Need help choosing a sound card with digital in.

[Piano Man]

Hey guys. I'm building a system for a friend, and he told that he wants a sound card with digital in so he can record off his minidisc. Obviously the SB Live! Value card is one of the cheapest out there with this feature; however, I know from experience that the sound quality is somewhat subpar with this card.

My first question is this. Would the 16bit DAC on the card affect the quality of his digital recordings? Secondly, I would like some second opinion on sound cards for him. The card needs to be inexpensive, though. Currently I can get the SB Live! for $50 shipped. I need another card that is somewhat close in price that is better, if there is one. Thanks in advance.

Piano Man

 

[StrangeRanger]

Piano dood, what kinda digi in does he want? the Philips AE has rca digi in. it's easy enough to find a mini to RCA digi cable too. i use this all the time with my DAT deck and it works great. as to you question about the 16b DAC, it won't matter going from m MD anyway because the music is already messed with from being compressed. he/she will not notice a difference at all.
You can get the AE for like $65 bucks. i like it much better than my old sb live too.
j