Sound hardware roundup at DVinfo.net

Andrew Petrie · September 17th, 2002, 09:53 AM

PC users - what kind of audio set up do you have for your editing/mixing? Sound card, external mixers, software, etc.

Creatve is the most popular consumer, I may pick up the Audigy Platinum but undecided on the internal LiveDrive or the breakout box. The breakout would be less suseptable to interferance, but I'm wondering if it's really worth the $90 CDN price difference. I'll make good use of the Firewire, mic, Aux RCA, and MIDI inputs.

Rob Lohman · September 18th, 2002, 04:34 AM

I'm not much into audio myself. But what I hear from most people
who want to do a bit more with audio (music, film) is to go with a
"serious" soundcard, not a consumer product....

There are however some interesting drivers that enable all
sort of more advanced stuff with creative cards (NOT with the
extigy because it is USB and not a PCI card!!), like ASIO etc.
Check that out here: www.kxproject.com

Good luck with your choice.

p.s. a funny thing that the driver above tells is
that the chips used for the soundblasters rear
channels is of much better quality than the front
channels. So it by default swaps those channels
for a higher quality. Sweet.

Eric Richmond · September 18th, 2002, 07:15 AM

My studio is a full-fledged audio studio, and I'm adding the video into it, so my card might be a little more powerful than what you're looking for, but I use the Echo Layla24 (www.echoaudio.com) and it's wonderful. It's got WDM/ASIO/GSIF drivers that have excellent latency times, plus the analog inputs are 24bit 96khz capable, which will allow you to handle pretty much any audio you might want to import.

HTH

-Eric

Andrew Petrie · September 18th, 2002, 10:13 AM

What kind of price would something like the Layla go for? My budget as it stands right now would probably only cover the consumer level. The video component itself is costing a lot of $ :)

Eric Richmond · September 18th, 2002, 11:04 AM

I believe I paid $700 or $800 for my Layla... but this was about a year ago.. so that price might have come down.

I know m-audio has a similar and competing product called teh delta1010 which might only be about $500 with similar specs.

mind you, both of these products have support for midi in/out/thru, s/pdif input/output, 8 analog inputs and 8 analog outputs (the layla also has ADAT)... this might be more than you need.

maybe the audiophile2496 (I think its called) or the delta 44 might be more what you're looking for.. I bet those cost between 200-300 and are pretty professional quality audio cards.
Fewer number of inputs and outputs, but have high quallity DAC's in them.

the delta44 can be found at m-audio's site, and I'm not sure the website of the audiophile. (but google will know :))

HTH

-Eric

Michael Wisniewski · September 18th, 2002, 02:36 PM

Try the forums at Harmony Central it's a musician's site

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/

Specifically, you'll want to go to the Recording forums
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=9

Lots of hardcore amateurs and professional sound people and engineers - who are up to date on the latest and greatest recording hardware for the PC. You'll get some very in depth advice about anything audio and probably more than you ever wanted to know about microphones. They'll know what you're looking for.

September 17th, 2002, 09:53 AM	#1
Andrew Petrie Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 484	Sound hardware roundup PC users - what kind of audio set up do you have for your editing/mixing? Sound card, external mixers, software, etc. Creatve is the most popular consumer, I may pick up the Audigy Platinum but undecided on the internal LiveDrive or the breakout box. The breakout would be less suseptable to interferance, but I'm wondering if it's really worth the $90 CDN price difference. I'll make good use of the Firewire, mic, Aux RCA, and MIDI inputs. __________________ Andrew \| Canon XL1s, ME66, Vinten Vision 3, GlideCam V16 (for sale!)

September 18th, 2002, 04:34 AM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	I'm not much into audio myself. But what I hear from most people who want to do a bit more with audio (music, film) is to go with a "serious" soundcard, not a consumer product.... There are however some interesting drivers that enable all sort of more advanced stuff with creative cards (NOT with the extigy because it is USB and not a PCI card!!), like ASIO etc. Check that out here: www.kxproject.com Good luck with your choice. p.s. a funny thing that the driver above tells is that the chips used for the soundblasters rear channels is of much better quality than the front channels. So it by default swaps those channels for a higher quality. Sweet. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 18th, 2002, 10:13 AM	#4
Andrew Petrie Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 484	Eric What kind of price would something like the Layla go for? My budget as it stands right now would probably only cover the consumer level. The video component itself is costing a lot of $ :) __________________ Andrew \| Canon XL1s, ME66, Vinten Vision 3, GlideCam V16 (for sale!)

September 18th, 2002, 07:15 AM	#3
Eric Richmond Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, Mass Posts: 42	My studio is a full-fledged audio studio, and I'm adding the video into it, so my card might be a little more powerful than what you're looking for, but I use the Echo Layla24 (www.echoaudio.com) and it's wonderful. It's got WDM/ASIO/GSIF drivers that have excellent latency times, plus the analog inputs are 24bit 96khz capable, which will allow you to handle pretty much any audio you might want to import. HTH -Eric

September 18th, 2002, 11:04 AM	#5
Eric Richmond Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, Mass Posts: 42	I believe I paid $700 or $800 for my Layla... but this was about a year ago.. so that price might have come down. I know m-audio has a similar and competing product called teh delta1010 which might only be about $500 with similar specs. mind you, both of these products have support for midi in/out/thru, s/pdif input/output, 8 analog inputs and 8 analog outputs (the layla also has ADAT)... this might be more than you need. maybe the audiophile2496 (I think its called) or the delta 44 might be more what you're looking for.. I bet those cost between 200-300 and are pretty professional quality audio cards. Fewer number of inputs and outputs, but have high quallity DAC's in them. the delta44 can be found at m-audio's site, and I'm not sure the website of the audiophile. (but google will know :)) HTH -Eric

September 18th, 2002, 02:36 PM	#6
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Try the forums at Harmony Central it's a musician's site http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/ Specifically, you'll want to go to the Recording forums http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=9 Lots of hardcore amateurs and professional sound people and engineers - who are up to date on the latest and greatest recording hardware for the PC. You'll get some very in depth advice about anything audio and probably more than you ever wanted to know about microphones. They'll know what you're looking for.