Started learning on ableton recently. Going to get myself a soundcard but dont know which one to go for. Could anyone give me any advice on what to go for? Have myself 2x KRK Rokit r8's with my DJ setup, going to use them for my production when i get going. Can anyone recommend a decent soundcard that would suit me for around £120 - $200?

I have an Alienware m14x laptop, Intel Quad core i7-2630QX Cpu @ 2.00GHz with 6GB RAM.

Also was wondering will the laptop I have be decent enough for a while to get me started? Literately have no idea what to look for in a music production system and dont fancy spending on a new system yet.

If you're not going to record anything from sources outside your computer, you can't go wrong with Traktor Audio 2.

___________________
Here's my latest: rolling tech house and laid-back progressive trance

http://soundcloud.com/wayfu



Chronology – a wayfinder discography in progress. Roughly sorted by date of creation.

My Focusrite Pro 24 works well, got a decent deal on it. Didn't bother with the DSP version.

quote:

Originally posted by wayfinder If you're not going to record anything from sources outside your computer, you can't go wrong with Traktor Audio 2.

except for the endless list of users that experience dropouts and latency. Of all the interfaces you pick one that has a specific purpose for which he is not using and is just a shitty interface overall.

ace advice.

to the OP, PC laptops can be a nightmare. You need to cross reference your chipset with the interface in question and see who has the same thing running an interface that is stable. Don't go firewire or what ever it is they call it on a pc.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

vv Traktor Audio works for me, and they threw in a free copy of their DJ software, at €79 that's basically a free sound card.

___________________
Here's my latest: rolling tech house and laid-back progressive trance

http://soundcloud.com/wayfu



Chronology – a wayfinder discography in progress. Roughly sorted by date of creation.

Saffire 6 is pretty rock solid and cheap. You'll find loads of them on Ebay.

Those Rokit 8s are rubbish btw. Fine for DJ'ing, but poor for producing.

___________________
Soundcloud

I'll look into it cheers. Yea heard they weren't great but it's all I have at the minute. What moniters would you recommend at a decent price mate? Next on the lists I think.

Well it all depends on budget, but the Equator D5s have a fantastic rep right now, as do the JBL LSR2326P's.

They're both smaller 5" cones so you might miss a little bit of bass in there. Too much is arguably worse than not enough though, so 8" cones are probably not a great idea unless you have a good treated room.

I recently bought a pair of Tannoy 601A's for very little money and they're a good compromise between size/price and performance.

If you have more money then the Focal CMS65s are outstanding.

___________________
Soundcloud

apogee duet 2

Just got a saffire 6 USB for £90. Went with that. Had some pretty solid reviews. Thanks a lot, appreciate the replies )