KVR Audio

axedog · Post by **axedog** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:42 am

It's been a few years since I have upgraded my recording hardware. I have been using a Turtle Beach pinnacle card (ISA) for the last 6 years or so, and it's served me well, but the time has come to upgrade. The trouble is that I'm a bit out of touch with the latest gear. Perhaps some of you could advise me. There seems to be some divided opinion over which is the best way to go. Some users recommend PCI cards due to their low latency. Others suggest USB for their low noise due to DC power. I have heard good reports about the M-AUdio Audiophile 2496 and the Delta 44 Can anyone offer some expert advice about the best card to buy?

I will be using it for home recording. This should be of fairly high quality. I don't need to record several instruments simultaneously, so 2 inputs is enough. I would like to use VST instruments and effects in real-time. Phantom power would also be good. Should I be buying a card that supports phantom power, or should I buy a mixer for that?
All advice is much appreciated.

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:50 am

In case 2 Ins/Outs (plus digital and MIDI) are sufficient for you, you can't go wrong with the Audiophile.
Reportedly great drivers, good sounding converters, multi-client use, easy to install.
Prices dropped ridiculously as well (69 Euro, from what I know).

j_T · Post by **j_T** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:25 pm

I second Sascha's recommendation.

As for phantom power: These days you can get mixers with decent mic preamps plus phantom power in a fairly low price range (Yamaha, Behringer, Tapco, etc.). So the combination of e.g. an audiophile 24/96 and a mixer can turn out to be the less expensive solution and it might give you better/easier routing possibilities.

Tommy

maxlef · Post by **maxlef** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 6:33 pm

I have an Audiophile and a Digi001, and the Audiophile sounds like sh*t regarding the Digi001.

Audiophile converters s*cks. don't buy it

zircon · Post by **zircon** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:16 pm

I recommend the new E-MU 0404. It's cheaper than the Audiophile ($100 vs. $150), has a range of DSP effects, and sounds great. I think there is only one set of analog ins (and of course MIDI + digital), but that should not be a problem when you can pick up a nice, phantom power preamp/mixer for $50-$75 (which you should have anyway). I've been using this card on my new machine and it definitely sounds better than my old Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - no problems yet.

papatomany · Post by **papatomany** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:41 pm

Well, I'm in the same boat as you Axedog (living with a SBLive value!) and have decided to get the EMU 0404 for sure. (It'll be a month or two.) It looks like it's the real deal and easily the best quality for price I've run across.

seamoss · Post by **seamoss** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:47 pm

I have the Omni Studio with the Delta 66 and it is, and always been, amazing!

I run it with 1ms of latency.

IMO....M-Audio stuff is top quality.

ianscott111 · Post by **ianscott111** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:10 pm

Hi,

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I was wondering if anyone uses an Echo Indigo PCMCIA audio card? I'm thinking about using a different audio interface than my MOTU 828, as I THINK i want to start recording at 96khz, and the 828 mkII is too expensive for me right now.

Ian

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 12:32 am

Let me just ask one thing:
What are you using any sound cards onboard effects in these days of fast computers?
Yeah sure, in case they are of exceedingly great quality... but are they?
In all other cases I prefer native processing (without any routing hassle, offline bouncing and what not), even if it was for total recall only. I am permanently running my songs on different systems, so using sound card effects would add nothing but pain.

Regarding the M-Audio converters: I find them to sound really nice for the money and allready did some professional recordings through them.
Especially considering that Digidesigns drivers have allways been known (and still are) to be utter shite (unless you're using PT), considering that the 001 is quite another league in terms of pricing as well, nobody could really be serious about doing such a comparison.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 12:38 am

if you only had fire wire

....this is making me think a new pc http://www.presonus.com/firepod.html

zircon · Post by **zircon** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:05 am

Sascha Franck wrote:Let me just ask one thing:
What are you using any sound cards onboard effects in these days of fast computers?
Yeah sure, in case they are of exceedingly great quality... but are they?
In all other cases I prefer native processing (without any routing hassle, offline bouncing and what not), even if it was for total recall only. I am permanently running my songs on different systems, so using sound card effects would add nothing but pain.

Regarding the M-Audio converters: I find them to sound really nice for the money and allready did some professional recordings through them.
Especially considering that Digidesigns drivers have allways been known (and still are) to be utter shite (unless you're using PT), considering that the 001 is quite another league in terms of pricing as well, nobody could really be serious about doing such a comparison.

I have a P4 3.0ghz processor with 2GB of RAM, and I don't use any huge effects - simple "Classic", MDA, and FL stuff. Yet usually within the first minute of a song I have 10 mixer tracks filled with effects and my CPU is already at 40-50%. I haven't used the 0404's effects yet, since I'm still getting my audio setup just right, but I have a feeling they'll be quite useful.

j_T · Post by **j_T** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:23 am

axedog,

You might like to watch this thread:

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54026

Tommy

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:35 am

zircon wrote: I have a P4 3.0ghz processor with 2GB of RAM, and I don't use any huge effects - simple "Classic", MDA, and FL stuff. Yet usually within the first minute of a song I have 10 mixer tracks filled with effects and my CPU is already at 40-50%.

A) that still leaves another 40-50%
B) I really wonder what sort of complexed productions you're doing.

In case I'm not using any luxurious reverbs or large numbered voicings on CPU expensive synths, I almost never run out of CPU power.
The secret here is using bus FX cleverly it seems. I don't need a different reverb on each source, so I just use 1-2 and set them up on busses.
Yes, in case I'd do some professional productions I may run out of power as well, but in that case I would perhaps go for another card as well... and maybe for another computer too.

Kajiki · Post by **Kajiki** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:38 am

The Delta card is good, but if you are planning to use the Powercore card in future, avoid the Delta; the Delta is not compatible with the Powercore. Otherwise the delta+omni is a good choice. You can buy used ones for less than $200.

Har · Post by **Har** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:42 am

Another vote for the Audiophile 24/96: my previous card was the Turtle Beach Pinnacle as well (as part of the Pinnacle Project Studio system...and before I discovered everything else

)...and I replaced it with the Audiophile and have been thrilled with the results.
I used to like the Pinnacle, but with it's horribly buggy drivers (which used to blue-screen my system all the time) and TB's tendency to fairly quickly abandon it's products, it was a bit of a night-and-day comparison for me when I moved on to the Audiophile.

Sound cards