Which Soundcard?, new soundcard |
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Which Soundcard?, new soundcard |
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Jun 19 2007, 06:36 PM |
I'd go for one of the midpriced or higher X-Fi's (and I probably will get the X-Fi Elite Pro at some point myself). My "soundcard history" goes from SoundBlaster 16 over SoundBlaster 32 AWE and SoundBlaster Live to dedicated cards - some M-Audio card and my current (by now ancient) Terratec DMX 6Fire - at that time the alternative was SoundBlaster Audigy, which I really didn't like (especially not its illegitimate claim of 24 bit recording). And, as mentioned, for my next one, I'll return to Creative. I got the dedicated cards because I wanted something "good for recording". What I gained in sound quality, I lost in versatility and productivity. I quite like the Terratec, but if I wanted to have a "quick and dirty" listen to a MIDI file on the AWE or Live, I just played it through a soundbank. With the Terratec, I have to set up a software synth (which usually sounds inferior to the simple soundbank), set up GigaStudio with all the samples needed, or go through an external synth. Meaning I rarely get it done. I'm the kind of person who wants things to "just work". Creative has impressed me with ease of use and setting up - and third party (users, mainly) support. The X-Fi line has better recording and playback quality by now than my Terratec - which is already as much as I need. In addition to that, it takes a burden off the CPU - the Terratec doesn't. All it lacks is GigaStudio GSIF drivers, which I expect users will provide at some point, if they haven't already. To me it seems that these days, a lot of "dedicated" sound cards are bought without even checking if the "mainstream" card is good enough - or even better. Skipping a good choice - "since it's mainstream, it can't be good" The biggest problem with mainstream cards is latency - higher end cards have lower latency hence work better. This can become an issueif you are working with many tracks and lots of software effects, especially important if you are playing soft synths, probably not so imprtant if you are recording Drums bass and rythm guitar to solo over. I wouldn't consider a mainstream card for the reaons above, since I do a lot of recording. Dedicated recording cards are not super expensive for the entry level ones, but of corse there is no sense in spending money of you don't have to. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 20 2007, 01:10 AM |
You're absolutely right, of course, except low latency isn't a given for a higher end card - for the old Creative cards from the 90s, it's certainly true (to start with, they didn't support ASIO at all). But I need to do a lot of tweaking to get the Terratec (which was hailed as if latency issues were now a thing of the past, when it came out) to get below 10ms for 16 bit 48kHz sound - but then, it's an old card by now. On a friend's system, comparable to my own, I've easily gotten an X-Fi below 5 at any samplerate - below 2 for higher ones. More often that not these days, the problem lies with CPU, harddisk and RAM when it comes to latency rather than the soundcard itself. Heck, ASIO4ALL lowers latency on even very low end cards to below acceptable levels. Then again, I wouldn't guarantee that experience for everyone. There you go then - sounds like the X-Fi would be great if you can get the latency that low - that was really my only concern - high end creative cards have always been good, and the ASIO4ALL drivers work great with Reaper for example. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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