So I have been, for quite some time, looking to buy a sound card. When I was at my desktop I could deal with the sound it had but I just recently got a lptop and the sound is absolute shit. I haven't even tried doing anything in Live but I can only imagine the amount of latency I would have to deal with would be obscene and I would most likely be limited to very few tracks. So, I feel now is the time to purchase a sound card. After the bit of research I've done, I've decided that the best choice for me would be the ESI Maya 44 USB. The price is good (usually ~$100) and atm, I really dont need more than 4 In/4 Out. Before I buy, though, I have a few quetions.

From what I've learned each of the in/outs is like an RCA in? So say I want to connect some headphones or a mic, would I need to have a cable with an audio in going to L/R RCA outs? If so, could I connect the headphones straight to that or would I have to have an amp?

Another thing is, will it really improve the quality of my sound? I will the sound card is one of the parts of a computer that I really don't know much about. I don't wat to spend $100 if it's not worth it.

So that's it but, if there is a better external sound card out there for about the same price (maybe ~$50 over/under) then I want to know about it.

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Last edited by floyd741 on Feb-23-2010 at 21:19