Best Sound Card for $500
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Posted on Nov 07, 2005 02:10 pm
kamikaze
Member Since: Sep 11, 2004
Hi all!
I need a serious sound card for $500 or less. I like the E-Mu 1820 because it has balanced in/outs and a breakout box with a headphone amp.
What I'm really looking for is an ultra low latency card with MIDI, S/PDIF in, balanced in/out and rock solid software. Id like to be able to pipe audio from one app to another app(for recording), so good drivers is a must.
I like the idea of E-Mu's hardware accelerated DSP effects, because i use a lot of realtime effects, but I'm not sure if these would be crap.
Does anyone know of some rock solid soundcards that they would purchase again and again, and can you give a quick rundown as to why? I need to buy one soon.
Thanks!
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Nov 07, 2005 02:12 pm ESI www.esi-pro.com cuz it's the lowest latency I have ever got out of any card, they have many configs for anyone's needs, their DirectWire feature of their drivers allows simple piping from app to app, best app to app driver I have ever seen...
Nov 07, 2005 02:58 pm The ESP1010 looks really nice, but it's outputs are unbalanced. As stupid of a gripe as it sounds, i don't understand why they wouldn't balance those outputs!
Also, where can you get one in Canada?
Nov 07, 2005 03:02 pm I have no idea about getting one in Canada...they do have other devices that are balanced (me thinks) Noize2u uses the 1010 and loves it.
Unless everything you have is balanced, that won't make a difference anyway. One unbalanced device in your signal chain and the balance is lost.
Nov 07, 2005 06:04 pm I would take a look at an 'Aardvark Q10'. They don't make them brand new anymore as the company went out of business, but they go for about $350 US second hand on ebay. It gives you 8 XLR/1/4 inch TS/TRS inputs, 8 pre amps, 4 with +48V, 8 balanced outs, MIDI in and out, 2 S/PDIF In's/Outs. Sounds good to my ear.
Oh, its a PCI card with a breakout box btw.
jmailjimmie neutronMember
Since: Feb 14, 2005
Nov 07, 2005 06:04 pm I've got an 1820M, and it is shahwheet... however, it's not the 'best', just happens to be what I got, due to budget constraints. I wanted ADAT & 8 analog ins & 96k recording (the 1820M can do 192), and it was on sale. You do lose some inputs (they cut in half) as you go higher in frequency. It is a finicky card, as far as playin' with other gear goes, including non-audio stuff. It is a PCI buss resource hog and does not like a lot of traffic on the buss.
The power effects (PFX) are not all they're cracked-up to be, but are useful for adding that "ambience" while monitoring. They work fine in Cubase, but Sonar and Ableton Live have a problem with rendering them while mixing-down, as might WaveLab. They only work in 44.1 & 48k, also.
The new software bundle is *very* nice and includes Cubase LE, Sonar LE, WaveLab Lite, and ProteusX Lite, among other VSTi & "lite" programs. Makes it easier to compare some software. For me, their tech support has been great. Others complain about it. Perspective? Who knows. All in all, I'd buy it again. But I'd also give the ESI gear a *long* look...
Nov 08, 2005 02:40 pm Well right now my two best options are looking to be the ESI ESP1010 and the 1820 (not the M, i dont need word clocks or whatever that is....btw, wtf are they? lol).
If any of you had to pick between these two, which would it be?
Thanks for the help! Let me know
Nov 08, 2005 02:40 pm ESI...I like their drivers, EMU is too closely associated with Creative for my comfort.
Nov 08, 2005 02:52 pm lol!
that's about the only thing that scares me about them. too funny!
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Nov 08, 2005 03:22 pm I think that EMU has put together a pretty attractive line of recording sound cards. The affiliation with Creative doesn't really scare me. Creative's sound cards have never truly focused on recording (although a couple of them have claimed to), and EMU is their answer for a truly dedicated recording card.
SB just gets a bad rap because their products are focused on PC-based gaming and movie playback. They never really put forth the effort to develop a truly pro-sumer level recording card. They just half-assed it by adding a breakout box to the Audigy 2 series and tried to convince people that it was now a recording sound card. I found out that one the hard way...that Platinum eX just didn't cut the mustard for recording.
I'd buy an EMU card with confidence. Ive read enough positive things about them to not be put off by their affiliation with Creative Labs. I own several pieces of Creative's gear that are in active use in my PC, and they've proven to be durable, high-fidelity, and reliable. Their software and drivers may suck, but the hardware has never let me down even after over 5 years of constant use.
Nov 08, 2005 03:25 pm Quote:
SB just gets a bad rap because their products are focused on PC-based gaming and movie playback.
No they got a bad rap because they made false claims about the cards capabilities, provided very half-assed driver support for ASIO and claimed that their ASIO support is what made them ready for a studio, bandling it with things like WaveLab lite and Cubasis, trying to sell it in a market they had no business being part of. So much so they were actually sued for their false advertising...and lost.
All that said, I haven't heard much bad about EMU, to be fair. I just think Creative is a lame company...good products or bad products, just a lame company.
Nov 08, 2005 03:25 pm But I wonder what the E-Mu drivers would be like?
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Nov 08, 2005 06:01 pm dB that's pretty much what I just said. But for my Live! Value that's been kicking for over 6 years, my Voodoo2 video card that served me for 2 years and a friend for another 2 years as a hand-me-down, and my Cambridge Soundworks speakers that have rattled my walls for 4 years, I can't say anything bad about the longevity of my Creative products. Plus they all proved to be compatible in multiple systems.
I sent back my Audigy2 Platinum eX because it sucked as a recording card. But ya can't complain about their products in their "real" line of business: PC sound playback. I think that EMU is the brand that they're using to subvert this stigma that Creative sucks for recording. Looks to me like its working.
kamikaze, that's about the only thing that worries me about the EMU cards is the drivers. Never used them so I don't know personally, but Creative's other drivers have been pretty poor in some cases in the past (specifically Live! Value drivers that caused my machine to bluescreen, and the sorry ASIO drivers that dB mentioned above).
Nov 08, 2005 06:25 pm Agreed, in their real space they are great, but they shouldn't try to be something their not, bad business...
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 08, 2005 09:07 pm Tad, I still use my SB Live for a few reasons. But not for the recording side of things. The midi is steady and the use for soundfont driven stuff is what made me keep it.
As for the Emu stuff from Creative. I have heard more horror stories then good ones. I think most here using it have had good luck save for a few, but personal contacts I know who have tried it tossed them like they were useless junk. They could not get any support out of Creative at all for issues that were strictly hardware/driver related. Nothing to do with system comapatability as Creative would have them believe.
A beta board I am on has nothing but bad results from using them. Most have turned their back on Emu for letting this happen, and bundling with a wonderfull piece of software sampler that cant be used.
GeoffSM7b the Chuck Noris of Mic'sContributor
Since: Jun 20, 2002
Nov 08, 2005 09:50 pm I would say ESI, Presonus, and M-Audio make a # of good interfaces with in the 500$ price range. db and noize have been raving about there ESI cards, I have nothing but good experiance with M-audio and I just got a fire pod and it rocks.
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Nov 08, 2005 10:48 pm regarding the Aardvark Q10... it's a great card but we're expecting it to break when Longhorn comes out... it apparently works with 64bit systems though... I'll probably get an RME system or an Edriol FA-101 when I replace my Q10.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 08, 2005 11:14 pm OH ya, I'm an ESI guy all the way. The 1010 is fabulous and I'm loving it as well as their 192M.
jmailjimmie neutronMember
Since: Feb 14, 2005
Nov 09, 2005 04:42 pm The EMU's weak point is it's drivers. Creative owns EMU, the EMU hardware is fine, in fact the ADACs in my 1820M are quite impressive... but there are things that were advertised to work that do not, with the "Power" Effects at the top of the list... I don't use them anyway, so I don't miss them (they work fine in Cubase, but that's about it), but some folks do. The cards seem to be stupendous in some computer systems, horrendous in others, and other than my own opinion of VIA chipsets & probable computer configuration troubles, there does not seem to be a "concrete" culprit one could point their finger at, other than the cards appear to be "finicky"...
You might be happy with an EMU, but then again, like I said earlier, I'd give the ESI a *VERY* strong look, especially if the budget rules your decision... If you do go EMU, get the "M". The sync functionality will come into play at some point in your electronic future, and the ADACs are much better. jmo...
Nov 09, 2005 06:33 pm Thanks for all the input people. Its much appreciated!
