Which sound card option?

[elwoodblues1969]

I have been going blind staring at my pc screen for days,doing research-just scrambling to get a grip on this whole latency thing.
Today,I was told by an M-Audio tech guy,that it's imperative that I upgrade my sound card,along with upgrading to an Asio driver....so I have this much nailed down.
I have also found a computer tech guy locally,that will install a sound card for $75 ..which is great.

However though,I am having a terrible time trying to figure out which one to buy & this is putting my installation on hold...I really want to get this done as soon as possible,because I need to focus on just learning my way through Reason 4,because I suspect that I will have to endure several years of getting my head around this software-especially so,once I add Pro Tools to the mix...before I master this platform.

Lately,I have been reading up quite a bit of the M-Audio forum & a few quirks aside with M-Audio products & Windows Vista,people there have been quite happy with M-Audio's tech support in general,so I think getting an M-Audio sound card is the best thing-especially considering the gear I have now...but again,I can't decide on which one.

-Thom

[Fred S]

Thom, as I may have mentioned before, if you are going to record, the quality of the preamps, and the type and number of inputs are going to be of importance. Balanced vs unbalanced in and outs should also be considered. Lastly, are you going to hook up your controller(s) via USB or midi.

I used an M-Audio 2496 for quiet a while with good results. Its inexpensive, so its a good starter card. I ran it at 5.8 ms most of the time without problems. That said however, you need to look at your ultimate objectives as that will be what you will eventually end up with.

Also, installing a card is not difficult. Also, many just use their inboard card along with asio4all with reported good results. I've never done that as I am concerned about latency from an inboard card keeping in mind its really the quality of the drivers which will most impact latency rather than the card itself.

Lastly, you don't necessarily need a card, you can also purchase USB and FireWire units. I like cards better, but a lot of folks have good performance from the others, and obviously, not an installation issue. Hope that helps a little.

[elwoodblues1969]

Fred,

I decided on buying the M-Audio Audiophile 192,because I am using it as a sound card upgrade,as supposed to an instrument or vocal interface.
I already had bought the M-Audio Fast Track Pro audio interface,for when I eventually get the Pro Tools M-Powered 8 software.
I was told by a tech support guy on the M-Audio forum,that in addition to a audio driver,I also need to upgrade my sound card for it to work and I believe it,because I had already downloaded the Asio4All driver & it did fix the latency problem,but it also cut the volume in half & compromised the fidelity of my audio output.
This is a clear indication that I have no choice but to disable my factory sound board & replace it with the M-Audio card,as well as download the specific driver update,once I have the M-Audio card installed.

Several people have told me that the factory audio card in my computer is crap & I have no reason to disagree with them.
As I had found out later today,the installation is in fact,very simple...so much so,that there is no need to have a computer technician do it.
I got a great deal on the M-Audio Audiophile 192,as it only cost me $134(USD)...which is great,as I suspect that there will be no need for me to have to upgrade down the road.

Thanks for your input-much appreciated.

-Thom

[Fred S]

That should work.