hi all
I want to know if my onboard crappy soundcard (soundmax 2.0 stereo) is involved with the sound quality im hearing, i know that a better soundcard will reduce latency and all that stuff, but i just wanna know if it does have an impact in the sound Im hearing, btw i use headphones (vmoda crossfade lp).
And if it does, what type of budget soundcards will you recomend me

thanks. ;)

 

Even a Sound Blaster can do the job...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wjcvQ

 

@ lord gaga, interesting!!
@spitfire, i had soundblaster,m-audio,rme,apogee,ssl...i can tell there is a different between those cards.if you are a brilliant engeneer,you may be able to get the best out of a "bad" audiocard-but you`ll hardly-usually not-getting a highend result out of it.
a good budget card is the m-audio-you cannot do s.th. wrong with buying it-costs like a soundblaster and is much-much better!
have a great day!

 

so in terms of audio quality it wouldn't be noticeable? and what model of m audio will you recommend me?
thanks for the advises

 

m - audio audiophile 24/96-i think this is the cheapest and well working!
cheers!

 

hi there. the truth is by spending about $150-200 on a soundcard you will get about 64 times better quality in your audio and your productions. the 'good' audio cards also reduce your RAM consumption and lower your CPU load. here are a few i suggest and you know the recording quality is great in them too.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ASUS-XONAR-D2X-PCI-E-1-0-7-1-SOUNDCARD-/200633597677?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_SoundCards&hash=item2eb6b1beed#ht_1580wt_1396

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Auzentech-X-Fi-Bravura-7-1-Sound-Card-DTS-Audio-PCI-E-/280631582536?pt=AU_Components&hash=item4156f21f48#ht_6022wt_1163

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/E-MU-EMU-1212M-PCI-SOUND-CARD-AUDIO-INTERFACE-/170717519125?pt=AU_Pro_Audio&hash=item27bf8e9d15#ht_3313wt_1163

or m audio as suggested. i use a asus xoner dx and the 3 i mentioned are even better then mine and mine kicks butt very good sound.

 

Cool topic this one!

There is the old and tired debate of which DAW sounds best,(NOT an invitation!!!) but the humble sound card, THE link to the outside world, hardly ever seems to get a mention.

Watchin this topic for when the Big Hitters have Their say!

Thanks for the Audio Myths link Ma Lord, Nice One!

 

You can use what ever DAW you like and it will not make much difference but the sound card is all important -- the audio you record into your computer has to be converted from analogue to digital and the quality of this conversion in the A/D converters in the sound card governs to what extent you'll capture the full harmonic range of the source sound. If, on the other hand, you are just playing with sampled sounds,loops and soft synths etc then its probably less important because you are in the digital realm already with libraries of professionally recorded sounds.

 

if you listen to an audio file...no difference...it just depends on the quality of your audio file and your audio system

if you record...then yes it's not the same..more expensive usually means better AD/DA converters (among other things)

 

I used M-Audio 24/96 know for a long time,but only problem beside A/D convertors is Asio...It works fine with smaller projects,but if you`re planning something big to do,let`s say 100 tracks,just forget about this cards,it is not capable of it...Not to mention when you start turning on VST instruments,M-audio will start crying,and when you adding more tracks it will get heart attack.

 

Spitfjre's question was : "I just wanna know if it (the sound card) does have an impact in the sound I'm hearing."
So for that, yes, a Sound Blaster can do the job.

Of course an Apogee, RME, M-Audio (name others...) will give superior result in the recording process. But this is mainly due because of the better integrated pre-amps (analog circuitry), and not because of the "better" converters.

Today's AD/DA converter aren't the same as 20 years ago...

For example, an RME Babyface @ 535 € (definitely not a bad one : http://www.proaudiostar.com/in-dev-review-rme-babyface-usb-audio-interface) is driven by two converters which cost the astronomical price of... 5 $ + 5 $ = 10 $ (yes, TEN dollars) !!!

AD is an AKM AK5385 (same as the RME Fireface 800, RME ADI-2, RME HDSP 9632, Mackie ONYX 400/F 1200F, MOTU 8pre, MOTU 896HD...)

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/2003937-ic-adc-audio-ster-24bit-28vsop-ak5385bvfp-e2.html

and DA is a TI PCM4104 (same as the RME M-32 converter - @ 4000 €)

http://www.ti.com/product/pcm4104

Now, if the the sound quality is sooooooooo dependent on the converters, can somebody explain me why an RME Babyface is 53 times more expensive than his converters ?

Good luck...

P.S. : I couldn't imagine the price of Sound Blaster's converters...

 

Exactly for recording AUDIO, yes... BUT...how much impact will a high end soundcard have for somebody who makes track comprised of MIDI entirely? The only issue there is latency. And like it was alluded to above....M-Audio 24/96 will flinch under heavy tracks...using ASIO drivers (I used it with FL STUDIO)

Seriously, I had better results with a cheap ass Creative soundblaster.

 

Why will the M-audio 2496 flinch??? Heavy tracks place a burden on the computers RAM and CPU not the soundcard. All the 2496 will do will play back a left and right master output because its only a two in two out card!!!!

 

When you play sounds the sound is coming from the audio source - the soundcard - so yes it will sound different with different soundcards.

If you play an audio file through a better soundcard it will sound better - depending on the sound file, the amp, speakers etc. But all things being equal, a better soundcard will sound better.

However, if you RENDER a production in your DAW (comprised of all generated sounds, samples) the RENDER will not be effected by your soundcard. Think about it - you can RENDER a production from your DAW without having a soundcard attached at all. The soundcard has nothing to do with the render - that is always pristine.

It is only when you then play the finished rendered sound that your audiocard will again make a difference. It will sound better through a better soundcard, but it's the same file you are playing. The production of the rendered file is not dependent on the soundcard - only playing it back is.

Of course, that changes if you record audio through your soundcard, and include that in the render. The render of those parts will only be as good as the source material - which was recorded through your soundcard. But again, the rest of the render will be as pristine as the DAW and its settings stipulate - regardless of your soundcard.


---

I have used both Creative Soundblasters and Xonar. Xonar sound better imo, but it has significantly higher latency - even on the £100+ cards.

Presently I am using the cheapest PCI Xonar - a 7.1 card for £25? Does 24 bit.....sounds nice. It gives excellent results - for the price. But I am thinking of retrying my Audigy because of the lower latency (though I hate Creative and their crap driver mess).

For £25 you can't go wrong - much better than onboard.....saves CPU cycles....and cheap as chips. Try it? I'm desperate for £200 to get external 'proper' audio kit tho.

 

Well, midi is processed into audio...it is basically a bunch of data pushed through the soundcard.

Now, the way it handles this data and processes it within the buffer is strictly a soundcard/driver relationship.....

The more tracks you have...the bigger latency issues you will have... I was speaking strictly on latency.

The MAudio 2496 did not fare any better, track for track, with a $20 soundblaster with the Asio4All driver.

 

yea, as far as latency....soundblasters are the way to go...

higher end cards do have better converters, but this is only an issue if you are recording audio. Me? I use almost midi exclusively (aside from vocals, obviously)....

 

If you're going out of the card digitally, like I'm going with M-Audio Audiophile192, into a high quality converter, then audio quality only depends on the converter. I mean the whole device. ;)

What I'm always worried about is the ASIO driver, too, as it does make a difference, not in sound, though. I remember that since I moved on from Soundblaster to M-Audio, the same projects take less CPU with M-audio at the same latency. RME is much better than anything in my experience, and I'm going to buy an RME card next, except that I heard [but not tried] that Lynx drivers are the best regarding efficiency/CPU consumption. But you know what? The differences aren't so terrible to think too much about it. I don't like M-Audio driver because it isn't ASIO multiclient - you can't play more ASIO programs at once. RME is capable of that, for instance. Even the Creative driver was mutliclient... but I find M-audio driver very stable and easily installed. There are all kinds of positives and negatives we could talk about, about audio cards. ;) I prefer stability in the first place, then efficiency. Everybody hates it when a program crashes because of the ASIO driver eh? ;) My vote goes to RME in all regards. Excellent driver.

Cheers!

 

How does it go with more than one audio card? I'm thinking of trying the creative audigy alongside my Xonar DG. Anyone tried it? Will it work at all? What are the issues?

 

Lots of good points have been made, but in the end, it's all about what kind of work you do and what you need. I myself record/master a lot of bands and therefor need a I/O + pres, etc,.. that meet up to my needs. But since you are asking about a Creative product , I will assume that you only work with in the box. Which in that case anything with good drivers will Work.I use a E-Mu 1212m for my i/o paired with an Focuserite 8 channel pre(ADAT) at my house. The E-mu is very cheap($130) and has the same convertors as the Digi 192 I/O.Although it does not compare to the stuff at my work it gets the job done for a fraction of the price of the many that were named above.

BTW: Creative makes all the E-Mu gear and also the drivers which are rock solid

 

If you are working entirely in the box, proper room treatment and good monitors will get you alot closer than spending money on an expensive soundcard just to get good d/a convertors.
Even moreso if you are going digital out from computer and the conversion is done by the monitors.