sound card recomendation for windows pc

[Dan Farzad]

I have a dual core system with 2 gigs of ram. the built in sound card that has come with the system has major driver issue and i'm tired of messing around with it.
I wanted to get you guy's recomendation for a quality sound card that i can rely on if need to do voice over as well.
this model is on sale
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Sound Card

http://www.buy.com/prod/Creative_Sou...tml?adid=17662

but i think its a bit too much I really dont understand what are the bells and wistle for. but sure looks cool :)
however if recomended i will go for it.

[David Ennis]

Do you want to spend $400 on a gaming card? I don't even see balanced inputs mentioned for that product.

I gather that what you really want is a card for recording and mixing audio. Check these out instead. Notice in particular the M-Audio Delta 1010LT "top seller" model. I've seen it spoken highly of by some of the pros in this forum.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...sc&fi=all&pn=1

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Dan Farzad

I have a dual core system with 2 gigs of ram. the built in sound card that has come with the system has major driver issue and i'm tired of messing around with it.
I wanted to get you guy's recomendation for a quality sound card that i can rely on if need to do voice over as well.
this model is on sale
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Sound Card

http://www.buy.com/prod/Creative_Sou...tml?adid=17662

but i think its a bit too much I really dont understand what are the bells and wistle for. but sure looks cool :)
however if recomended i will go for it.

I have an Echo AudioFire 8 that I like very much. Firewire interface, 2 mic/instrument inputs with mic preamps and phantom power, 6 analog line inputs, 8 line outputs, 2 channels SPDIF/AES digital i/o, MIDI interface, word clock i/o and headphones out.

The Audigy is a nice enough card for gaming and watching DVDs - I had one in my PC before upgrading to the Echo, still there in fact - but it doesn't have quite the performance or some of the features such as balanced professional +4dBu analog i/o and phantom power that are good to have for a studio interface. On the other hand, it's virtually certain to be better than the builtin sound card you have now.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

The Audigy is also well-known to be a resource hog, and the drivers aren't exactly happy to work with professional equipment.
Google around the web, you'll find lots of problems with Audigy cards in prosumer and low-end professional environs.
Look at Echo, M-Audio, even Creative's own Emu series for better cards.

[Dan Farzad]

Originally Posted by Douglas Spotted Eagle

The Audigy is also well-known to be a resource hog, and the drivers aren't exactly happy to work with professional equipment.
Google around the web, you'll find lots of problems with Audigy cards in prosumer and low-end professional environs.
Look at Echo, M-Audio, even Creative's own Emu series for better cards.

this m aduio 1010lt is amazing but i was not looking to spend this much money.
in fact i have a mackie 1202 mixer laying around from before that used for live band.
using that and a decent sound card should give me a good sound for voice overs right?
in the range of $50- 100 would u guys recommend anything?

[Dan Farzad]

Originally Posted by Douglas Spotted Eagle

The Audigy is also well-known to be a resource hog, and the drivers aren't exactly happy to work with professional equipment.
Google around the web, you'll find lots of problems with Audigy cards in prosumer and low-end professional environs.
Look at Echo, M-Audio, even Creative's own Emu series for better cards.

this m aduio 1010lt is amazing but i was not looking to spend this much money.
in fact i have a mackie 1202 mixer laying around from before that used for live band.
using that and a decent sound card should give me a good sound for voice overs right?
in the range of $50- 100 would u guys recommend anything?

[Henry Cho]

for about 150 bucks, you can get the m-audio delta 44, with breakout box. i've used both m-audio and echo cards (currently have a delta 66 installed) -- they're excellent.

[Brian Standing]

Echo MiaMidi. $125. 24/96, 1/4" inputs, S/PDIF in/out, flawless drivers, superb quality, rock-solid.

'nuff said.

[Dan Farzad]

Originally Posted by Brian Standing

Echo MiaMidi. $125. 24/96, 1/4" inputs, S/PDIF in/out, flawless drivers, superb quality, rock-solid.

'nuff said.

what is S/PDIF?

[Emre Safak]

That's the digital interface you will use to transport digital audio (PCM,AC3,DTS) to your receiver.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Echo Mia is a mighty fine card - I have one connected to a Mackie 1202 and it makes a good combination for all sorts of stereo in and out.

The Mia is +4 TRS balanced - exactly what the 1202's outputs are (there's a second pair of xlr outputs from the 1202 as well).

It really is a great combination.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Brian Standing

Echo MiaMidi. $125. 24/96, 1/4" inputs, S/PDIF in/out, flawless drivers, superb quality, rock-solid.

Yep. That or an M-Audio Audiophile 192. They are roughly the same price and have roughly the same specs. I've used both successfully.

The main advantage of these cards is that they have balanced I/O, which will interface perfectly with your 1202. (I use my AP192 with a Mackie 1402VLZ Pro, and am very pleased.) They also support higher end interfaces such as ASIO and GSIF-2 (for use with professional software).

These card offer everything you need for monitoring. For recording it will work well enough through your Mackie preamps, but, as usual, you can get better results if you spend more cash. For top recording a high end A/D with a rock-solid clock and a boutique pre-amp matched to god's own mic will deliver goose bumps, but that's not in either of our budgets.

The bottom line is that either of these cards (or others mentioned above) will be all you need to deliver beautiful sounds to your monitors.