[Dream] Cheap soundcard recommendations?

[phile]

uhhh my mistake, although I really don't know squat about electronics I did
mean to say capacitors.... and yes, I have heard the results of the upgrade
with Black Gate caps. Sorry for the mistake :)




On 3/14/07, Mark <dream at primatesynthesis.com> wrote:
>
> On 3/13/07, andrei.henry at utoronto.ca put forth:
> >then, i stumbled across the presonus firebox
> >(http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html) - firewire interface (the m-audios
> >were all PCI cards), 4 in (2 mic pres, 2 line-levels), 6 outs, everything
> >balanced, spdif digital.  more expensive, but has everything that i'm
> >looking for and more.
>
> Well, not knowing anything else about these devices, I would choose
> something that is in in a separate chassis that has its own power
> supply.  I don't like soundcards.  They are fine for recreational
> use, but imho, it is not cost effective for a manufacturer to get
> analogue circuitry to work well in such an environment.  What do PC
> power supplies produce??  A 12V supply for motors and such and 5V at
> upwards of 30A driving a bunch of noisy ass logic.  You want
> something you are actually going to hear connected to that??  If you
> wanted a soundcard that only had digital connections, then that would
> be a different issue.
>
> I could tell you to find out which converters they use, and use that
> as a basis of comparison, but even though that is common advice, it
> leaves out too many other factors.
>
> That Presonous Firebox looks OK.  The impedance specs are
> surprisingly good.  Having only 45dB of gain on the mic pre could be
> a bit limiting, but how often do you use microphones??  However, it
> does have phantom.
>
> The most important thing with any audio interface is compatibility.
> I would ask  around and see if someone else is using this thing with
> the same hardware and software that you plan on using, and find out
> if they are having any problems.
>
> On 3/14/07, phile put forth:
> >Just a thought man, but, .... BUT... if you have a friend who is
> >good with soldering stuff and generally with electronics have him
> >replace the opamps with something better -- black gates would be a
> >_very_ good choice -- you will see what a difference it makes ;)
>
> No offense, but that is very bad advice.  A "better" op amp often
> requires a different circuit around it.  Also, almost all new
> computer devices use surface mount technology, and reworking SMT
> without special equipment is very difficult.
>
> Nevermind, that afaik, Black Gate doesn't even make op amps, they
> market overpriced electrolytic caps.
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