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Computer Audio - To USB or Not to USB?
Tom asks: "The time has come for me to upgrade the audio on my computer. This was last discussed, here.My specific area of interest, is the sound card, in its various embodiments. Two cards that I am considering are Creative Labs' Audigy2, and M-Audio's Revolution 7.1. These companies also have USB counterparts to their products - the Extigy and the Sonica Theatre - and I can't decide if USB's portability and other various advantages justify its shortcomings. Experiences, anyone?"
... and I find it works just fine for my needs.
... at which point I'll chuck my 16-channel mixer and have an extra 2U's left in the rack for ... something ... else ... fun.
... but yeah, USB works just fine.
-tiBook
-19" rack full of synthesizers and a 16 chanel mixer with 2 recording/send busses.
-external keyboard (indigo2 synth, not the computer)
-external 4x4 USB Audio interface
-external USB hub, with MOTU MTP-AV, keys, mouse, etc.
I lay down stereo tracks at a time, typically, or at least I only ever record two tracks at the same time as I'm playing (and digitally mixing on my laptop) typically about 6 to 12 other tracks, no problems. My USB Audio interface keeps up with everything I'm doing, no glitches, and I'm working at 44.1khz/16bit.
I also watch DVD's on this setup, quite comfortably, and never notice any sync/glitch problems with USB.
A Firewire audio interface would be better of course, because then I'd have lots more i/o and routing capabilities with soft control, and so I'm planning on getting one soon
16 inputs in my rack right now would be sweet indeed, particulary considering that 4 items have their own input/routing capabilities as well as multipe output channels, so a Firewire interface is pretty much totally in sight
(OSX, tiBook, lotsa RAM, smooth as silk USB audio drivers)
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
You haven't said what you want to do with said sound card. Here are some likely possible uses:
If you want high-fidelity field recording, USB is good (I use an Edirol UA-5 usb 'prosumer' audio connection, and am quite happy with the results). Really high level stuff requires a different interconnect, firewire, PC Card, USB2, etc.
If you want a gamer card, USB is a good choice for a laptop or other semiportable operation (LAN parties). Keep in mind, this environment may call for simply a decent pair of headphones. Moving 8 speakers around constantly is not fun, 2 or 3 (or headphones) are a better choice.
If you want a home theater setup (DVDs, DVB, HDTV) you're probably looking at a fairly static setup and might as well go with the standard expansion card. If you have a really high-end setup, (good amplifier, speakers, and room design) consider a good quality external solution to remove the EM noise from inside the computer's case. I strongly hestitate from describing any recent Creative Labs sound device as 'High Quality', but I have not in fact listened to the one you described.
Both USB models you chose are USB1.1, meaning low bandwidth, and will top out quite easily. Think 48k/24bit/2chan full duplex, a raw AC3 stream, or 96k/24bit/2chan half duplex.
"'Tis great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults, greater to tell him his." --Poor Richard's Almanac