Sound Specs for Recording - 24-bit/96mhz vs 18/48?

[Karpl]

I'm building a new system with a Springdale/Canterwood board and wondering if onboard sound would be good enough for me.

Not concerned with output quality. As long as something audible comes trickling out of my cheap computer speakers I'm happy.
What I want to do is record to MP3, analog in - tapes, etc and also digital in thru SPDIF.

What specs should I require for that?
Does the 24-bit spec only refer to output?

Does the 96mhz spec refer to recording?
If so, is 96 overkill? Would the files be too big? Do most people use 48mhz anyway?

I'm sure I'm overlooking some things here - brand new at this.
So any tips or recording links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Karpl

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Karpl
I'm building a new system with a Springdale/Canterwood board and wondering if onboard sound would be good enough for me.

Not concerned with output quality. As long as something audible comes trickling out of my cheap computer speakers I'm happy.
What I want to do is record to MP3, analog in - tapes, etc and also digital in thru SPDIF.

What specs should I require for that?
Does the 24-bit spec only refer to output?

Does the 96mhz spec refer to recording?
If so, is 96 overkill? Would the files be too big? Do most people use 48mhz anyway?

I'm sure I'm overlooking some things here - brand new at this.
So any tips or recording links would be greatly appreciated.

Step 1, get better speakers.

What I don't understand is you say you don't care about quality because you have crappy speakers, then you go talking about 24-bit 96KHz and SPDIF which are insanely-high quality levels.
Until you get better speakers, use your onboard sound.

And yes, 24-bit 96KHz is overkill. Clean 16-bit 44.1khz is CD quality. CLEAN is the operative word.

For sound cards, don't bother until you've got some decent speakers set up, but with good speakers there's lots of great sound cards to choose from raging from under-$50 Hercules cards, to mid-range Turtle Beach and Philips cards to the top-end of the home market, the Creative Labs Audigy2 and M-Audio Revolution 7.1.

If you get good speakers and you're not doing multi-track live recording (which it appears you are NOT, you're not a musician on the side, are you?) the OEM Audigy2 is a cracking-good card.

 

[Karpl]

Originally posted by: bluemax

Originally posted by: Karpl
And yes, 24-bit 96KHz is overkill. Clean 16-bit 44.1khz is CD quality. CLEAN is the operative word.

Thanks Bluemax. That's was I was looking for.
I'm new at this so I was trying to figure out how important the specs are.

To clarify: I use my computer for work so I don't play games, watch video, or jam out on my computer.
All I really need my computer sound for is recording mp3 on cd's from digital/analog input, which will be played on my home and car stereo.
No I'm far from professional. But I don't want my cd's to sound like crap either.

So I think I get it.
While most new onboard sound can provide the needed specs for recording, they most likely will not provide the same CLEAN signal as a good PCI card.
(Right?)

Thanks again!

 

[Goi]

What digital/analog sources will you be recording from?

 

[TechBoyJK]

In regards to quality, You will be fine with onboard sound card. there shouldn't be any more to say. Just make sure your input levels aren't up to high. that will cause noise/distortion. If you need spidiff then you might need a different card, pci card that is. Any thing on the market now over $30 will sound great.

 

[Karpl]

Originally posted by: Goi
What digital/analog sources will you be recording from?

At this point, I only know that I'll be putting all my old tapes on cd.
I'm a complete noob at digital recording. So I just wanted to be prepared.

I'm asking now because I'm still deciding on a motherboard for a new system. A couple seem to have good onboard sound. I was looking at the Albatron 865PE ProII with the VIA Envy24PT and VT1616 codec. I was concerned that the Envy24PT is 24-bit/96mhz, but the codec is 18/48.

It would save me money to go with onboard sound. But the more I think about it, I'm leaning towards the Intel board with no onboard sound. Then I can add a good sound card when I'm ready.

Thanks for the reply.
Karpl

 

[Goi]

Well, if you're converting the music on your PC and only playing it on your PC, it shouldn't matter what you get, since you've admitted that you don't really care about the sound quality. If you DO care about the sound quality though, then get a better card.

 

[Karpl]

Well I made this about as confusing as I could huh?

What I meant is that I won't be setting up a speaker system, amp, etc for my computer listening pleasure. I do that elsewhere.

But when I do start burning cd's, I want the cd's to be high quality. That's why I was asking if the onboard sound specs were good enough for recording.

Just gotta work it out with my wallet now.

Thanks.

 

[bluemax]

Simple method. TRY it with your existing setup... if you don't think it sounds good enough, get an upgrade.

 

[CTho9305]

To be honest, the onboard sound on my a7v8x is better than my cheap ($15?) sound card I used until I upgraded.

 

[squidman]

I agree! Why do u need a 24/96 card, when tape doesnt even get near cd quality?
You said u want your CD's to be super quality. But you are recording from tape, are u not? And i also understood, that u are not gonna use DAT. To answer your question: yes, indeed, the onboard will suffice. One thing though: its much better to record via digital input, for as there shall be interference. All the PC's mic and line in inputs produce a lot of noise (hissing). And since tapes already have plenty of hiss, i guess your best bet is to find a deck with digital out.

 

[Karpl]

Originally posted by: squidman All the PC's mic and line in inputs produce a lot of noise (hissing). And since tapes already have plenty of hiss, i guess your best bet is to find a deck with digital out.

That's a plan. Do the ADC conversion before hitting the computer.

Simple method. TRY it with your existing setup... if you don't think it sounds good enough, get an upgrade.

Makes sense too. If they're giving me onboard sound, I might as well take the freebie and try it. I know what sounds good.

Just curious, if the onboard codec uses AC'97 2.x, would that normally be upgradable if I should choose when a new version comes out?

 

[bluemax]

You can't upgrade onboard sound per se.... new drivers may come out that enhance it slightly but what's on there cannot be pulled out and replaced... unless you're REALLY handy with a soldering gun.

When I mean upgrade, I mean shutting off the internal sound in the BIOS (to free the resources) and plug in a regular sound card in its place. Some onboard audio is actually pretty decent. The onboard sound on this Dell was far cleaner than the PCI Yamahaha card I plugged in just to get a MIDI port.

 

[Karpl]

Thanks Bluemax.

No, not so good with a soldering gun. But I'm real handy with a tube of super glue!