What's a decent usb soundcard..?

[aidanjm]

?

 

[PurdueRy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829118002

 

[pkme2]

Good to know, thanks.

 

[imported_red5]

M-Audio if you are after sound quality. They are geared towards recording rather than gaming but their sound quality is top notch on a budget basically.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: red5
M-Audio if you are after sound quality. They are geared towards recording rather than gaming but their sound quality is top notch on a budget basically.

They do not produce a USB sound card product

 

[mattburk]

Here is a usb m audio card

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=3805003

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: mattburk
Here is a usb m audio card

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=3805003

No, That is not a sound card

 

[mattburk]

What is it then? It says sound card on their own web site.
"Audiophile USB is a compact audio and MIDI interface that builds on the success of our popular Audiophile 2496?awarded Best Soundcard by Computer Music magazine. AC-powered components allow Audiophile USB to deliver some of the best fidelity, frequency response, dynamic range and noise specs available in a USB interface. You also get digital I/O for pristine transfers, as well as the ability to pass AC-3 and DTS surround sound signals"

 

[shortylickens]

I thought I made a reply earlier, but I guess it got lost.

http://yamahamultimedia.com/yec/products/cavit/rpu200.asp

Thats what I have on my office machine.

EDIT: That M-audio device is an I/O box. It doesnt actually have a sound card. It wont let you produce sound on a computer without some other kind of sound device.

It actually looks sort of like a break-out box that Creative might include with their platinum cards. Lots of audio inputs and outputs, but still need a sound card to generate audio in the first place. (This would be good for people who want to edit, mix and make midi music with their music keyboard.)

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: mattburk
What is it then? It says sound card on their own web site.
"Audiophile USB is a compact audio and MIDI interface that builds on the success of our popular Audiophile 2496?awarded Best Soundcard by Computer Music magazine. AC-powered components allow Audiophile USB to deliver some of the best fidelity, frequency response, dynamic range and noise specs available in a USB interface. You also get digital I/O for pristine transfers, as well as the ability to pass AC-3 and DTS surround sound signals"

Its a simple input output box as was described before. It is not a sound card.

 

[mattburk]

cool, thanks

 

[j511180]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: mattburk
What is it then? It says sound card on their own web site.
"Audiophile USB is a compact audio and MIDI interface that builds on the success of our popular Audiophile 2496?awarded Best Soundcard by Computer Music magazine. AC-powered components allow Audiophile USB to deliver some of the best fidelity, frequency response, dynamic range and noise specs available in a USB interface. You also get digital I/O for pristine transfers, as well as the ability to pass AC-3 and DTS surround sound signals"

Its a simple input output box as was described before. It is not a sound card.

It IS a soundcard. It's essentially the Audiophile 2496 in an external enclosure. It just uses a usb interface rather than pci. In that respect, it's no different that the Turtle Beach product you linked.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: j511180

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: mattburk
What is it then? It says sound card on their own web site.
"Audiophile USB is a compact audio and MIDI interface that builds on the success of our popular Audiophile 2496?awarded Best Soundcard by Computer Music magazine. AC-powered components allow Audiophile USB to deliver some of the best fidelity, frequency response, dynamic range and noise specs available in a USB interface. You also get digital I/O for pristine transfers, as well as the ability to pass AC-3 and DTS surround sound signals"

Its a simple input output box as was described before. It is not a sound card.

It IS a soundcard. It's essentially the Audiophile 2496 in an external enclosure. It just uses a usb interface rather than pci. In that respect, it's no different that the Turtle Beach product you linked.

ok It IS a soundcard. But its purpose is entirely different from what most people are looking for when they ask for sound card. The audiophile 2496 and the one linked above are meant purely for recording purposes. They can not handle analog 5.1 in anyway shape or form. So in all those respects it is completely different from the card I link above.

If you are a aspiring musician and wish to record in high quality to your computer, this would be a soundcard for you. In the tranditional sense of what most people want in a sound card, that is not it.

 

[CSMR]

M-Audio makes several USB sound cards - audiophile, revolution, transit. They do not record only; they also have audio output. The revolution and transit don't have much in the way of recording features.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: CSMR
M-Audio makes several USB sound cards - audiophile, revolution, transit. They do not record only; they also have audio output. The revolution and transit don't have much in the way of recording features.

Please show me these sound cards you are talking about(besides the audiophile as that has been discussed). The Revolution does NOT come in USB.

The transit is mainly meant for recording purposes as the max analog output it has is a lineout/headphone out, making it a very expensive stereo sound card that's main purpose is to record in high quality.

We already mentioned the audiophiles abilities. It too can only output stereo.

The revolution is 7.1 but is a PCI card not a USB.

 

[CSMR]

My mistake about the revolution. The transit can be used for both recording (line in, digital in - both minijack!) and playback. It is a good value card for stereo playback and can be used for bit-perfect digital output. It is even acceptable used directly with many headphones. You would have to be really tight to buy it for analog recording. There are not many situations in which it would be much use for recording.

 

[Howard]

You looking for multichannel? If not, the Silverstone EB01 is a pretty good stereo DAC.