimed to be compatible with many systems. Hope so.


Thanks much,

Rusty K
 
I checked the LynxOne website and it stated that they have no known compatability issues with Athlon or Duron, and have many customers that are using it with a Duron....SoundChaser has LynxOne for 459.00...http://www.soundchaser.com/ ...you may be able to find it a little cheaper if you look around...
 
Gidge,

Thanks for all your time. I think it's going to be my card.

Rusty K
 
Gidge,

My money is in the mail for the Lynx One. Can't wait!

Rusty K
 
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