which sound card too buy

[pranav]

im buying a new computor i want to buy a sound card a good one budget is about 200$

[bluesplayer]

Well i just got a Terratec DMXFIRE of my old mucka Goport , and im over the moon with it , i appreciate its still in the *budget* bracket but it still kicks ass in my book . I used to use the SB platinum , and to be honest it was a good workhorse with the ocasional click , but the DMX is a lot smoother , soundwise ,well it is brighter ,and a worthy soundcard to consider .

[pranav]

what about the audigy nz platinum pro

[Goport]

if you really want to have a soundcard for recording then forget Soundblaster. They are all round cards and have a number of problems that routinely pop up. I can't vouch for the new Sound Blaster X-Fi cards because they are pretty much untested - however they do get good write ups. But as I said - these cards are more aimed at general home computing and not recording (even if they say different).

I would consider any of the audio carsd here in your price range. http://www.zzounds.com/cat--PCI-Audio-Interfaces--2421 (internal pci cards)

or http://www.zzounds.com/cat--USB-Audio-Interfaces--2424 (external usb devices)

Remember, these cards are aimed at music production and might not be the best games solution - so if you really just want a sound card for recording consider these but if gaming is a big element in your life then you might still want to stick with a Creative Soundblaster card (for the 5.1, 7.1, 8.1 outputs and EAX support)

Another important fact to remember is pro audio cards do not have hardware midi onboard - this is not an issue as there are so many softsynths around these days but it is something to bare in mind.

If I were in your shoes I would probably get a Line 6 Toneport UX2 http://www.zzounds.com/item--LINTPUX2 . this way you have all the pod sounds and the unit doubles as a recording interface. Having all the pod sounds makes it far more fun. because lets face it sound cards are pretty boring at the end of the day

[pranav]

goport the main problem in india is that you do not get many of these cards so creative ones are available so that my main problem and gaming is not a part of of my life

[Goport]

there is always Ebay Pranav.

I honestly can't recomment Creative branded cards as proper audio cards. The New X-Fi may be different but in all honestly these cards are not optimised for digital recording and will often play up when you try to drop the latency to say 5ms.

If that is all that is available why don't you look on ebay and see what is available there - I know Ebay India is limited but try ebay.com instead and see if you can find a supplier that ships worldwide. like this http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MIDIMAN-M-Au...QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know about import tax in India but I guess postage is going to be about $50. So that could be a bit pricy.

I also found this site which could be helpful http://www.akson.smolensk.in/produkt...18584fc60b3656

[the rock]

I got an m-audio one on ebay, and it's cool cause it has 4 1/4 ins. I thought it made a world of difference in the quality of sound. You can find older models pretty cheap on ebay.

[crematia]

I use creative's Platinum Pro and can't say anything bad about it...Serves me well and has no problems what so ever, no latency problems, etc. But then again, don't know any better 'casue I've been using soundblasters allways :P

[pranav]

thanks guys anyways i am getting a platinum pro as my parents are for buying stuff on the net.duty issues

[stingx]

Originally Posted by the rock

I got an m-audio one on ebay, and it's cool cause it has 4 1/4 ins. I thought it made a world of difference in the quality of sound. You can find older models pretty cheap on ebay.

I second M-Audio. I am a diehard M-Audio fan. Love the company, the products, and the support. I use an M-Audio Firewire 410:

http://m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire410-main.html

[Flet]

What I don't get is are these M-audio products a "replacement" for a soundcard? Or are they an external soundcard? Soundcard/Preamp, or just preamp alone? I can't figure it out.

[bluesplayer]

i mst agree with Goport , i dont think SB PLATINUMS are that cool , i used one for years and to be honest it never really let me down , but i never really pushed it , however when i did it used to freak out on me , dont get me wrong im not totally dissing the card , its just now im using a TERRATEC DMX FIRE , things are definalty less stressfull

[LurchNC]

I use an M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. Brand new they are $100. If you don't need a bunch of inputs it will serve you well.

[stingx]

E-MU 1820

http://www.emu.com/products/product....1&product=9870

My friend, who has been doing the home recording thing for over 5 years, turned me on to this while visting. He is the same guy that got me hooked on M-Audio's FW410 and I told him I was looking for something more and was going to delegate the FW410 to mobile use on the laptop or, possibly, ebay it.

This offers me the added extra inputs and allows for more overhead. One HUGE plus is the hardware accelerated onboard effects! The parent company is Creative so you know it has good backing (driver support, etc).



They make cheaper models with hardware accleration so there is something for every budget. Why people continue to use SB cards, made for gaming, when all these alternatives exist is beyond explanation.

[Goport]

Originally Posted by Flet

What I don't get is are these M-audio products a "replacement" for a soundcard? Or are they an external soundcard? Soundcard/Preamp, or just preamp alone? I can't figure it out.

I would say they are best used as a replacement. But it is possible to have another soundcard running. One used for sytem sounds and games (like a soundblaster) and one audio card dedicated to music. Obviously you will need to re-route your speakers/monitors each time you wish to swap over or get a second set.