Once again the common question, what kind of sound card ...

[Durk]

... should replace my SBLive?

Hi guys and girls!

I'm in a little need here... I want to replace my SBLive with something better, but no too expensive. What are my options? As of now, I've found these:

- Terratec SoundSystem Aureon 7.1 Space - €81.00 - link
- Terratec SoundSystem Aureon 7.1 Universe - €168.00 - link
- Terratec SoundSystem DMX 6FIRE 24/96 - €168.00 - link
- Terratec PHASE 22 - €154.00 - link
- Terratec PHASE 28 - €255.00 - link
- M-Audio Audiophile 2496 - € 199.00 - link

And what about the brand "Marian"... anybody familiar with it?

Anyway, the prices listed above make up the price region I'm searching in.

My wishes are pretty simple... (very) low ASIO latency, at least one MIDI input, at least one MIDI output, at least capable of recording and playing in 24/96, not too bad AD/DA converters. I don't need a lot of audio in- and outputs.

Furtheron... did I forget to mention some other cards?

Thanks in advance! I hope you can help me out!

[kuniklo]

... should replace my SBLive?

Hi guys and girls!

I'm in a little need here... I want to replace my SBLive with something better, but no too expensive. What are my options? As of now, I've found these:

- Terratec SoundSystem Aureon 7.1 Space - €81.00 - link
- Terratec SoundSystem Aureon 7.1 Universe - €168.00 - link
- Terratec SoundSystem DMX 6FIRE 24/96 - €168.00 - link
- Terratec PHASE 22 - €154.00 - link
- Terratec PHASE 28 - €255.00 - link
- M-Audio Audiophile 2496 - € 199.00 - link

And what about the brand "Marian"... anybody familiar with it?

Anyway, the prices listed above make up the price region I'm searching in.

My wishes are pretty simple... (very) low ASIO latency, at least one MIDI input, at least one MIDI output, at least capable of recording and playing in 24/96, not too bad AD/DA converters. I don't need a lot of audio in- and outputs.

Furtheron... did I forget to mention some other cards?

Thanks in advance! I hope you can help me out!

Emu 1212M. Better than 2496.

[Durk]

Emu 1212M. Better than 2496.

And also better than all other listed cards? I'm somewhat hesitating to pick up a card which has a relationship with Creative... Is this fear ungrouded?

[maximilians1]

Durk do you use the kx audio drivers? with your sblive? www.kxproject.com
I get 5 ms. asio latency with these, you might want to check them out while your deciding on a new card. I hear lots of good stuff about the maudio 2496 and here is a link to the emu 1212m review

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1 ... 056,00.asp

Have fun shoppin

[Durk]

Durk do you use the kx audio drivers? with your sblive? www.kxproject.com
I get 5 ms. asio latency with these, you might want to check them out while your deciding on a new card.

Yeah, I've got them running for more than a year now, I suppose. Otherwise I would have bought a new card much earlier. Anyway, thanks for pointing out! I'm sure there's still some people running without the kX drivers!

I hear lots of good stuff about the maudio 2496 and here is a link to the emu 1212m review

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1 ... 056,00.asp

Have fun shoppin

Thanks! I'll have a look at that article!!

[MelodyMan]

Don't forget the ESI-cards.

Two best to get:
1. ESI Waveterminal 192x (got it and love it, around
€ 200,00)
2. ESI Juli (new card with same high quality converters but only € 149,00)

Look at www.esi-pro.com

[Durk]

Thanks for you contribution MelodyMan!

You seem to live in the Netherlands, don't you? If so, do you have any idea where to get those ESI cards in the Netherlands?

[kuniklo]

Emu 1212M. Better than 2496.

And also better than all other listed cards? I'm somewhat hesitating to pick up a card which has a relationship with Creative... Is this fear ungrouded?

I can only compare it directly to the Audiophile, which is what it replaced in my system. Other users have reported replacing $500 RME cards with an EMU with great results.

I too was very wary of signing up with anything associated with Creative, but so far I'm very happy with my 1212M. It was very cheap at $200, sounds noticeably better than my 2496, has balanced outputs, which work a lot better with my monitors, and the drivers have been rock solid at 4ms latency so far.

EMU has also wisely allowed you to add other components to gradually upgrade to the full 1820M package. I can add the EmulatorX software or the audio dock separately later at no extra cost above the full 1820M package. I haven't looked into the onboard effects at all yet but it looks like there's some interesting stuff there too.

[Durk]

Emu 1212M. Better than 2496.

And also better than all other listed cards? I'm somewhat hesitating to pick up a card which has a relationship with Creative... Is this fear ungrouded?

I can only compare it directly to the Audiophile, which is what it replaced in my system. Other users have reported replacing $500 RME cards with an EMU with great results.

I too was very wary of signing up with anything associated with Creative, but so far I'm very happy with my 1212M. It was very cheap at $200, sounds noticeably better than my 2496, has balanced outputs, which work a lot better with my monitors, and the drivers have been rock solid at 4ms latency so far.

EMU has also wisely allowed you to add other components to gradually upgrade to the full 1820M package. I can add the EmulatorX software or the audio dock separately later at no extra cost above the full 1820M package. I haven't looked into the onboard effects at all yet but it looks like there's some interesting stuff there too.

Hmm that sounds good indeed... ExtremeTech reported some issues with the drivers at that moment. No 96/24 recording for WDM/DirectSound... Is this solved already?

[kuniklo]

Hmm that sounds good indeed... ExtremeTech reported some issues with the drivers at that moment. No 96/24 recording for WDM/DirectSound... Is this solved already?

The WDM drivers suck. The limitations are still there in the current drivers. You also can't use any of the effects above 48k. The review on Sound on Sound is pretty thorough if you're interested.

I don't care about this because all I really need is a reasonably priced card with good converters and solid low-latency ASIO drivers but if WDM performance is important for you it might not be the right thing.

[Durk]

The WDM drivers suck. The limitations are still there in the current drivers. You also can't use any of the effects above 48k. The review on Sound on Sound is pretty thorough if you're interested.

I don't care about this because all I really need is a reasonably priced card with good converters and solid low-latency ASIO drivers but if WDM performance is important for you it might not be the right thing.

Nah, only ASIO is important here. Anyway, will those Creative guys finally learn that they should release fully working drivers?

[Reverend Rhythm]

I uae echo's midi mia and am very happy with it.

[kuniklo]

The WDM drivers suck. The limitations are still there in the current drivers. You also can't use any of the effects above 48k. The review on Sound on Sound is pretty thorough if you're interested.

I don't care about this because all I really need is a reasonably priced card with good converters and solid low-latency ASIO drivers but if WDM performance is important for you it might not be the right thing.

Nah, only ASIO is important here. Anyway, will those Creative guys finally learn that they should release fully working drivers?

In this case at least I agree with their priorities. Obviously they haven't had the time or the manpower to put together completely solid drivers. It makes sense that they'd focus on getting ASIO right first, which they have, and then get everything else working. If they still don't have good WDM drivers in a year I'll be a little more irritated but the ASIO stuff has been trouble-free so far and that's a lot more than I could ever say for any of my soundblasters.

[MelodyMan]

Thanks for you contribution MelodyMan!

You seem to live in the Netherlands, don't you? If so, do you have any idea where to get those ESI cards in the Netherlands?

You can get them at Feedback Rotterdam and i'm sure all other stores from them in the Netherlands too. On the internet: www.feedback.nl

Good luck!

[anopenscroll]

Kuniklo, regarding ease of use... I'm pleased that the ASIO drivers are good. How easy (or hard) is it to route inputs/outputs in the software that comes with the card itself?