Which Soundcard?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gautam
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Gautam

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Which sound card should I go for?

My recording needs are as follows: (These needs won't change over time)

I need one input for my keyboard (1/4" Balanced-is that the same as stereo?)

I need one input for my mic (SM58 is what I plan to buy. I will stick to it- no condensor mics ever-so phantom not required)
need preamp for mic ( built in hopefully- I dont want to spend too much)

24/96

zero to low latency (2ms)

MIDI (so as to be able to use sequencing software for my synth)

PCI Card (Coz I feel USB is not as good)

My budget is $200 tops!!

The only card that I have come across that meets these requirements ON PAPER!!- is the
Creative Sound Blaster AudiyII ZS Platinum Pro.

So you guys have an idea of how serious this situation is!!
 
The M-Audio Audiophile and Audio Buddy preamp might do it for you, although they'll be slighty more than $200.

The Audio buddy is a 2-channel pre, & will accept both XLR and 1/4" ins. $85

The Audiophile is a 24/96 card with 2 unbalanced ins, plus another 2 via s/pdif plus midi. $149

Check them at http://www.cdbm.com/shop/start.cgi

Together they'll give you sonic quality streets ahead of anything from Soundisaster
 
thanks

Thanks for the swift and extremely helpful reply.

However, I must ask a few newbie questions!

1) Is XLR better than 1/4" ins for the SM58?

2) What connects to what? Tell me what I am missing:

The MIDI of the Keyboard to the MIDI of the 2496.

Two outs from the Keyboard to the two unbalanced 1/4" ins of the 2496

SM58 via XLR or 1/4" (which is better?) to Audio Buddy.

Where and how will the Audio Buddy Connect?
 
You should use XLR where possible as it's balanced. 1/4" is either balanced or unbalanced. Balanced gives you less noise over longer cable distances.

You would run your SM58 into the Audio Buddy, XLR.
Your keyboard 1/4" into the Audio Buddy 1/4" for Audio.
Then 2 1/4" to RCA cables from the Audio Buddy outs to the Audiophile ins.

The midi out from your keyboard can just go straight to the midi in of the Audiophile
 
Thanks.

Thanks again. One last question:

I am buying a computer and would like to know if this configuration will go well with an AMD processor (will an Intel chipset provide some added benefit for this config?).

Needless to say, the computer will be high end...

Thanks a lot for your help once again.
 
answer

get an amd 2500+ system with 512 ddr ram and 2 7200 rpm
hard drives. MAKE SURE DEALER ENABLES DMA HIGH SPEED TRANSFER which audio needs. some dealers forget.
the key thing is the chipset. BEFORE YOU BUY THE COMPUTER
check with the manufacturer of the sound card that the chipset
is compatible. there were problems with via chipsets in the past folksreported but this might now be solved. i have a SIS
chipset and never had a problem.
ive found amd's fast floating point performance in the under 150
dollar processor price point is the best. audio NEEDS good FPP
figures which amd 2500 gives you. in fact this system will
be super fast. friends of mine use lesser amd systems like
the older durons and still get 48 concurrent tracks.
i agree on the audiophile. but also check out the hoontech dsp value. a bit cheaper andi hear its very good. tracertek.com
have them. disclaimer. i have no affiliation with any of these companies.
 
Re: Thanks.

Gautam said:
I am buying a computer and would like to know if this configuration will go well with an AMD processor (will an Intel chipset provide some added benefit for this config?).
Click to expand...
There is no such thing as an Intel chipset for an AMD processor.
The general consensus is that an nForce chipset is the way to go for AMD computers.
Personally I'm a happy AMD/SiS user but the chipset that I'm using is aging. Go for nForce.
 
Guatam

Just another option you may wish to consider is instead of the Audio Buddy, you could get a small mixer.
The Yamaha MG10/2 is $99 ( www.musiciansfriend.com ) and gives you some flexible routing options. It has in-built preamps that are of comparable quality to the Audio Buddy
 
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