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Topic: Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff (Read 4807 times) previous topic - next topic
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Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

I want set up a home studio for myself and some friends

I'm using some guitar amp simulation plugins and I'm bothered with the noise(because of the added gain).
I've got an Audiophile 2496 and the driver is rather basic,
other cards have some interesting functions in their drivers that the Audiophile 2496 does'nt have.
I only need 2 analog in & out, Midi in & out and digital in & out.
The Emu 1212M looks interesting, is supposed to have 20 dB lower noise level than AP2496.
The ESI Juli@ also looks interesting but I havent seem any reviews of it yet.
Are there any other good choices for my needs?

I have problems finding a cheap solution for headphone amplification and microphone amplification.
I looking for a cheap headphone amp for two headphones with seperate volume controls.
And I'm looking for something like an Audio Buddy but cheaper.

Also I'm looking for a good cheap headphone and monitor speakers, I have no idea what to get.

I think i'm gonna get a cheap large membrane condenser microphone,
everybody I've talked to said there all pretty much the same and this would be a good start.

All suggestions are wellcome
Thanks in advance

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #1 –
Quote
Also I'm looking for good cheap [...] monitor speakers
I recommend the M-Audio BX8.  Pleasant for listening, good for mixing, and has good bass response for once.  You can listen to them all day and not get fatigued.  They're pretty bright, but the attenuation switches (yay!) on the back take care of that.  Paid $480 total from an ebay vendor.

Fostex PM-1 are pretty good for their price.  You can get them for ~$220 or so if you look hard enough (I found a local DJ shop that was having a sale).  The sound can be kinda lifeless (dunno how to put it) but it's flat enough for mixing b/c that's what monitors are for... and they have decent bass response too.

M-Audio BX5 might be good if you don't care about bass response and a small, place-able set of monitors would be preferrable (these monitors are tiny!).  They sound good but under 120 Hz is a lost cause w/o a sub.  Word has it they have no "depth" (i.e. soundstage is flat) but I've only demo'ed them briefly
seanny.net

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #2 –
I assume you are running a guitar into the card since you mentioned amp mod plugins?  Are you using a DI box?
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #3 –
Quote
I assume you are running a guitar into the card since you mentioned amp mod plugins?  Are you using a DI box?

No. I plug the guitar directly into the line input which adds some noise. On some high gain settings I get 40 dB noise. If I would have used a DI box I would get 60 dB noise. If I had a lower noise level from the card I would get even less, maby 80 dB with a Emu 1212M.

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #4 –
Er, I don't know much about guitars, but won't you just need a preamp? If guitars are not line-level then using line-level inputs of the audiophile would give a quality way below what the card is capable of.

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #5 –
Quote
I'm using some guitar amp simulation plugins and I'm bothered with the noise(because of the added gain).

The noise problem is likely from your guitar. You should at least put a buffer between the guitar and the sound card (any modern guitar pedal put on bypass usually works for this). If possible, use dedicated guitar preamp or some pedal that can provide clean gain (I've used bass compressor with treshold set to max & ratio to 1:1 with good results).

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #6 –
Quote
Quote
I assume you are running a guitar into the card since you mentioned amp mod plugins?  Are you using a DI box?

No. I plug the guitar directly into the line input which adds some noise. On some high gain settings I get 40 dB noise. If I would have used a DI box I would get 60 dB noise. If I had a lower noise level from the card I would get even less, maby 80 dB with a Emu 1212M.

Do yourself a favor and invest in a DI box (~$30), and save yourself alot of hassles.  It's not just the gain, but also the impedence that is different.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #7 –
I am aware that I should use a DI box. But since these amp simulator plug-in ad a lot of gain after the AD converter just geting a DI box won't be enough to get lower noise in my setup. My pickups are pretty quiet exept the single coil pick-up which rather hums. I never use any stupid pedals cause there noisy and ussually sound bad.

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #8 –
Quote
I am aware that I should use a DI box. But since these amp simulator plug-in ad a lot of gain after the AD converter just geting a DI box won't be enough to get lower noise in my setup. My pickups are pretty quiet exept the single coil pick-up which rather hums. I never use any stupid pedals cause there noisy and ussually sound bad.

The correct approach would be to use a clean high impedance preamp before your soundcard and then lower the input level setting in the amp simulator. If you're using very high gain amp emulations, you might want to add a noise-gate before the amp (like many guitarists have).
If you don't want to use any existing pedals, you could also build a clean preamp pedal easily. Schematic for one such preamp can be found  here.

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #9 –
Quote
Quote
I am aware that I should use a DI box. But since these amp simulator plug-in ad a lot of gain after the AD converter just geting a DI box won't be enough to get lower noise in my setup. My pickups are pretty quiet exept the single coil pick-up which rather hums. I never use any stupid pedals cause there noisy and ussually sound bad.

The correct approach would be to use a clean high impedance preamp before your soundcard and then lower the input level setting in the amp simulator. If you're using very high gain amp emulations, you might want to add a noise-gate before the amp (like many guitarists have).
If you don't want to use any existing pedals, you could also build a clean preamp pedal easily. Schematic for one such preamp can be found  here.

Thank you for your suggestions.
Do you think an Audio Buddy by M-Audio would be a good preamp for guitar and microphones:
http://m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.m...cca5c6497eb437b

Or should I make an electrician build me a preamp?

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #10 –
E-MU 1820 and 1820m came with Mic pre-amp.
Break The Rules!!!
 

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #11 –
The DI box was invented for a reason; for this exact reason.  Use that going into the soundcard input and then use windows mixer.  You'll be fine.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #12 –
Quote
The DI box was invented for a reason; for this exact reason.  Use that going into the soundcard input and then use windows mixer.  You'll be fine.

Can you recommend a good DI box that has very low noise?
Or perhaps and Audio Buddy like solution, that is both DI box and mic amp?

Need help choosing a sound card and other stuff

Reply #13 –
I don't know if a DI will work, but a small mixer certainly will.  I bought a Behringer UB502 to plug my guitar into and it works a charm.  Nice low noise - also I have a audiophile 2496 too.  I think you will have to spend ALOT of money to buy a soundcard with cleaner ins than this.  And it won't help you too much if you still plug your guitar straight in.

Edit: oh btw the mixer is about $30-50 US I think.  Plus it has two stereo ins for additional instruments.