Looking for Beginner Sound Card for Mac

[niguma]

Hi all,
I am admittedly a newcomer in this space and am looking to do simple home recording with a Mac (haven't bought the Mac yet either!).

I am looking for something that is lower end, but provides reliability with decent sampling rate and reasonable latency. I need support for both audio and MIDI, but I only need one input for each.

I would like to purchase the card along with software, in a bundle. Preferred software are Cubase or ProTools.

When I was thinking of going PC, it sounded as if SoundBlaseter Platinum fit my needs.

Any suggestions on what I would need on a Mac? Help is muchly appreciated...

[vor51@hotmail.com]

First of all if you've read enough threads on any forum - you should always pick your software first, then find the hardware that is compatible with it. Also there are no low end packages with sound card, cause the software that you're talking about alone cost around $500. If you're a Pro Tools fan then get Digidesign 001 ,which comes with Software Pro Tools Le - will cost you about $700 - $800. Remember to use Pro Tools you have to buy their hardware, otherwise it won't work. As for low end card the best bang for the buck right now is M-Audio's Audiophile 24/96 which has 2 I/O 24 bit converters and also has MIDI I/O. Will cost you around $170. As for software search auctions like Ebay to get it much cheaper.

[ThunderRoadPost]

Originally posted by vor51@hotmail.com:
Remember to use Pro Tools you have to buy their hardware, otherwise it won't work. .

Pro Tools Free will work with no hardware. It's available for download from www.digidesign.com (http://www.digidesign.com)

You might also look into some of the MOTU hard/software packages. I bet you can pick up an original 2408 for not much money!

[whosmatt]

i don't know about the audio hardware on newer macs, but i have a beige G3 with the A/V option and have started out using PT free... i plan to upgrade later, but i'm not sure where i'll go with it. i'm going to learn to use what i have before i start throwing money at it.

[whosmatt]

oh, so i guess what i meant to say is that the built in sound on Mac is fairly good to start with, as far as quality is concerned.

[niguma]

So the G3 has built in connectors for audio and MIDI input? I can use it right out of the box with Pro Tools Free?

[whosmatt]

not midi, just audio. mine is the older beige model. it has RCA audio and video ins and outs on the back.