Old 10-31-2007, 12:55 PM   #1
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Default Sound quality of Sound Cards

I am slowly working towards a new sound card. I mean slowly because I am just looking at the market and try to find the best price but also the best quality. I have bought a Echo Gina card, some 10 years ago. It was terribly expensive for me but made all the difference with the Turtle Beach card that I had before. The Gina has never failed me but it has no midi options and that is getting more and more something that tickles the back of my brain (and, yes I also want a new toy).

For a laptop concert I bought myself an Edirol UA1ex which is cheap AND supposed to deliver 24bits ADDA conversion. But when I compare that card to the sound quality of good old Gina, she really blows Roland of the desk. Still, after all these years.

In the posts in these forums I see a lot of questions and replies about features, about the number of channels in/out, about what kind of connectors can be used, about throughput of Firewire vs. USB2 and the likes. But how about the sound that the card gets into the computer and what it gets out?
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Old 10-31-2007, 01:30 PM   #2
Diogenes
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Here is a link with bunches of cards audio test results from testing with the Rightmark Audio Analyzer.

http://learjeff.net/RMAA/results.html

D
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Old 10-31-2007, 01:45 PM   #3
happymonkey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by earlabs View Post
I am slowly working towards a new sound card. I mean slowly because I am just looking at the market and try to find the best price but also the best quality. I have bought a Echo Gina card, some 10 years ago. It was terribly expensive for me but made all the difference with the Turtle Beach card that I had before. The Gina has never failed me but it has no midi options and that is getting more and more something that tickles the back of my brain (and, yes I also want a new toy).

For a laptop concert I bought myself an Edirol UA1ex which is cheap AND supposed to deliver 24bits ADDA conversion. But when I compare that card to the sound quality of good old Gina, she really blows Roland of the desk. Still, after all these years.

In the posts in these forums I see a lot of questions and replies about features, about the number of channels in/out, about what kind of connectors can be used, about throughput of Firewire vs. USB2 and the likes. But how about the sound that the card gets into the computer and what it gets out?
The 1st card I had was an Echo Gina 20 that sounded great. Probably the same one you have. I pulled it 4-5 years ago to get MIDI I/O and more inputs. I did a lot of research to be sure I was getting the best I could get at the time without completely breaking the bank.

If you have an open PCI slot, you can't go wrong with the M-Audio Delta series. I have two Delta 1010's ATM (full/rack version) and they sound great to my ears. I've never seen a negative review of them anywhere. The 1010LT isn't as good IMO because the converters are inside the PC case and can be more susceptible to picking up RF interference. The 1010 rack version has balanced I/O is dead silent. I also have an Audiophile 192 that I'm equally impressed with but is it only 2 in and 2 out with MIDI.

Since a lot of people have moved on to firewire, you can probably pick up a 1010 on eBay for around $250-300 that will serve you well. I think they're still around $400 new but worth every penny.

hm
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Old 10-31-2007, 02:35 PM   #4
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Nice little guide here:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards...ome_studio.htm

Personally I started out with an Echo Mia 2channel card and then went to a Motu828mkII and have been VERY happy with both of 'em.
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Old 11-01-2007, 12:18 AM   #5
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Thanks guys!

that helps me a lot!
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