I think majority of Sonar users are using USB interfaces. There are a few older PCI cards around that have kept up to date with drivers, but PCI cards are not common anymore. I loved the idea of the Audigy as most of the connections where right there on the front of the PC tower.
But as I found out and have read many posts here that Creative falls short with the ASIO drivers. They work great for playback and even I had no problem recording old records and cassettes using Wave Lab or Sound Forge. But the minute I tried overdubbing tracks with Cakewalk guitar studio it all sounded off> Investigation thanks to this forum pointed out that my offset was always drifting around and audio tracks were never lined up in sync.
And many have checked in like you and always seems to be problems with any Creative cards.
My set up has changed a few times and I'm on my 3rd external USB interface. I still use my Tascam for live recordings as it has 16 inputs. But for my self in the studio I have everything I need with the Scarlett 6i6. It has 2 Combo jacks that take anything, and then 2 line inputs on the back patched to outboard pre amps. This is where one could patch in a mixer.
I also use an old Yamaha 01V digital mixer into the SPDIF so that's 6 possible inputs.
I use a little Mackie mix 8 mixer for my headphone monitoring.
I leave most stuff always plugged in and ready to go. Vocals, Bass, Acoustic DI'd and guitar amp miked.
I can also use USB from my Blackstar amp but that requires switching to WDM mode briefly as ASIO only does 1 device at a time.
The old 01v is used to patch a few old synths and drum machine which I rarely use anymore. Mostly it patches in my Yamaha DX digital drum kit. A mixer is a great tool in a studio so make sure to buy an interface that has the proper connections.
You'll find better stability with a good quality interface running.
post edited by Cactus Music - 2016/08/02 19:37:02