Soundcard recommendations?

[hessodreamy]

I'm binning my pc and getting a laptop. I'll be using it to record bands etc and I'm going to need a decent soundcard and I'm looking for recommendations.

- Obviously its going to need decent SNR, converters and decent bitrate/sample rates, etc
- At least separate 4 simultaneous inputs. More would be better.
- Phantom power on at least some inputs would be beneficial

You get the picture. I'll be recording audio and some midi. If it'll do the above I'm happy, If I spent thousands on kit, my skills wouldn't do it justice, and price is an issue.

Any recommendations?

[AndyH]

Do you know that while many laptops are suitable for recording, more than a few are not because the power supply design is too noisy? Do you know that firewire is a major audio interface, but some laptops can not use it because their firewire chipset does not work well for audio? In other words, do you know that you must choose your laptop carefully in order to have a chance to be happy with your recording? The laptop’s suitability for audio will make more of a difference than the specs of the particular soundcard you use with it.

I don’t pay attention, I can’t say which current models are good, which are not, but there have been threads in this forum and others. I do know that I’ve seen quite a few bad reports on Dell and audio, although this might not apply to every model.

[hessodreamy]

Thanks for the info, Andy. I did not know pretty much any of that.
I'd be interested to hear more people's comments on which laptop to get now!! as well as which audio interface.

[rkwyent]

Andy H is right. It is almost a crap shoot.

This is how i would go about it. Answer these questions and make sure they are all compatible.

1. What DAW software you will use?

2. What OS will you be running?

3. Find a few firewire interfaces that my work for you.

4. Scour the Forums and Knowledge bases for any issues relevant to that type of setup.

5. Check the specs on all the laptops you are considering....


Look for firewire setups with TI chipset that will work for at least 90% of the firewire interfaces on the market. Be careful I have had success with some VIA firewire controllers but they are never guaranteed.

[microkid]

The laptop PSU noise issue is an earth related issue. In most cases you can get round this by making sure you use balanced connections between the audio interface and your mixer / sources / amps etc.... If you are using an amplifier or monitors without a balanced input you will probably need to make up a set of cables to do this.

I use a Sony Vaio laptop and it is fine but I do get earth loop noise when running on the power supply. Nearly all new laptops seem to do this now. My previous Sony laptop only had a two wire mains lead so didn't suffer from it. But for some reason the new one has the exact same PSU but now earthed with a three wire mains cable....

However you will only create the earth loop and hence noise when you plug other earthed equipment into your audio interface. So if you are just using a laptop, audio interface, headphones and microphones. You will have no problem. If you are connected to a mixer or keyboard and you don't use balanced connections or a DI box you may get problems.

This is all perfectly normal! Studio earthing is a complete nightmare, and it is never plug and play I'm afraid. If you search Google you should find plenty of info about how to earth correctly and quietly.

I personally connect from my audio interface to a mixing desk using balanced connections and it is totally silent. If i use normal cheap hi fi type interconnects it sounds like a fax machine! (this is also the case with my MAC and desktop PC) If i plug something like a keyboard in that is earthed and makes a noise I use a DI box which solves the problem. But again you could try messing around with custom cables lifting earths etc....

So in short if you have a laptop power supply that uses a three pin mains lead you may find you suffer with noise. If you have a two pin you should be OK. You maybe able to find a replacement power supply for your laptop that only uses a two pin connection. I have also done this for my Sony!

As far as audio interfaces go.

I would suggest searching eBay for a second hand Motu 828 (Mk2 if you can afford it) fantastic quality!

Or an Edirol FA66 or Edirol FA101 these are both fire wire and excellent.

I also use the Edirol UA25 it is only 2in 2out USB but I have found it rock solid and great for simple location recordings. the quality is excellent.

May also be worth looking at the Motu 8pre (i think thats its name!)

Finally make sure you buy a good quality laptop not some cheap PC world or dell special and you should be OK. You will probably struggle to find something without Vista, so I would just accept that - no point fighting it! I have compared XP and Vista on my Sony and to be honest after clean installing both there is very little performance difference. So I stuck with vista - but make sure you clean install it. I bought a Vista Experience media kit for £5 and used ABR to obtain serial and activation numbers from my factory install. Then used Vista Experience disc to reinstall just don't enter a serial number when it asks and deselect activate online.

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium on a Sony FZ laptop with 2GB Ram Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz with Cubase SX3 and Motu 828 MK2 or Edirol UA25 I find this setup great. I have no noise problems but as with all studio setups you have to think earth loop as you are connecting up and this usually means carrying earth lifted cables and di boxes in your lead box!

[TimOBrien]

Good basic guide and suggestions HERE: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

[thaaboiisko]

I use the RME Fireface 800...and I love it, has very nice convertors as well...

price is about $1500