what is the best sound(audio) card under $1000

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jay0u

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rme multiface , lynx twob , m-audio , motu , advark q1 , layla ...

there is so many card...i cant choose one.

i want be home-recording musician.

which card is good to me.
 
We can't help you unless you tell us what kind of features you need.
 
i'm guessing he needs the best sound quality....and i think the general consensus is the lynxtwo is the best bang for the buck bob katz(famous mastering engineer) dubbed it as the only soundcard to compete with standalone units....BUT you may wanna check out the kurzweil rumour/mangler because they are supposed to be fantastic as well but you would need a computer interface for it.
 
One of the Samplitude users I found ran a series of tests on various card to see whether that not only in spec but where the cards fell within the specs. The Lynx pretty much showed in the tests the flattest response from 20to20 and the noise floor and actual dynamic range was quite impressive. I don't have one yet but after seeing the results It something in the shopping cart for this year.

http://www.photosyndikat.de/RMAAtests/

Look at the Lynx L22 24/96 test.

SoMm
 
If this is all the info you can provide I would guess that you are new to this. I started with an Aardvark Q10 and believe I would start there again if I were to start over.

It is a nice card with build in pre amps with phantom power.

I do not think you will record the next grammy winner on it, but if your intent is really musician home recorder, this is a very nice/user friendly choice.

Bear in mind I have used NONE of the other cards, so I do not want to imply that I am saying it is the best, just that it was my choice and I am happy with it.

Jim
 
My personal opinion is the 1820M is the best PCI card you can get for up to 1000 dollars right now (even if it's 500)...if you're not planning on expanding. (the hardware support multi-card but the drivers don't) Course, I'm a bit biased on that... :)

If you need preamps, the Q10 is a very fine piece.

If you have ADAT gear and you're not a Sonar user, the RME stuff is perfectly GREAT.

If you you want to be able to build up to 32/48/64 channels in the future off of your first purchase, I'd get either the RME or possibly the MOTU stuff after researching forums and finding guys wth systems similar to your configuration using multi-card setups.
 
Under $1000

ADDA - Lynx2 for precision (4x4, 2x6 or 6x2), RME for musicality

AD only Mytek (stereo only)
DA only Mytek (stereo only)
 
Lynx II or L22 rules the roost in this catagory. RME is also a good choice. I love my Lynx card. Knowing it's there gives me a certain peace of mind that I don't have to second guess my converters when evaluating a track or a mix.

Cheers, RD
 
Sklathill said:
My personal opinion is the 1820M is the best PCI card you can get for up to 1000 dollars right now (even if it's 500)...if you're not planning on expanding..........
Click to expand...

I have the EMU1820M, what do you mean but "not planning to expand"?

If I use the ADAT I/O's with M-Audio Octane I can have another 8 channels, rigth?? wrong?

M-Audio Ocatne:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=fb3e9310bc0341f272b3b31d2cbf4e97

And according to M-Audio, several Ocatnes can be connected, so what do you think?
Can I expand the system like that?

Is going to take a while for me to out grow the 1820m but..........:)



Thanks
 
I mean, if you don't plan on doing multicard expansion, because officially, even though they've got card ins and outs for multi card on the board itself, the drivers don't support it yet. And who knows if they ever will?

But, compared to other single PCI card solutions, outside of the MOTU PCI-424, the ESI MAXIO, and others that allow multi unit functionality off a single PCI, the 1820M is pretty close to the top.
 
Sklathill said:
I mean, if you don't plan on doing multicard expansion, because officially, even though they've got card ins and outs for multi card on the board itself, the drivers don't support it yet. And who knows if they ever will?

But, compared to other single PCI card solutions, outside of the MOTU PCI-424, the ESI MAXIO, and others that allow multi unit functionality off a single PCI, the 1820M is pretty close to the top.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
It would be hard for one to tell you which is the best card for under 1000 if one has not tested all the cards under 1000.

I hazard to say that most recommendations here are not as a result of direct comparisons , but from perceived superiority based on a number of factors- not limited to, but including, industry recommendations and claims.
 
Although EMU's drivers don't support multi-card, I believe they are working on it. Also with the 1820m, you can use its ADAT input and for $200 more, get one of the Behringer units with 8 mic preamps. Giving you the functionality of both units for $700.

You'd get:
All the ins/outs of the 1820m
8 XLR and 1/4inch ins for the Behringer.
2 MIDI ins/outs
Onboard Digital effects.
Wordclock, Smpte,Firewire

It seems like a good Sub-$1000 value
 
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