I second this. The convertors of built in audio cards in most cases are totally crap, with bad ripples in the frequency curve, unstable clock, noise and zipper noises when using software. They are adequate for gaming, but not for serious music production.timobrien wrote:Onboard soundcards have chips cheaper than one of these:
ASIO4all is a great hack but you REALLY want to replace the junk. ALWAYS.
Do I need a proper soundcard?
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- KVRist
- 154 posts since 10 Apr, 2011
All soundcards sound the same (sarGasm)-
- Banned
- 1373 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Finland
The chips on pro cards are cheaper than chocolate bars too.mclane wrote:I second this. The convertors of built in audio cards in most cases are totally crap, with bad ripples in the frequency curve, unstable clock, noise and zipper noises when using software. They are adequate for gaming, but not for serious music production.timobrien wrote:Onboard soundcards have chips cheaper than one of these:
ASIO4all is a great hack but you REALLY want to replace the junk. ALWAYS.
Modern HD Audio chips are actually quite good. The output of my Mobo is quite a bit clearer than the one from my pro soundcard.
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- KVRist
- 154 posts since 10 Apr, 2011
The chip is only one of three components in a convertor. The second is the sample clock generator, the third the analog circuitry before the chip. The chip itself is the cheapest of the three and needs no engineering since it can be bought as it is and so easily also can be found on cheap soundcards. But the chip is not all.
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35433 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
for variable values of 'serious', of course. i'm sure plenty of people would have told Springsteen 'that portastudio isnt for serious music production',mclane wrote:I second this. The convertors of built in audio cards in most cases are totally crap, with bad ripples in the frequency curve, unstable clock, noise and zipper noises when using software. They are adequate for gaming, but not for serious music production.ASIO4all is a great hack but you REALLY want to replace the junk. ALWAYS.
the question is not 'are they good enough', but 'are they good enough for person X under circumstances Y'. Sometimes they are. Four Tet got on just fine with a gaming card, and the microphone that came with it. Mileages vary, bits of string are different lengths.
Personally, I'd rather have access to a fully ASIO-compliant soundcard, but not having one wouldnt ever stop me from working.
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- KVRist
- 349 posts since 16 Dec, 2008 from Washington State
Audio interfaces can be had for less than $100.00. It would be worth it to shop around for one and read reviews etc. Just make sure the drivers are compatible with your computer's OS. So my vote goes for you to buy one opposed to using the
integrated sound card and Asio4all.
integrated sound card and Asio4all.