wrote:
> To All,
>
> I sent the below message back in September. No replies. Boo Hoo! Can any =
one
> give me an idea on which sound card I should be purchasing. PLEASE..PLEAS=
E
>
> THE MESSAGE:
>
> To the experts:
>
> I know that we have had much correspondence on the subject of soundcards.=
I
> am setting up my new computer with the biggest processor and hard drive t=
hat
> I could find. I use the sound card for importing sounds from my Panasonic=
> 3200 DAT, HHB Portadisc, and various cassette machines. Right now cost is=
> less important than quality (within reason!). So, can someone please let =
me
> know what is the BEST soundcard money can buy for the purposes stated abo=
ve?
A fast processor is important, but in addition to big hard drive, it
needs to be very fast. I use Ultra 160 SCSI drives. I'm currently
running three 72 meg Quantum Atlas drives in my G4. That's room enough
for a large number of CD's worth of sound, and they gulp the files and
scratchfiles very fast. Sound files are big. I know, not soundcards,
just a thought based on the request you made.
I tend to like the USB approach rather than a soundcard. The Roland
UA-30 I use would meet or exceed the sound quality of your recorders,
though I believe it's discontinued. And has a variety of inputs. Edirol
has a new model out that looks the same as the UA-30, except they
dropped a couple features if I remember right. And several other models
are available.
It's hard to cram that many types of I/O into the space a soundcard can
provide. You do want to have both digital and analog I/O. Unless you go
to a separate, cable connected box, soundcards tend to make you choose.
And the USB device can be out front, not back in with the spiders.
Note this is not the super expensive, absolute best and such like. More
like about the best for what you are doing, which is the way you should
choose. There are some hugely elaborate cards out there, but a waste of
money pulling in two channels from our recorders. The really fancy stuff
tends to be designed to bring in many more channels or have other
functions more suited to studio use. Easy to go overkill, which also
overkills your wallet.
Walt
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