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Pro audio sound cards

D

dparm

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
181
Finally got some real monitors for near-field listening so it's time to upgrade the audio source. From what I've read, these are the best-bets for pro audio in a home computer without putting yourself in the poor house.


Asus Xonar Essence ST/STX ($200)
HT Omega Claro Halo ($200)
ESI Juli@ ($140)


Others are claiming that USB sound cards are the smart choice since they're completely shielded from all the nasty RFI in the computer case and often receive better quality power. The only one that really seems affordable is the M-Audio Fast Track (<$150). It's also great for headphones since you'll pick up no RFI from the cheesy front-panel audio on the case.


Not interested in all the crazy gaming stuff like EAX. Dolby Digital/DTS/WMA Pro would be nice (hardware, not software) but technically not a necessity since I rarely watch movies on here. Just want high-quality sound at a reasonable price.

The ESI Juli@ is the most tempting due to the fact it has built-in TRS jacks (my monitors have TRS & XLR) and is very purpose-built. The Asus is probably the most popular and has Burr-Brown DACs but also the most expensive. The HT Omega is built upon some very high-end components too and I liked their Striker card from before.

All of these solutions are also ideal for high-end reference headphones (which I also own).

Thoughts?
 
I have the Essence STX and my god it's great. No noise, brilliant quality and the amp is powerful. The ASIO drivers make it easy for recording/producing also, didn't have to do a thing in Ableton.
 
dparm said:
Others are claiming that USB sound cards are the smart choice since they're completely shielded from all the nasty RFI in the computer case and often receive better quality power. The only one that really seems affordable is the M-Audio Fast Track (<$150). It's also great for headphones since you'll pick up no RFI from the cheesy front-panel audio on the case.
Click to expand...

Your missing the EMU 0404 USB. Maybe the best bang-for-buck external soundcard available. They have 0202 also but that is purely USB powered. Some people have issues with RFI with internal soundcards but that seems to be dependent on the quality of the mb. I think Asus has an internal soundcard that is enclosed with shielding if it is a concern. Xonar?
 
Unless you're buying a cheap soundcard, EMI isn't a problem these days.
 
I have the M-Audio Fast Track USB, and it's a pretty sweet USB sound card for my uses, but depending on what you want to do with it, it may not be good for yours. I use mine to process vocals realtime in live situations(NI Vokator) and it works like a charm(64 sample buffer, hasn't underrun on me yet). Also 150 is way too high for the standard fast track, and I doubt the pro has anything extra you would need unless you have your heart set on using balanced connections, which for playback only are a bit overkill IMO. You can get the fast track USB for right around 100 these days. All of the suggestions in this thread seem like they would be more than adequate for your needs.
 
I have been using the M Audio Audiophile 2496 since 2001. It is currently running on Win7 x64. Zero problems since day one. I use it for gaming, music production and general computer sound. The only bummer is that it is only available in PCI.

If you require PCIe I would take a look at the EMU 0404 as suggested above. Overall the specs on the emu are better, I just worry a little about Creative's influence on the product (this could be just me remembering the old days though).
 
You might want to consider the Audio-gd NFB-11.

It's a bit uncommon, but a true quality product with a solid manufacturer reputation. It's also quite convenient for switching between monitor and headphones.

It will set you back 305U$D, but it's an entirely different category than a conventional sound card.
 
you say you have reference headphones, which are they and what are you currently powering them with?
 
I've been using the my emu 1212m with my monitors for many years with a variety of x32 and x64 os's with no issues. go balanced and fuggetaboutit.

However there's no analog outs so I send audio through spdif to an Entech dac / MisterX PPA2 for feeding my cans.
 
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