currently bargain PCI audiocard?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <oRSte.7690$2P3.1573@reader1.news.jippii.net> hyeena@fi.sci writes:

> What is currently bargain soundcard under 200usd/euro (price vs. quality)?
>
> What I am after is:
>
> at least 4in and 6out with good converters
> midi in/out
> spdif in/out
>
> good ASIO2 drivers (multiclient preferred)

That's a lot to ask for at a bargain price (which is where I put $200
for a multi-channel I/O interface).

> next cheapest thing is to buy couple years old more expensive soundcard
> since most
> people are turning to portable use and are selling old pearls for reasonable
> price.

You have to recognize that these things get technically better (at the
same price point) with each generation. They also get cheaper. So
someone selling an older card for a price based on what he paid for it
might get you something a little cheaper than a new model but chances
are it won't sound as good.

I don't follow these things very closely any more because there's a
new one coming out every fifteen minutes or so, but in general, I'd go
for a current model if you're after the best sound, or an older model
if you're after decent sound and a smaller financial loss when you
decide to replace it.

> How about quality (drivers mainly) in older cards. How does converters
> perform if
> compared to new audiocards? I want to keep pricetag below 200usd

It depends on the manufacturer and whether he's kept the drivers up to
date for a model that's no longer current. Most of them don't, so you
might find that older hardware doesn't work all that well with newer
software.

> Or should I forget PCI and get Firewire card? Are there difference in
> performance?

Not because of PCI vs. Firewire, but it will be newer so it will have
newer converter technology inside the box, and either the driver will
be current or it will be evolving and will eventually catch up with
your software. Don't expect that it will be completely bug-free.
Nothing is, but sometimes you can be lucky enough so that the bugs
don't get in your way.

> I can live with USB1.1

Not for as many channels in and out as you want, even at 44.1 kHz. It
isn't fast enough (maybe in theory but not in practice due to
overhead). You'll need USB 2.0 or Firewire for the ten streams (plus
MIDI) that you're looking for. Six is about all you can do with USB
1.1. Since you're considering a PCI card, I guess this is going into a
real computer rather than a laptop, so you can get a USB 2.0 interface
card for cheap if your computer isn't equipped for that version.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

<mwood5nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119365301.293615.141510@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> I can't think of anything in that price range. Unless you want to try
> to track down something like the MOTU 1224. I've seen them go for
> $200-300 every once in a while. They're still pretty nice and do 8 I/O
> with digital I/O as well.
>
> What are the Delta 1010 boxes going for these days? New? Used?
> They're a step up from your (all-in-one-card), but just by a hair.
> later,
> m
>

Dont know 1010 boxes, but non box version, LT is less that 200euros in
Germany.
Something what I could live with. I probably could assume pretty decent
drivers with M-Audio

USB1.1 is what I currently use (EMAGIC EMI 2/6) but this is only with my
laptop - for desktop I could
like to have something more integrated with system.


..jukka