It depends what you wanna do and what kind of set up you have.

I have a pretty high-end computer and mainly want a sound card for music and for use with Traktor (though better performance for games and movies is also a definite plus).

Assuming that you want to preview on Traktor w/ headphones, a 2nd sound card or a 4.1 sound card will do (24 bit). Idk what kinds of sets up you can do w/ Traktor, but you can probably use one sound card for the speakers and the other for the cued song. Or just combine everything w/ a 4.1...your choice. Just buy a 24bit (internal/external) 4.1 card.

what do you guys think of M-Audio sound cards ?

___________________
Dont send me your chiro bill if u have a sore neck

I think M-Audio cards are regarded to be the 'standard'. Personally, I have an Echo Indigo DJ card, but it's a PCMCIA card, which I got because the bus is faster than USB (and probably Firewire) and because it was more or less internal/compact.

You're probably better off getting a USB or Firewire audio interface, though, since the new ExpressCard came out for notebooks, and who knows how long those will be a standard. I'm still kind of upset that PCMCIA is no longer the standard on newer laptops, but this card works absolutely great.

I predict responses to fall along the lines of a handful of Echo Indigo cards and a majority of M-Audio USB or Firewire (in that order) external devices.

Well I was actually thinking more along the lines of Creative X-Fi or something.

It all depends on how serious you are. seriously.

___________________
Fortuna Favet Fortibus.

Another Echo Indigo DJ user here. Great sound card, hoping they come out with an Expresscard version (ExpressCard is the updated port standard that replaces the PCMCIA CardBus).

Otherwise it's USB or Firewire.

BTW Echo makes a nice little FireWire unit "AudioFire2" that some people are checking out:

Watch this thread for possible reviews:
http://www.native-instruments.com/f...ead.php?t=45795

official site: http://echoaudio.com/Products/FireW...Fire2/index.php

I'm not here to really recommend anything, just provide some info on what I have, which is an M-Audio Firewire Audiophile. It's a very nice interface. It has a solid build, and a nice I/O configuration which suits my needs and possible future needs:

FRONT:
- 1/4" headphone output with volume control and source switch
- assignable level (gain) control

BACK:
- 2 firewire ports (one to hook your computer upto, duh)
- 1 S/PDIF input, 1 S/PDIF output
- 1 MIDI input, 1 MIDI output
- 2 pairs of stereo RCA line outputs (read: 4 channels)
- 1 pair of stereo RCA line inputs (2 channels)

... of course it does 96KHz and 24bit sampling etc.

I think the one disappointment I had with this product is that I pulled it out of the box and there was a note from the manufacturer explaining how it is dangerous to hotplug firewire devices in "some cases"... that annoys the fucking shit out of me because swapping it between my laptop and desktop means wasting time shutting down and booting up my machines. In addition, the firewire port on my laptop is a 4-pin (which is standard for laptops) and non-powered, as opposed to the 6-pin powered firewire ports common to desktop machines... USB of course is powered and thus if I had a USB soundcard it would be that much more portable.

___________________
"I played 12.30 til close at 3am at the club (Antro), following on from an Australian dj,
which seemed unusual in deepest Texas." - Judge Jules

i wouldnt go for m-audio interfaces most people have bad experiences with them (search the aldj boards for descriptions i wont get into it)...i recommend the Focusrite Saffire or the saffire LE if you're on a budget. (and ofcourse the motul ultralite if you can afford )

___________________
http://www.djandrewgarcia.com

I'm looking for a soundcard that will do my vinyl justice when I record it onto my computer.

Dont want to spend any more than about £80 - £100 and as long as it retains the sound quality of my vinyl and gives my mixes a bit more clarity, I am happy!!!

No frills, nothing fancy............just good 24 bit quality.