Which Card is Best???

i have an Intel Core 2 quad with Vista Home Premium and sonar 7 producer editon. My music career is taking off, and I want to know what sound card would work best with my computer. I feel ****ed asking this. But Right now I have a sigma tel HD, and when I record in stereo only one side records. I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem. I appreciate any advice anyone can give..Thanks!

All the $100 cards are excellent (Echo, M-Audio, etc.) and are similarly designed.

The $1000 cards (interfaces): (RME-ff-400, Lynx, etc.) are 'noticeably better' (firewire) and allow more inputs, phantom power ($$) (for wholesome mics), etc.

I have an RME-FF-400 ($1000) which has slightly fewer crashes than the ($100) Echo MiaMIDI (IMHO). But it contains excellent pre-Amp power and Phantom Power ... and excellent DA and AD converters.

If you have vocal recordings you really need to consider getting a $1000 interface because of this pre-Amp flexibility for mics.

ORIGINAL: Philip

I have an RME-FF-400 ($1000) which has slightly fewer crashes than the ($100) Echo MiaMIDI (IMHO). But it contains excellent pre-Amp power and Phantom Power ... and excellent DA and AD converters.

You must be having some type of conflict in your DAW. I think I only had one crash when Sonar 7 first came out, so I reformated my system and haven't experience one ever since.

But, to keep on subject, the choice of an audio interface depends on various factors including budget and I/O needs. It's important to know this first.

ORIGINAL: kingo

I think Frontier has their act together as far as drivers. I'm able to get half the latency on the Dakota compared to the Lynx and RME cards.

Really!? I know that Frontier Design Group writes awesome drivers but I'm a little skeptical about this statement considering that you are comparing it to Lynx and RME drivers. Were you using the same sampling rate and machine on all three? How about roundtrip latency test (CEntrance), did you perform one?

Jose,
Playing guitar through headphones is a pretty reliable latency checker :)
Eddie

ORIGINAL: kingo

Jose,
Playing guitar through headphones is a pretty reliable latency checker :)
Eddie

Yes it is . From what you're saying, the Dakota seems to be a hell of a trooper to beat RME and Lynx (at least as far as handling audio buffers goes). Good for them!

Hi, i have a DELTA 44 rom m-audio, you can get wrong with that!
Cheers...

What's your budget though?

THIS ONE

Well, with that budget I can't resist but to suggest you take a look at the RME FireFace 400:

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_fireface_400.php


It has 8 analog I/O and 1 digital I/O to where you could connect another 8 inputs @ 44.1 KHz if your Mackie pres have digital outs. That would give you a total of 16 inputs. It has two built-in pres though, but they'll do the job. There's also a FireFace 800 which has even more inputs but also costs more and has 4 built-in preamps. Both of these are Firewire interfaces so they'll enable you to be mobile if you have a laptop. These are top of the line FW units with great converters, sound quality, jitter suppression technology, stable drivers, you name it. Highly recommended!


HTH

I would say stay away from any M audio products

what about a MOTU Ultralite?

I would say stay away from any M audio products

Why would that be ??, I assume you've had a bad experience ??

M-Audio is still a good product if you are comparing Apples with Apples. I Have an RME Fireface 800 but if I couldn't afford it I probably would have gone for a Firewire 410 From M-Audio or even an Audiophile 192. The Failure rate of M-Audio is pretty good, their drivers used to be the best written around but I agree that's changed slightly with their incorporation into Avid.

Great info! FYI...you might also consider an old favorite of mine, the Frontier Dakota. If you want a simple dig only card, this thing is amazing...rock solid. I have a Lynx2, FF400, and several other cards. I think Frontier has their act together as far as drivers. I'm able to get half the latency on the Dakota compared to the Lynx and RME cards. I found out at NAMM that Frontier writes a lot of the drivers for other manufacturers.

I use external converters,

My Dakota/Montana are still awesome after all these years. They have been through 3 DAWs and are rock solid. The only reason I will change is if my next DAW doesn't have PCI slots or I can't get drivers for some future OS.

I've tried two M-Audios for mobile use and have not been knocked out by either one. One being their Firewire keyboard controller with audio interface and one being the brand new Fast USB Ultra 8x8. They've been ok, but I found I always had to crank the mic pre and headphones wide open and it still was not quite what I wanted. Granted, I'm comparing this to an RME Multiface II on PCIe tied to a Focusrite ISA 428 for my stationary rig, so it's not a fair comparison.

In retrospect, I wish I had gone with the Fireface 800 or 400 or something that could be mobile and ran on Firewire. I really need to be mobile within my house to share time with my family and have spent less and less time on my stationary DAW.

Whatever you get, my recommendation would be a mobile firewire. Had I gone with that, I'd have little six space rack that I could use with my tower DAW or notebook DAW.