I've been wanting to get an M-audio Soundcard for a long time, and I had my heart set on the 2496 for awhile, but I am now considering the M-audio Audiophile USB.

What I want is a high end, no bullshit card for recording mixes And possibly ripping Vinyl (i know i will need a phono preamp for this too). I don't want to play games with it, or watch DVDs in surround sound or anything like that.

My computer is running windows XP pro, 1Gb RAM, Athlon 2500+, 120Gb HDD. I'm currently running the built in soundcard on my mobo, but it's not very good quality. I might be interested at some point in the future in using some mixing software like traktor on my computer using the built in card as headphone output, and the m-audio as the mains. Is this going to be possible here? It's not a big deal, i have decks and a mixer already, but i might want to throw down some mp3s one day.

My highest priority here is Sound Quality, and I am inclined to believe that the USB would have better sound quality. Space is not a priority in my machine, i have tons of space.

I've done some research and the USB seems to be a bit better, and a bit more money. Then again, the 2496 is a highly recommended card, used by many DJs for this purpose. Here is a little more on each card, can you help me decide?

M-Audio Audiophile USB

http://www.core-sound.com/audiophile_usb.html
Specifications:
Signal-Noise Ratio: D->A 107dB; A->D 109dB
Max Sampling Rate: 24-bit/96KHz
Input/Output: Simple USB connectivity for audio and MIDI, 2 Analog Audio In(1/4" or RCA)/Out(RCA), Coaxial S/PDIF In/Out, MIDI In/Out, Headphone Out(1/4")
PC/Macintosh Interface: USB
Supported OS: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP; Mac OS 9.x/OS 10.1 or higher




M-Audio Audiophile 2496

http://www.core-sound.com/audiophile_2496.html
Specifications:
Frequency Response: 22-22KHz, -0.4, -0.4dB
Signal-Noise Ratio: D->A 104dB; A->D 100.4dB
Max Sampling Rate: 24-bit/96KHz
Input/Output: Break-out cable to gold-plated RCA jacks, 4 Out, 4 In, S/PDIF Digital I/O
PC/Macintosh Interface: PCI
Drivers: Windows 95/98, ASIO/ASIO2, Mac, GSIF, DirectX and Windows NT/2000 drivers

I think maybe a portion of the core-sound page explains it best:

quote:

Which Should I Choose: Audiophile USB or Audiophile 2496? Both soundcards have excellent specificiations and features. The USB Audiophile has better dynamic range specifications. If you are using a laptop PC or Mac that doesn't offer a PCI slot or a desktop PC that doesn't have a spare PCI slot, the Audiophile USB is the obvious choice. If you have an older PC or laptop that has an inadequate USB interface controller, you should prefer the Audiophile 2496.

This says to me, get the USB! but I am open to other peoples views, please let me know what you think.

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