need help deciding between soundblaster and E-MU

[nautama]

Hi there everyone, I'm nothing but an amateur music maker, a really enthusiastic one must say, I used to have a SBlive platinum card for audio recording and it used to work just fine with win 98, but since I moved to xp there are no satisfying software upgrades for it so I've decided to upgrade my recording gear. I used to be a soundblaster fan since I got my sb16 for a 4.86 computer, but i've seen recently that there is this other company, E-MU, that makes some really interesting stuff too. Surfing over the manufacturers webpages I kinda realised that E-MU is more professional than the newest creative products, I mean, the soundblaster cards are more for gaming and home theater experience than recording, or at least that's what it seemed to me. I would like to hear some opinions about the subject, what would be more satisfying for recording quality, the x-fi elite pro edition soundcard or something like the E-MU 1212M- PCI, or even like the E-MU 1616?

thanks for all.

[itsplayed]

Welcome to audioforums nautama.....No contest, for recording the E-MU is the clear choice between the two.

[sabianq]

that is an easy one,
no contest. the E-MU beats the blaster any day hands down.

the reason? both cards are made by the same people. Creative, the E-MU is as to the Blaster as the Lexus is as to Toyota.

[nautama]

thanks for your responses, and now that you have cleared my doubt I must say I have another one, if soundblaster is no match in the professional recording world, what about the m-audio models, which are pro tools ready? are they better than e.mu or that would depend on the model, altough I must say that the fact that m-audio works with pro tools seems from the beginning really outstanding.

[itsplayed]

It's no surprise as M-audio is owned by the same company that makes ProTools. You should also be aware that the ProTools version that runs with M-audio gear is designed to do so.....it's called M-Powered. The specs on the E-mu are very good....IMHO the E-mu wins here as well when taking into account the price/feature ratio....I'm also more biased towards PCI interfaces than most firewire devices.

[passerby3141]

Pro Tools is famous because it is used in many very high end studios. I have never used it. Pro Tools, as I understand it, was conceived as a hardware and software solution all in one package. There are many dedicated pieces of hardware all doing very specific tasks in unison, with a computer at the center bringing it all together.

A real Pro Tools set-up costs thousands and thousands of dollars. The M-Powered stuff is obviously not the same thing. You will never get the results of a high end pro studio with any consumer priced gear.

In other words, I wouldn't get all hung up on Pro Tools, it's really just a name until you are ready to drop lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The only advantage in my mind to using M-Powered Pro Tools is if you plan to finish your recordings at a studio, or at least want to import them as a scrap-book of ideas. Of course, if you really like the program use it, why not! I believe there are demos of it so you can try it out.

I am not trying to put you off M-Audio, just throwing in my 2 cents.

I like my EMU 1212M slightly more than my M-Audio Audiophile 192 PCI card in terms of sound quality, but the M-Audio can achieve lower latencies. I use Sonar 6 PE as my main recording program, works for me.

[sabianq]

my $.02,
I have been in the field for a long time and i have met many people who do video editing and audio production in the digital world.
more often than not, the people i meet have a tendency to use MOTU, Echo or PreSonus

like passerby said, m-audio is only a name, they use the same chips as the other "names" like the high end box by creative (e.mu). so unless you are wanting to spend thousand(s) on dollars on a system, or need to use pro tools, there is no advantage of getting an m audio box.

on the other hand, there are some "names" out there that use better chips for their A/D converters.
Take a look at Presonus, Echo and MOTU, they really do use the best converters for the money and are very well built machines.

http://www.presonus.com/
http://www.presonus.com/images/firepod_frt_awrd.gif

http://www.motu.com/
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite/images/ultralite_iso.png

http://www.echoaudio.com/
http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire12/audiofire12_front.jpg

[nautama]

all right people, you are really illuminating me, but I must ask a third question, then what would you recommend, a firewire device or a pci device, in general terms, for audio recording? (must say that this ultralite device from MOTU really caught my attention)

[itsplayed]

Firewire interfaces can be a good choice....depends a lot on the interface and how well it's drivers are written among other things.
A few things to consider when going with a firewire device....

Firewire controller chipset compatibility (although a PCI/1394 add-in card can be used)

IRQ assignment of the firewire device can be a harder thing to change when faced with the need (again a PCI/1394 add-in card may solve this issue)

Hot swapping the plug can render the device permanently inoperable (even if by accident, some firewire devices can be transformed into paperweights when their 1394 plug is removed while running)

[sabianq]

Firewire interfaces can be a good choice....depends a lot on the interface and how well it's drivers are written among other things.
A few things to consider when going with a firewire device....

Firewire controller chipset compatibility (although a PCI/1394 add-in card can be used)

IRQ assignment of the firewire device can be a harder thing to change when faced with the need (again a PCI/1394 add-in card may solve this issue)

Hot swapping the plug can render the device permanently inoperable (even if by accident, some firewire devices can be transformed into paperweights when their 1394 plug is removed while running)


while yes, this can be an issue with some of the cheaper audio interface devices, the three i posted really dont have the issues that Itsplayed is suggesting.

I have auditioned the the MOTU ultralight and this little baby seem to work with just about any current motherboard/firewire combination. MOTU has got their S%!$ together, the Motu Traveler was one of their first firewire device and is considered a mainstay of the industry. MOTU has learned a lot since the release and they use the same firewire circuit design in all of their firewire products.


http://www.sweetwater.com/images/items/750/Traveler-large.jpg

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Traveler/


but the real advantage to using a firewire device is that fact thet you can take them out in the field with a notebook computer and make very nice quality field recordings.

[itsplayed]

Motu Firewire interfaces:
"There's an incompatibility between the NEC chip found in some FireWire cards and the MOTU FireWire line of interface."

Echo Audiofire:
The following FIreWire chipsets are not recommended:
Via: VT6306
Via: VT63061

Presonus Firewire interfaces:
"Firewire cards with NEC chipsets are not compatible."

Lesson: Always do your homework before committing to any product....never assume anything.

[poorsod]

Generally, PCI w/breakout>Firewire>USB. That's in terms of overall speed including system drain. USB has higher peak rates, but Firewire is a p2p architecture so uses inherently fewer resources. Thus Firewire>USB. PCI is best because of the very high bandwith and very low system drain.
Of course, there are many many scenarios in which PCI is not an option. Portability is 0 with a PCI device, Firewire devices are generally simpler for the non-tech-savvy, many people run out of PCI slots.

If you have a PCI with no breakout you can approximate that with a lightpipe preamp or i/o device.

As others have said, Pro Tools is no better than any other DAW at home/project studio level. You need to get the tens-of-thousands-of-dollars Pro Tools HD system for the version they use in the pro studios. Pro Tools M-Powered/LE share very little in common with HD - just a manufacturer and a GUI.

As others have said, E-MU pwns sound blaster. I read somewhere that the 1212M has the same A/Ds as the PT|HD3 systems from Digidesign. If that's true, with a comparable mic/preamp you'll be getting similar fidelity levels to the pro studios at a fraction of the cost.
Note that I said fidelity. The quality of a recording will depend more on the room you're in and the actual performer/engineer more than anything.

Also, an E-MU card opens the road to their Proteus X and Emulator X virtual instruments. You need one of their interfaces for those programs to work.

[itsplayed]

Of course, there are many many scenarios in which PCI is not an option. Portability is 0 with a PCI device, Firewire devices are generally simpler for the non-tech-savvy, many people run out of PCI slots.


Unless you go with a hybrid audio interface, such as the E-MU 1616(M). RME also makes interfaces that swings both ways.....sounds kinky I know....but true!