Subject:Sound Cards

Posted by: jeremyandstuff

Date:5/4/2008 5:54:50 AM

Does anyone have any tips for good sound cards (at a reasonable price) to use with ACID Pro 6.0?

I've been a longtime user of ACID Music Studio, and I just got ACID Pro for my new PC. I want to upgrade my soundcard as well, but I'm not really sure where to start. There are just too many options out there. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction...

Basically, I don't want anything too fancy -- I'm only looking to spend a couple hundred bucks.

Thanks!

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: drbam

Date:5/4/2008 6:47:05 AM

Check out the cards by Echo and Maudio. Most have proved super reliable with the Sony apps.

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/4/2008 7:26:52 AM

It's hard to give advice without knowing how you plan to use your sound card. What are your needs? Are you recording vocals? Do you record with condenser mics? Are you recording a live band? Answers to these questions will determine whether you need XLR inputs, phantom power, the number of I/O channels, etc. You need to purchase hardware the fits your usage of ACID.

Personally, I prefer audio firewire interfaces. Make sure you check the features and match your needs. For example, some have 48volt phantom power for powering condenser mics and some of the less expensive ones do not. Also some of the less expensive ones do not have XLR inputs for professional microphones.

I agree with drbam, anything from M-Audio (Firewire 410, Firewire Solo), Echo (Gina 3G, FireAudio4), Presonus (Firebox, FireStudio). Just make sure it has enough inputs and outputs for what you want to do. The key feature is that ACID works best with ASIO drivers (not WDM as SONAR does) so for ACID users, ASIO drivers are a must.

~jr

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: jjbraunius

Date:5/5/2008 12:55:20 AM

I also want to add Edirol to that list but so far Acid has worked fine with everything I've thrown at it - Terratec cards also work fine.
I'd say see what your PC can handle in terms of audio card - if you want portability so you can hook that card to a laptop for travelling you might be inclined to buy USB and FW interface. If you plan to keep it sitting at home or the studio you might want to go with a PCI interface.

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: aafuss

Date:5/29/2008 4:38:20 PM

i use a Sound Blaster Audigy Value with ACID Music Studio.

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/30/2008 7:05:40 AM

> i use a Sound Blaster Audigy Value with ACID Music Studio.

With all due respect to your personal selection (which may be right for you), I would not recommend a Soundblaster card for professional audio recording. The original poster is upgrading from Music Studio to the Pro version and asking which sound card to use. By their own admission on the Creative web site, the Soundblaster Audigy Value is “Recommended for Games, DVD Movies and Internet Radio”. No mention of audio recording because they know that their hardware is limited and they play a lot of tricks with their software drivers to make you think you are getting higher quality than the hardware can actually deliver. I also don’t see ASIO driver support listed in their specs. For ACID you should use ASIO drivers to get acceptable low latency.

Over the years, I’ve personally owned a Soundblaster 64, Soundblaster Live, and a Soundblaster Audigy 2 with the break-out box and like you, I thought they were fine. Then when I upgraded to the M-Audio Firewire 410 the difference was like someone taking the cotton out of my ears. It is really a big difference to hear clear, uncolored audio. You also want to get a good set of reference monitors (speakers) like the M-Audio DX4’s or better. Most PC speaker sets will color the sounds as well.

~jr

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: DKeenum

Date:5/30/2008 10:26:11 AM

Just to add another opinion, I use an echo midi mia. It is a pci card and has been rock solid for me.

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: tascolas

Date:5/30/2008 11:10:14 PM

@JohnnyRoy: First of all recommending a firewire interface for a desktop pc is foul m8. PCI rules - period. If the user doesn't need more than 2 channels the Audiophile 192 from M-Audio is the best choice, at 160 euros is gr8. If 192khz isn't wanted Audiiophile 24/96 goes for a wooping 80 euros and does the job much better than any Soundblaster. Nice pointing out that SB is not geared towards pro music making. Same way though i 'd like to point out that as much is the difference in audio quality from a 30$ SB to the 300$ m-audio 410 same is from the 410 to something the motu hd192. In any sense 410 is not a straight pro interface but more likely falls between semi-pro and pro market (as almost all the M-Audios) and their speakers are even lower between the amateur and semi-pro market. Honestly i ve had Telefunken speakers from 1975,which still sound better than those gr8 looking but muchless sounding M-audio boxes. I don't mean to insult JohnnyRoy here for his selection but m-audios fall behind any classic monitor like Yamaha,Dynaudio,Genelec,Adam etc etc. If u think m-audio speakers is reference i'm sorry m8 but its just almost acceptable. Cheers

Subject:RE: Sound Cards

Reply by: MyST

Date:5/31/2008 6:24:54 AM

I read JR's comment about the monitors as "you need to get AT LEAST this level of monitor, and ideally higher end".

M-Audio might not be the best out there, but along with Echo products, you can't beat their bang for the buck ratio.

MY M-Audio FW410 has been rock solid and never has given me any trouble with any software.