Laptop Soundcard alternatives

Hi Gtrshop,

Maybe this helps some:

1. Digital music is data.

2. It takes a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) to convert that data to analog audio (what speakers handle).

3. The DAC is located in the sound card, or anywhere else, such as  in an audio interface.

4. The data gets to a USB audio interface via the USB cable where its own DAC converts the data to analog sound and it has audio-out jacks to go to an amplifier or to amplified speakers, or to headphones.

5. Audio interfaces typically have sockets for micropohones or for other audio sources, such as a guitar, or a cd-player..So they send can also send data to the pc like for recording purposes. Sound cards, most of them, don't have but miniplugs, and most would not have mic preamplifier built in, as do the interfaces.

6. So if you use an audio interface, it would bypass the soundcard.


7. Comared to a built-in soundchip. the audio interface would have superior DAC and  also more audio processing power, and better resolution of sound quality, in a similar way that Separate video cards are generally much better quality and faster than buil-in cards.

8. For an external audio interface, data in/out from the pc can take a little longer than it takes for a sound card, but it is manegable. Its drivers have a lot to do with that. ASIO Drivers bypass the audio routes of the Windows operating system, and add other functionalities that are not  available for audio cards that don't come with one, and that rely only on the windows facilities. Correctly installed, and used, being external is not a critical issue, except for real huge uses beyond most personal studio needs, perhaps. There are other ways of connecting external interfaces and audio, such as firewire, or coax cables, and also optical links.  There are even digital speakers, which in a way "have their own buit in little sound card or DAC, I suppose, for I don't have those, although my card can use them.

The list can be longer, but maybe this could suffice?  What to use depends on what-for, cost and of course one's own limitations, what one already has, or happens to be familiar with, etc.

NoKey


2. It takes a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) to convert that data to analog audio (what speakers handle).

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I should apologize to the collective for wasting their time with this...I'm an idiot. Maybe I just had a brain fart, maybe I've been thinking about all this way too much. Of course I knew this (#2) but for whatever reason couldn't make the connection. I guess I was having trouble defining where the stream of 1's and 0's became something listenable. 

I'm diving in to a new area...taking VST instruments into the live gig. I've hooked into a host s/w I like, and my laptop is reasonable enough for the job (Satellite A70 - 3.0Ghz core Duo, firewire, 3 USB.) Maximum RAM is only 1.5G due to hardwired 512 Mb on mainboard. Still it should suffice. The issue I'm having is that occasionally audio stutters. I'm using ASIO4ALL drivers since my lame Realtek audio doesn't have native ASIO drivers. Thus my question about external interfaces. Really all I need is a stereo pair of outs. Everything else would be gravy.

Now, If I had multiple stereo pairs, it's possible that I could send 2 VST's to two different pairs, and control volumes @ the mixer, right?


Complexity doesn't bother me, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm a PC tech, and couldn't identify this simple concept.

Thanks for clearing that up...

Steve

The Realtek - based audio device in my laptop is sufficient some of the time. Often it will glitch, usually resetting the ASIO drive will fix it, but that's not something I wast to have happen in the middle of a live performance. I'm strogly considering an M-Audio Fasttrack Pro USB as an alternative since it has native ASIO supported drivers and incorporates a Midi device on board. It appears to have the ability for multiple monitoring pairs as well so I can send a balanced stereo feed to the board and keep a pair for my own monitoring.

Would this work for me for getting my VSTI's out there?

Gtrshop,

The ASIO-4-ALL is a general purpose (pseudo ASIO) driver that is meant for use with minimum capability soundcards or soundchips that are not meant for high audio-data rates.

So, with one of those cards, even using ASIO-4-ALL, depending on the audio load audio crackling or pauses can happen sooner than with better audio cards/interfaces.

A better audio card or audio interface is akin to a graphics card (a computer in its own) dedicated to the task of converting data to analog sound (and vice-versa)...In other words, its' about more processing power, and audio quality..Audio quality has to do with the converters and also with the drivers and processing power (and your sound equipment..amps and speakers of course).

An audioInterface/recording card will also have its own inputs and converters (analog to digital) for the external inputs...Since often the input is via microphones, the better audio cards would have built-in mic-preamplifiers...Mic-inputs and pre-amps are pretty much the norm in external audio interfaces (otherwise you'd need separate mic-preamplifier(s), or mixers with mic-preamps.

Now, if we view one of those sound cards or audio-interfaces as "computers", then there's 16 bit 24 bit 32 bit 64 bit possibilities, and I believe the home-studio uses 24 bit, even if cards handle higher. They also have higher sampling rates than the 16k of builtin sound chips.

The typical sound chip from Realtek, I believe is integrated into the Microprocessor along with the wireless chip..So as can be seen, a Realtek card does depend a lot on the computers microprocessor, whereas a dedicated audio/recording card relieves the pc's cpu of much of the data processing.

Now, most, if not all, audio interfaces handle pc MIDI in/out data, via the same USB link that carries the audio in and out of the pc..If you need to plug a classic MIDI keyboard into the interface, then the interface has to have a MIDI socket...But you don't have to do it that way, since you can also connect a keyboard with USB connectivity, or use a MIDI-USB adapter onto another usb socket.

Remember that the MIDI data is handled by a MIDI synth or MIDI-soundModule, and those are often software nowdays, either stand-alone or VST plugins.

So, for using VST plugins you should definitely get better results from an external audio interface or card than with the Realtek built-in chip.

The Realtek has only two audio output channels, used for left and right stereo typically, and alike, only two channels for intput recording, or to play external sounds.

Interfaces, or home-studio cards can have more real hardware intputs and outputs, usually in even numbers, or pairs...Plus they can also have more INTERNAL inputs and outputs...And, internal inputs and outputs can be combined.

Monitoring as you need, is also provided by most, if not all of the current intefaces and audio cards as such.