you probably don't need one yet

Your AC97 or whatever it is in your motherboard (these days) should be fine to start you off.. tbh i think the m-audio 2496 is the best sounding and has the best drivers for a low price sound card but also look at the emu 0404 (think thats what it's called.
also as a first soft-synth i would look at the NI pro 53. It uses very little cpu power and can produce some very nice trance sounds.

Last edited by The Cream Enjin on Mar-26-2007 at 02:06

or just go for reason

(sorry for being a bit off topic)

Last edited by The Cream Enjin on Mar-26-2007 at 03:03

I have more or less the same question, but I am forced to buy a soundcard as I have a problem with my Ac97. At the beginning I would like to use just software, so I was wondering if I really need soundcards with many connections. Have read some of the tutorials links, but I am really confused as there are a lot of choices.

How about the Creative X-Fi cards ?

I think they look pretty cool, a cheaper version of one of those could do.

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Prism Sound ADA8XR is pretty good. But its a snip at eight and half grand.

M-Audio 2496 as it's about £45, well a truely tried and tested with rock solid drivers (absolutely vital) and a good sound to top it off.

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i too am about to buy a new soundcard - have my eye on the E-MU 1212M but have no idea how good it is. if anyone has used it or could have a look to see if there's any reason why it wouldnt be any good for me then that would b good! thanks

DETAILS HERE

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/ensemble.php

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more analog, more sidechain

Having the worst soundcard + good speakers is better than having the best soundcard + bad speakers. So if you're just starting out it might be better to go for a decent set of speakers. Preferably monitors. But this may be a big investment so you should probably spend some time just making music first. To see if this is something you really like. Also don't expect a soundcard and/or speakers to get your music to sound much better. They will help, but only expirience will get your tunes sounding "pro".

quote:

Originally posted by Spoonz i too am about to buy a new soundcard - have my eye on the E-MU 1212M but have no idea how good it is. if anyone has used it or could have a look to see if there's any reason why it wouldnt be any good for me then that would b good! thanks DETAILS HERE

It's one of the best sounding soundcards on the market today. Has DSP effects. Only one analog stereo input, though. The rest are digital. If you're into electronic music it's all you need. I have it and love it. But, again, it all depends on the speakers you have.

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quote:

Originally posted by LfmC Having the worst soundcard + good speakers is better than having the best soundcard + bad speakers. So if you're just starting out it might be better to go for a decent set of speakers. Preferably monitors. But this may be a big investment so you should probably spend some time just making music first. To see if this is something you really like. Also don't expect a soundcard and/or speakers to get your music to sound much better. They will help, but only expirience will get your tunes sounding "pro". It's one of the best sounding soundcards on the market today. Has DSP effects. Only one analog stereo input, though. The rest are digital. If you're into electronic music it's all you need. I have it and love it. But, again, it all depends on the speakers you have.

that's reassuring then, i currently have my computer hooked upto my hi-fi (Technics SCDV290) which seems sufficient while playing my music from the actual system. it just lacks when i play music from my pc which thinks it's time to scrap my onboard AC97 card as i get constant hissing like when u play an old cassette LOL.

Stereo: