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Subject:Sound Cards
Posted by: jeepman83706
Date:2/4/2003 9:52:03 AM
Hi all. Just wondering what sound card everyone uses with Acid 4.0. The one that came with my computer presents some pretty noticeable latency and I am looking to upgrade. ATP suggested some cards, but I was hoping to get some first hand feedback on your experiences with sound cards and reducing latency. I also am NOT looking to spend $500!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:2/4/2003 1:03:44 PM
Anything from Echo or M-Audio is a good start. They both have 24-bit/96 kHz interfaces for under $200. (The Mia and the Audiophile 2496 respectively.) I should mention these types of cards have more pro-quality connections than what the plain-vanilla Sound Blaster user is used to. The Mia, for example, has 1/4" TRS I/O and S/PDIF I/O. The Audiophile has RCA phono I/O, S/PDIF I/O and MIDI I/O. HTH, Iacobus |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:2/4/2003 9:25:11 PM
Will such a sound card reduce the latency I experience with the sound card that came standard on my computer? |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:2/4/2003 9:50:04 PM
More than likely, yes. I know that my Audiophile 2496's (and related pro-level cards') latency is excellent and aced my old Sound Blaster Live! in the performance department. (I ditched the Live! a long time ago.) These cards/interfaces, by and large, were meant for music making. Note that if you're into PC games, these cards are not exactly optimized for that purpose. That's about the only advantage the Sound Blaster cards have. Other than that, I can guarantee you'll be blown away with not only the latency, but also with the quality of the audio. HTH, Iacobus |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: ATP
Date:2/5/2003 4:19:44 AM
i second Iacobus's comments. i have a Midiman Audiophile myself and my latency is currently around 2-5 ms. in other words, you hardly notice a delay when i press a key on my midi keyboard. the reason i didn't recommend a specific brand or type in my other post is that i don't know how you're planning to use your card. for example, if you have a lot of real instruments you want to record you would need another card than if you want to use a lot of VSTi's. but assuming you're going to use just your pc and MIDI for music making i can recommend the Delta Audiophile 24/96 by Midiman. more info on the Delta series here : http://www.midiman.com/products/m-audio/delta.php. but i want to stress a point Iacobus mentioned also, these cards are generally not suited for gaming. so if you want to do that as well either get a different card (the Terratec DMX 6Fire comes to mind) or use 2 soundcards (i have both an Audiophile and a SB Live in my system, one for music, one for everything else). hth. |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: gjn
Date:2/5/2003 6:08:42 AM
www.creamware.com |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:2/5/2003 9:16:38 AM
Thanks everybody...my main purpose is to record music from my MIDI keyboard and use VSTi's. Eventually I would like to get a mixer and plug in a guitar or drum machine or something, but for now, all I want is to be able to play my MIDI keyboard and have it sound somehwat in sync with the rest of my tracks!! |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:2/5/2003 9:28:24 AM
if you have a lot of real instruments you want to record you would need another card than if you want to use a lot of VSTi's. Why is this and what card would be suitable? Right now I just record my acoustic guitar through a condenser mic that's plugged directly into my mic input on the soundcard. |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: ATP
Date:2/5/2003 12:18:12 PM
well, i was talking about recording several live instruments at once. for example if you've got 2 musicians in the studio and they want to play their stuff simultaneously. also, a lot of "pro" cards do not have a MIDI port, so if you see a card that interests you you might wanna check if it has MIDI I/O, or that you need to get a seperate MIDI controller card as well. the Audiophile does have MIDI for instance, and that's one of the main reasons i got one of those, rather than a Creamware Pulsar or Echo MIA card. but that's just me. :) |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:2/5/2003 12:40:05 PM
I'm glad I found this forum!! You're all so helpful. I already have a MIDI Sport 2x2 USB Interface that my keyboard is hooked up to. I would assume, then, that MIDI on a soundcard isn't as important since I have the Midisport? |
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Subject:RE: Sound Cards
Reply by: MyST
Date:2/5/2003 12:44:47 PM
http://www.audiomidi.com/hardware/audio_pci.cfm Somebody had this link somewhere before. Get in touch with them. With a name like "AudioMIDI.com", if they can't guide you... M |