Hey there,

I'm using my sound card mainly to record my guitar and sometimes my ribbon mic for vocals.

I'd like to improve my signal quality. Currently I'm using a Creative X-Fi internal sound card. I know it's not a designated recording device, but its ASIO 2.0 support and high recording formats (up to 192 kHz in 24 bit) suit me well.

Nevertheless I'm not so happy with the noise level. Although a test with RMAA returned "excellent" results in terms of signal quality, I doubt that this is really state of the art recording.

So I'm looking for an external USB-interface for under 200 Dollars/Euros. I'm a newbie so I need some advice:

How is hte signal quality determined? Is it mainly just dynamic range and noise floor?

What else should I be looking for in an interface?

Can you recommend a certain interface?

I'd be happy for any hint on this!

Echo Audiofire ..check the specs and compare, you wont find something better in that pricerange. awesome interface

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4885282
This or something similar second-hand/used. You will get ALOT more quality for your money. I know it is a UK only sell but just a point that you can get alot more for your money if you do some homework/shop around/check the used market often. I tell you; Your ribbon microphone(s) will thank you for the pre-amp quality and it/they are not all modern active designs then pre-amp is crucial. Hope that helps and all the best/luck in finding a good score if you can

Dean

Isn't it FireWire only?

You could use an adapter if you got a slot..

Mackie Onyx Black jack = Excellent sound quality and preamps..amazing value for money

http://www.mackie.com/products/onyxblackjack/

You can buy it for 119 euros @ thomann now (it used to be 199)

my 2 cents..

Wow!

First of all: Thank you for your input.

I already checked out the 2i2 by Focusrite. I understand their preamps are top notch.

I'm not happy with the Onyx Blackjack not featuring any 64bit drivers. I read that these will be released in May 2012. Maybe I'll have to wait.

Does anybody have any experience with the Focusrite 2i2???

I have a focusrite 8i6 and i'm veeery happy with it. The preamps are some of the best you can find for that price and if you need low noise while recording nice preamps is just what you are looking for.
The software, thought, has had some issues running on windows but they fixed it with latest versions. Still I find the mixer interface a little confusing for starters, but maybe it's just me.