Which soundcard to get?

  • Thread starter Thread starter $howtyme
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$howtyme

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I'm not sure where to start.

I just bought a bunch of studio equipment from musiciansfriend.com. I'm not sure but I think I might need to install a soundcard in my laptop before I can use the equipment. These are some of the items I ordered:

- MXL MXL990 Condenser Mic with Shockmount
- Roland DM10 Digital Stereo Micro Monitors
- Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC200 Mic Preamp

Do I need a soundcard? How will improve my system? What are some good soundcards to invest in?

Thanks
 
For laptops, you're looking at either getting a USB/FireWire card, or PCMCIA. Chances are, the soundcard that came with your laptop is not designed for recording and will give you mediocre to poor results. On the cheap, the Tascam US-122 is a decent USB interface. The presonus FireWire interfaces (Firebox, Firepod) get good press. I don't know much about PCMCIA cards, but I'm sure there are some decent options.
 
LfO said:
An electro-musician friend of mine is quite fond of this:

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--ECHINDIGOIO

Of course, you'd have to mess with 1/4" to 1/8" connectors...
Click to expand...

*shivers* IMHO, it's a bad idea to buy a sound card that probably won't be usable in the next laptop you buy.

Cardbus is a deprecated standard. As in the PCMCIA (the IA stands for international association) has announced that it is actively being replaced. Computer vendors are already starting to make machines with ExpressCard hardware. I would expect CardBus to start becoming hard to get as an option for laptops within just a couple of years.

FireWire is a good choice in general (and cardbus FireWire cards cost peanuts if your machine doesn't have FireWire). If that's too pricey, go with USB. Just don't go with CardBus.
 
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