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Looking for a decent Sound Card/System for my new computer

Hey everyone,

I'm building a new computer, and I want to have a pretty nice sound system in it.


Eventually I want to be able to connect tables and/or CDJ up to the comp and route it through my speakers as well as being able to record sets and such. Also, want to be able to connect up a midi keyboard and other additions. I was thinking of getting one of the audigy's but not sure if anyone had experience with these and could recommend certain models.


In terms of speakers, i'm looking for a really good 5.1 system. Somethin that sounds clear and has good sound.



I'm not really worried TOO much about the cost. I know i'll be paying >250 for the speakers, and probably around 150 for the sound card and 5.25 slide-in package(which I want).



If anyone can recommend a few things it'd help out a ton.

Thanks!

~Ryan

If you are looking for something more professional, I would stay away from Creative Labs products. Theyre fine for consumer use, but if youre gonna be doing recording/producing, then a more professional card is needed.

I have an M-Audio Audiophile 24/96, which is a great card, but pretty much any of the M-Audio products will be a good choice.

Another good brand to look for is ECHO...the MIA card is another good one.

I just recently purchased a Firebox and it sounds like something that might work for you.

-firewire connection

-record/playback 6 inputs/10 outputs at 24-bit

-2 mic/instrument pre-amps

-2 analog line inputs, 6 analog outputs

-S/PDIF & MIDI input/output

-headphone output

and it includes Cubase LE software

The only thing you might not like is that it is a stand-alone piece of hardware. Cost is around $300.

Yeah, i'm not actually lookin for a standalone anything, but thanks for the input =)


I am just building a new computer and want the option to be able to route sound through it from tables or CDJs whether to record on my computer or just use my computer's speakers to hear it.

are you going to do any gaming? do you have to 5.1ch? Since cost isn't an issue, I would go for two seperate cards. one card for gaming and another for strictly recording. The Echo mia is a great choice for recording b/c it has balanced trs inputs, while for gaming, the m-audio revolution 5.1 is suppose to be nice all around.

As for speakers, I'm using a pair of logitech z5300 for gaming. I like them, for movies and games, but when it comes to semi-pro recording and studio work, studio monitors are what i recomend. Event tr8n's are one of my favorites for the money, ~$250ea, or if you really want the best monitors, check out the dynaudio acoustics BM5-A ~$500 ea. IMO they beat the living crap out of the Event ASP8 and Mackie HR824!
In that case, skip the 5.1 package and get 5 studio monitors! :P

If not, what type of mobo are you gonna use in your next pc? The new DFI lanparty boards seem to have pretty good 5.1ch onboard. Imo they work better for gaming than the audigy 2zs.

i have the m-audio audiophile 2496 for recording, and the revolution 7.1 for general purpose listening and gaming...great combo

what else is going in the box

m-audio all the way! delta 10/10 lt is sweet
audiophile cards are nice too

quote:

Originally posted by DjJade i have the m-audio audiophile 2496 for recording, and the revolution 7.1 for general purpose listening and gaming...great combo what else is going in the box

For general listening to say an uncompressed rip cd on your computer would your audiophile card give a better performance than your 7.1 or any creative labs card? I'm thinking the same thing as the thread author, i really need to update my soudcard, but all i want is stereo sound.

In addition to M-Audio what brands are recomened? Is E-MU any good (its a brand of creative right?)

well the audiophile is just some rca... and yes the quality is great on speakers. you will lose alot of quality trying to convert from stereo jacks to rca to hook up to speakers. i use it purely for recording sets... and listening to whatver if i want the sound to come out through my mixer and to my monitors. i still use my 7.1 if i use headphones.

I can tell you to say away from Audigy / any Creativeblob soundcards for two reasons. One being they are definalty not built for what you want to do. Secondly they work like piss and their drivers are garbage. You need to look for somthing more professional and most of what I was going to recommend was already mentioned, so yeah +1 above .

Goodluck!

I run an M-Audio 2496 as well. It is a great card for a great price unless you need 1/4" or XLR in/out capability. In that case, go for something else.

quote:

Originally posted by PersianMafia For general listening to say an uncompressed rip cd on your computer would your audiophile card give a better performance than your 7.1 or any creative labs card? I'm thinking the same thing as the thread author, i really need to update my soudcard, but all i want is stereo sound. In addition to M-Audio what brands are recomened? Is E-MU any good (its a brand of creative right?)

The Revo *might* give better sound quality thru the analog output. The Revo has newer/better D/As than the Audiophile. My only concern with the revo is those dumb 1/8" connectors. Another problem with the Revo is no ASIO support over SPDIF. Also, the Revo is not really a good card for what you sound like you need with its one analog input. I currently own an Audiophile, Revo 7.1, & Delta 410 and can't tell the difference. Both the Audiophile and Revo will give better sound quality than a Creative or any other AC97 card because AC97 cards perform a crappy sounding resampling to 48K.

If your really anal about sound quality, then you need to use also use ASIO with a 44.1K capable card to get bit perfect output. This is because ASIO bypasses Windows K-Mixer which also degrades the sound (very slight IMO). The one exception to this is RME cards which are always bit perfect regardless of the type of output used. RME cards rock but they are $$$. I've also used Terrectec cards buth the drivers are flakey IMO.

Well, its basically a gaming system. BUT, i want to have the option to hook up a midi keyboard + CDJ/TT for recording. I am not anal about perfect sound quality or anything.

I'll be getting the z5500's probably, and just want everything to sound good.


And it seems theres a misperception that I am a professional about this. I am not, but i'd like something decent to just play with.

What is the cheapest (at least decent) PCI or USB soundcard that has 2 stereo outputs (going to mixer) and 1 stereo input (in from mixer) and midi in and out (keyboard).

i might have a emu 1212m with emulatorx for sale if this guy on ebay doesn't pay me.

Im sorry that im asking again but i realy would like to know of an external usb soundcard that has 2 stereo analog outs, 1 stereo analog in and 1 midi i/o . Would it be possible to find something like that at all for $100 to $150 USD?

If your gaming which I do alot on my newly built machine, get an Audigy 2 zs from Newegg.com for $71...thats the oem version. Then get an external box like the M-Box or Firebox when you want to record. I record mixes on my audigy, and they sound great, just can't create music with them. Or wait till Creative releases their new card thats coming out the X-Fi which should be interesting. They say it is for musicians as well and has 1ms latency to boot.

based on what creative said, the x-fi is NOT going to be a professional sound card. Creative makes GAMING sound cards, they do NOT put features in that people doing recording and professional sound production need...

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