FluxCobalt
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External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
I am using a laptop for my music creation and I am thinking about using an External Sound Card connected with a USB cable or getting an Express Card Sound Card. My integrated sound card has a little bit too much latency. Will I have just as much or more latency with the External Sound Card because it is connected with the USB cable or would I be better off with the Express Card Sound Card?
Thanks for any help.
Flux Cobalt
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57Gregy
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/10 17:06:50
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My integrated sound card has a little bit too much latency. That's an understatement!  If you can find an express card with good specs that supports ASIO drivers, that would be a little quicker than usb, but I don't think you could hear the difference. Most of the folks here in the MC forum use an external USB device with zero or almost zero latency. Do not get a Sound Blaster of any type. They're designed for movie-watching or gaming, and won't give you great performance for recording. What are the interfaces you're looking at?
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Guitarhacker
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/10 17:15:43
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USB is pretty good...so is firewire. I'd say you'd be safe with either. IDK about the express card for audio.... I have not heard much about them.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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Robomusic
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/10 17:46:32
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E-MU is now making a version of their interface that is express card accessable. And it is a top notch system.
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/10 18:53:22
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Well I was looking at the Sound Blaster but then I looked at the specs. and saw that they would not work. So I would like some suggestions as what to get.
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RobertB
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/10 19:22:00
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Rob, those new E-MU's are PCIe, not ExpressCard. Nice thought, though.
Flux, ExpressCard is a format bordering on obsolescense, and very few newer laptops even have a slot for one.
The only possibly decent ExpressCard interface I can find is the Echo Indigo IOe.
Personally, I would lean toward USB2. Most laptops have a 4-pin firewire port (unpowered), so you would need an external power source(AC adapter).
USB2 is almost 100% universal, and you could use a USB unit with just about anything. And be totally portable.
If you are comfortable with about $200, you have some very nice options available.
Some good performers are:
Line6 Toneport UX2
Cakewalk(Edirol) UA25
E-MU 0404USB
M-Audio Fast Track Pro
There are others availabe, but these units have a good track record.
hth
post edited by RobertB - 2009/11/10 19:24:27
My Soundclick Page SONAR Professional, X3eStudio,W7 64bit, AMD Athlon IIx4 2.8Ghz, 4GB RAM, 64bit, AKAI EIE Pro, Nektar Impact LX61,Alesis DM6,Alesis ControlPad,Yamaha MG10/2,Alesis M1Mk2 monitors,Samson Servo300,assorted guitars,Lava Lamp Shimozu-Kushiari or Bob
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/11 11:18:50
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Thanks for the help guys. I'll check out this hardware.
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/16 12:53:18
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Well I have decided between 2 choices. The M-Audio Fast Track Pro and the PreSonus AudioBox. What are your thoughts? Once again thanks for any help.
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57Gregy
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/16 13:36:29
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Those are both good choices. The AudioBox looks like a pretty new product. I've never seen or heard of it before and the reviews are all pretty recent, too.
Just make sure that your computer meets the minimum specs for the device, at least. For instance, if you have a 64-bit processor, does the device have 64-bit drivers? Is it compatible with your current operating system, or the one you're thinking of upgrading to next year?
Can you list your computer specs here? OS, speed, RAM.
Whatever you decide on, the first thing you need to do is go to the device manufacturer's web site and download the latest updates for the device, for your operating system.
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/16 14:33:22
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My system is a: Dell Inspiron 1318 LapTop, 4GB RAM, 128 MB nVidia GeForce 8400M GS Video Card, 250 GB Hard Drive, Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10 Ghz, Windows Vista Home Premium SP2-32 Bit, X86 Based PC. I am also considering the PreSonus FireBox which has fire wire.
post edited by FluxCobalt - 2009/11/16 14:34:53
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57Gregy
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/16 21:26:06
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That looks like it can handle either of those.
Just a note: a certain dog wrote recently that FireWire is on the way out. USB is a long-established and well-used format for just about everything. USB 2.0 is just about as quick as FireWire, and neither you nor I could measure the difference. I don't keep up with computer hardware much, so I have to trust some people about such things, and this dog don't lie.
Hopefully, when my current computer dies, I'll be able to get a new one with a FireWire port for my Saffire.
Maybe I should but a FW card now, just in case, and put it on the shelf until needed.
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Robomusic
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/17 11:03:57
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Not a bad idea. The advantage to firewire is that USB ports are used for many other things and they have to share resources. While USB2 is close to FW speed it is not able to sustain it as long and can get loaded down. I would prepare for a firewire longhaul if i was you.
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keaton
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/17 12:54:19
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I recently purchased the Presonus Inspire 1394 firewire unit. Despite some issues with my system (not the Presonus) I'm happy with the purchase. I doubt seriously if firewire is on the way out any time real soon. Most high end video cameras use it to port video to computers and utilize usb to port still images only.
I purchased the M-audio Fast Track (not the fast track II) and wasn't really satisfied with it. I have passive monitors as opposed to the powered that is required. So I invested a little more in the Presonus. Plus the Presonus gave me phantom power for my mic.
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Nutty
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/17 14:08:47
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I have the Presonus Firebox which is also firewire and I'm quite pleased with it. Although I had a firewire connection on my computer, I had to buy a PCI card with Texas Instruments chipset for it to work. It was $40, but there 3 firewire connectors.
Annette
Nutty /Annette http://www.soundclick.com/atmmusic Using: Sonar 8 Studio; Band in a Box; PreSonus Firebox; M-Audio Axiom 25; Mics: Audio Technica ATM610, MXL 990/991; M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 Reference Speakers and many guitars
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/28 18:04:34
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Well I have not decided on which audio interface yet. I did see the Cakewalk UA-25EX. So now its between. The M-Audio Fast Track Pro, PreSonus AudioBox USB 2 and the Cakewalk UA-25EX.
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57Gregy
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/28 23:45:02
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They all seem to be similar in features and performance. Then it would come down to price, I suppose.
What are you wanting to record? Just audio (mics, guitars) or did you want to connect a MIDI keyboard to it?
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FluxCobalt
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/29 06:02:05
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I am using an Akai LPK 25 keyboard and an Akai LPD 8 Pad Controller for playing some VSTi’s I have and that’s what I would be recording. Both of the Akai’s are connected through USB. So I guess I would just be using it record with and monitor with my headphones.
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57Gregy
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Re:External Sound Card or ExpressCard Sound Card.
2009/11/29 11:00:27
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Any of these will work well for playback of your VSTs. You won't actually be recording with them since you'll be connected via USB, but they should handle playback of your songs. Unless you connect a mic to it and record vocals or acoustic instruments.
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