[size=4] Hello! I am looking to buy my husband a sound card.. we were looking at the Asus D2/PM.. however, we waited for Comtex in Asia to finish, so that maybe we could see what was coming up next. And my hubby was really impressed with the new HD Asus card coming out.. I can't remember what it is, but it has a daughterboard for the HD, if my memory serves. I have also discovered a Canadian source for the HT Omega Claro+ card. So I am now confused....

1)We don't plan on going HD yet, so is it worth it to wait for the Asus AV Audio card to have that option available to us, if the price for the soundcard is within our range?

2) When I checked out the HT Omega card, the DAC was done by AKM. I have never heard of them... are they on the same level as Burr-Brown?

3) For those who have used the Asus D2 and the HT Omega Claro Plus, IYO which card is better? My husband does a LOT of inputting to the computer with old tapes and records and edits them.

Thanks for the help!

Do you need a surround sound card? If not, the E-MU 0404USB is a reference quality USB interface box with virtually every kind of analog and digital I/O you could want, and with reference quality measured performance to boot, in every regard on every I/O. Features mic inputs, phantom voltage, balanced I/O and unbalanced I/O, optical and coax digital I/O, headphone monitoring amp and can be used stand alone without a computer for conversions between any of the I/Os.

-Chris

I had my husband check out the E-MU 0404 USB sound card, but it's not what he wants.... he wants analogue inputs, so if he has the chance to record old tapes and records to the hard drive, he'll have an input(s) for it. He did say it would be great for podcasting though.

I am hoping the Asus will bring out the pricing on their new sound cards (the A/V one and XStereoX) so I have a better idea of which card to get him.

I would also like to know more about AKM and their quality of DACs on the HT Omega Claro Plus.

The 0404 has exceptionally good line level analogue inputs, as well as microphone and digital inputs.

That's odd.... I had my husband inspect the front, top and back images of the 0404 and he didn't see the analogue inputs... is it possible that you need to convert the digital inputs to analogue?

http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?ca...av=introduction

Look at the input/output (front/back) pictures. Number one: Mic/Hi-Z/Line Inputs. These are analog inputs. It also helps to read the specs. BTW, there is a smaller and a tad cheaper version 0202, which may be good enough for you.

The E-MU has superb/reference quality analog inputs of several types. The unit uses a combination analog input connector that may not look familiar to you; but this interface accepts 1/4" phone plug/TRS and XLR inputs; unbalanced/balanced and also allows microphone inputs w/phantom voltage. This, along with most digital I/O types and the ability to be used stand alone(as a pre-amp/convertor between any of these connections) makes this is a box that is likely perfect for your husband.

-Chris

Sound quality-wise, would you rate Tascam 144 at the same level as 0404 USB? I am currently looking for a decent USB soundcard mainly for playback. I was considering E-mu 0202 USB or Tascam 122L, but separate volume control for headphones and line-out is desirable. Which suggests using 0404 or 144; of these 144 has an advantage of being USB powered, but I hope it is not significantly inferior in sound quality.

My husband would want STEREO inputs for his sound card, not mono... and with the instrument analogue inputs, I think those are mono inputs. At least that's how I read it, I could be wrong.

Well, these are TWO mono inputs, which makes it exactly equivalent to one STEREO input.

If that isn't clear enough, no soundcard is stereo per se. One chooses to record to two mono tracks or one stereo track -- in the recording application. Except, many simpler recording applications don't allow the option of two mono tracks.

So Andy, you're saying that NO soundcard can have a stereo line in? it's all in mono only? Even the HDMI new Asus card coming out?

My husband wants to record cassette and vinyl to the hard drive, not musical instruments, so he wants a sound card that will bring in the stereo sound of the machines...

I realize I'm not very knowledgeable in this area, so any help is appreciated...

Also, if all inputs are mono, can they be converted on the fly through the soundcard to stereo to the hard drive?

If you feed the left channel of your source into one mono input and the right channel into the second mono input, you will (typically) record them as a stereo track. Only some pro applications allow you to record into two mono tracks (but you can choose to record one stereo track as well).

The "stereo" is not in the soundcard, or the CD player, or the tape deck, or the phonograph record, it is in the recording. Any soundcard with at least two inputs can record a stereo file. A stereo file is an audio file with two channels. It may or may not have anything to do with actual stereo, it all depends on what is recorded in those two channels.

Depending on how versatile the recording application is, a soundcard with (at least) two inputs can record into either one 2-channel file ("stereo") or into two mono files. The more simplistic recording programs provide only the 2-channel file option, so you have no other choice, regardless of your source material.

Hi!

How can i find out what is my audio chip(alc883)'s high native sample rate?
The lower is the 48khz on all audio chips. But what is the higher? 96khz?

I'm assuming you are talking about the RealTek ALC883 HD Audio Codecs.

Here is the complete list of information from RealTek's web site regarding the ALC883.


http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/product...4&ProdID=44

Well, it is not enough to have two mono inputs to record a stereo signal. You need to have the two ADCs properly synchronized (use the same CLK signal) to sample at exactly the same time and at exactly the same rate.