Jun 28, 2010 11:51 am Welcome to HRC.
It depends what your end game is...if you are just a one man band recording yourself, one track at a time, it might work, but the Behringer is no replacement for an audio interface.
Do I need anything more than an onboard sound card?
Posted on Jun 28, 2010 11:24 am
mobort2
Member Since: Jun 28, 2010
Hi folks, starting up in home recording and have a question I can't find the answer to. If I have a Behringer 2442FX which has a usb connection facility and am using Cubase on a desktop, do I really need more than my el cheapo onboard sound card? My thinking is that maybe the the Behringer and Cubase do all the work so no need to splash out some extra cash? And as people seem to use similare setups on laptops, they presumably don't have expensive sound cards. This is all in the context of home recording! Any pointers would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
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Jun 28, 2010 11:51 am Welcome to HRC.
It depends what your end game is...if you are just a one man band recording yourself, one track at a time, it might work, but the Behringer is no replacement for an audio interface.
Jun 28, 2010 12:01 pm From the berry page:
< begin snippet >
This XENYX mixer comes with a USB/Audio Interface for direct plug & play connectivity to your Windows or Mac computer. Get your audio to and from any DAW and make your XENYX mixer the perfect globetrotter in both analog and digital worlds.
< end snippet >
So you'll be using the UCA202, or very similar. This acts as your audio interface. Basically, your soundcard.
So you can operate quite well with the mixer and the UCA and your PC. Like dB said, if you're a one-man band type of thing, you should be all set.
There certainly are better interfaces you can use, but the UCA thing should work for you OK for basic needs.
Remember, that the UCA is only 2 channels in, and 2 channels out. So plan accordingly =).
Jun 28, 2010 12:03 pm Oh, wow, that's cool, I thought those Berry USB's were mostly for automation data and stuff like that...dang, that's cool...so, I stand corrected, thanks, pjk.
Jun 28, 2010 12:34 pm Hi folks thanks for that. So, in principle, does a good audio interface do away with the need for an expensive sound card. My basic thinking is that the audio interface will do the same job effectively - both for input and for playing anything I have recorded (have got a couple of Genelec speakers which presumably I could plug into the audio interface? or is that wrong? Basically looking to avoid buying something which will be a duplication.
Jun 28, 2010 12:35 pm audio interface is just a fancy-schmancy name for a sound card...when they are external, they aren't really a "card" though they do the same thing.
Jun 28, 2010 05:20 pm Quote:
have got a couple of Genelec speakers which presumably I could plug into the audio interface?
maybe.
If the genelecs are self powered, meaning they have their own amplifier built into each one, then YES, you can plug directly from the UCA output to each genelec input.
If the speakers are NOT self powered, then you will need some sort of amplifier to power up the speakers.
It's usually a safe bet that if there's a power cord on each speaker, where you plug it into AC power, then it's self powered. If there is only a speaker wire connection, then you'll probably need an amplifier.
Be sure, though, before you guess, as sending amplified signal to your active speaker inputs will surely damage the input circuitry.
Active speakers only want to see line level signal. passive speakers want to see powered signal, like what comes out of an amplifier or similar (receiver, power amp, etc).
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