New soundcard for playback/mixing

[GravityRobert]

I'm thinking of getting a new soundcard for playback and mixing.

I currently use the onboard soundcard on my nforce mobo but its not cutting it. I can hear 'bleep' bleep on quiet parts and a permanent buzz, only when it gets louders it o.k. to listen to it, still knowing its only covering the shit.

So, pci and affordable. Whats ok? I have about 50 to 100 euros to spend on the sound card.

Thanks

Robert

[cabby]

On board sound is a poor choice for any kind of recording.
It robs CPU cycles and memory from your system.
With your limited budget I would suggest the M-Audio Audiophile 2496. You can find it around $75 online. It would not be my sound card of choice, but in your budget range I think it will be the best available. It will also come with a copy of Ableton Live LE.

[to-pse]

Hi,

I would add another 50 Euros on top and buy an Emu 1212m.
The soundquality is much above anything in it's price-region.

You could probably get it used from Ebay for the money you originally
intended to spend...

Tobias

[Acoustic Cloud]

+1 on the 121m!

[GravityRobert]

The emu would give me much, much more than I would require. I have a firestudio I use for recording.

I'd like 2 sets of balanced outputs (L/R x2), a headphone output, preferably 1 PCI slot intake only and decent sound quality.

What would be interesting would be S/PDIF in, ADAT in/out.. not required

Any other options?

[sexxy]

hey
save some more money

then get...
Lynx Studio Technology, Inc.
Aes16 + ls-adat + esi 032 or other AD/DA with AES/EBU like behringer src2496 or uaudio 2192
+ midi interfacee
or get
Lynx L22
+ midi interface

or
RME Hdsp9632

or
Lynx One that has midi

or
creamware home

or
m-audio audiphile 2496 or 192

but...
the most powerfull Drivers are the Lynx Asio or Directsound Drivers in AES16
and the SynchroLock(TM) in Aes16 its wordclass WordClock
the best ive heard so far

the emu 0404/1212m/1616m/1820m have better AD/DA than M-audio ap 2496/192 or digi001/digi002r, but the emu wordclock sounds weird

and emu Asio drivers only work stable at 8ms = 353 samples aprox.
better the digi001 asio drivers v6.4 work ok at 128samples

RME Hdsp9632 drivers are 2nd best = an step down from Lynx Aes16 Drivers, and SteadyClock(TM) its also second best wordclock in a Soundcard

RME: Support TechInfo

[GravityRobert]

I'll bring home the firestudio for now! And I'll save some money for a proper card Thanks for the suggestions, sexy. I've checked them all out but theyre way outta my league for now. Couple more months to go!

[Acoustic Cloud]

You could sell that Oscelot (sp?) and grab a good amount of gear!

[to-pse]

Originally Posted by GravityRobert

The emu would give me much, much more than I would require. I have a firestudio I use for recording.

I'd like 2 sets of balanced outputs (L/R x2), a headphone output, preferably 1 PCI slot intake only and decent sound quality.

What would be interesting would be S/PDIF in, ADAT in/out.. not required

Any other options?

You didn't write that you'd need two pairs of output before - I doubt that you will get any soundcard with two pairs of balanced outs for the amount you want to spend...

Like I said on Ebay the EMU goes for about 100 bucks - sound-quality is really good. And if you are only interested in playback, the better drivers of an RME won't bring you much advantage as this might only make a difference with low latency operation which obviously is not necessary just for playback.

Tobias

PS: Just for the record, I do have both: an RME 9632 and the EMU 1212m. Both nice cards (expanded with a Behringer ADA8000, decent unit for the price!)

[GravityRobert]

Originally Posted by Acoustic Cloud

You could sell that Oscelot (sp?) and grab a good amount of gear!

Haha its not mine