hmmm for first you have to know the difference between output and "output" as in digital terms.
Let me explain->
you have this fancy VST playing a 4bar riff ... you render it

what happens?
The computer calculates the sound of the synth and saves it as data...

so this way if someone else listens the same loop with a better soundcard it will sound much better...because you know...the data are there...



now if you had a really expensive microphone setup to record your output (as in front of the speakers) and then made a comparison between that and for example the motu ultralite you'd notice the difference...


as long as the signal route is purely digital...the soundcard doesn't matter...
the problem lies in mixing...if you're not able to hear as much as possible you aren't able to mix correctly...


at least that's how I think it works, if someone else can correct me I'll be grateful

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I recently switched from the soundcard to the ultralite, and i can say wow. Such big of a diffrence for me, crystal now. Worth everypenny. But here is what i recomend, if you can offord it go for it if you like it keep it, if you dont return it and get your money back.

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As long as it has balanced IO and semi-decent AD/DA, then its irrelevant.

...the 24/96 has neither

The problem with internal cards is that they can pick up noise from inside your computer. Best to get a card which has a breakout to keep the AD/DA outside. Really, anything delta44 and upward is fine, I doubt you will notice any difference unless you're doing recording - even then I still dont think you will notice a few DB in SNR. Remember, this is dance music, people are always going to say you need a certain mic, a certain preamp, a certain DA/AD, but at the end of the day theres so much shit going on in there you're never going to hear the difference.

The point of diminishing returns is close

Hey
The sound-card only REALLY matters if you are using external instruments synths and effects.
In that case you can say that you need good convertor chips to sound professional.
If you are not using external synths and everything is in the computer it really does not matter that much.
Somebody could argue that the cleaner the sound the better you will be able to hear potential problems with your mix but since you play the music using your m-audio, then mixing on one will be best.
Also it's important to note that most of the people who will play back the music will not have anything fancy but a stereo, an mp3 player, a dj mixer or something equivalent, then what you are using is closer to what it will sound on, on most peoples playback systems.

important

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So then considering you use lots of external stuff b&b, it's fair to say a soundcard is fairly important

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quote:

Originally posted by beats and beeps Ok, so I have an m-audiophile 2496 or whatever, you know the common cheap one lots of people have. I'm really confused about how soundcards work. Like, all the sound is processed through it right, so everything I hear through MY speakers, has to be someone affected by this soundcard right. My question is, does the sound card effect my quality of recording. For instance, does that mp3 render on my desktop have an audiophile 2496 "sound" to it, or is it only when I listen to it on my computer? Basically my question is, if I had some fancy ass sound card like a MOTU or something, does that just change the way the sound I HEAR is processed? Or does it actually change the way the sound is processed when i render down a wav file or whatever onto my hard drive?

All the sound card does is handle audio I/O "in and out" of the computer. Higher quality soundcards will be cleaner sounding and be able to work @ higher sample-rates, but you will not see a gigantic boost in sound quality. I am using my iMac's built in sound card, and I get about 10ms of latency. Seems fine to me.

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it can affect recording, yes, but playback, hardly at all

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm As long as it has balanced IO and semi-decent AD/DA, then its irrelevant. ...the 24/96 has neither The problem with internal cards is that they can pick up noise from inside your computer. Best to get a card which has a breakout to keep the AD/DA outside. Really, anything delta44 and upward is fine, I doubt you will notice any difference unless you're doing recording - even then I still dont think you will notice a few DB in SNR. Remember, this is dance music, people are always going to say you need a certain mic, a certain preamp, a certain DA/AD, but at the end of the day theres so much shit going on in there you're never going to hear the difference. The point of diminishing returns is close

er...hate to point this out but the 24/96 uses the same DA chips and chip architecture as the more expensive delta series right up to the 1010. all you're paying for is balanced I/O and more I/O's.

also, balanced I/O's will not improve sound quality of the soundcard itself, only reduce interference and potential noise between devices. this can easily be avoided by not having long cable runs, keeping your audio lines away from power lines and buying decent quality unbalanced cables.

if the original question was asked with a view to find out if it worth shelling out on a new soundcard, I would say no. monitor speakers are probably have the best value in terms of upgrades and cash spent vs performance or quality increase

Its been said before but to recap.

If you work entirely within a PC then a soundcard will only affect the sound you can hear through YOUR speakers. The resulting MP3 file will not be affected by your soundcard unless you record the output of the soundcard into a standalone recorder such as a DAT tape or CD recorder.

If you record instruments then it will affect the quality of the recorded instruments.

A good soundcard will enable you to hear the music you are making with greater clarity and be able to mix and process with greater precision.

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