NOW: Few Soundcard Reviews WAS:Please help me to choose sound card alternatives..

[Arty2002]

Hi,

I will really appreciate any help on this..
I`m building a new system and planing to use gigastudio on it..

I have only 5 of the pro cards available localy..
And i wanted to chose one of them..

They are:

TerraTec EWX 24/96
TerraTec DMX 6fire 24/96
MAudio Audiophile 24/96
Echo Gina 24
Echo Layla 24

There is an 6. option but this needs to be shipped internationaly here..so it is the least preffered..But I would love to hear opinions on that..Hoontech Soundtrack Audio DSP 24

I have to run this config on WindowsXP or 2000, so 98 with vxd is not an alternative..

Thanks in advance for any kind of info..

Arty

[marco b]

It all depends on what you need?
Tell me more about the system you\'ve planned!

Is this machine solely for Gigastudio or are you planning to use sequencer with it?
If second choice is what you plan, then you need soundcard with multiclient
drivers.

These all five are good choices; EWX2496 is the cheapest one,
Audiophile is reliable and with good driver support for Win 2000/XP.
Maybe It\'s the most praised one !
DMX 6 fire is only one with external fromt module with versatile
audio connections, for example microphone connection.
Echo Mia has balanced outputs and 8 virtual outputs, very nice
if you need use many applications simultaneously, for example
Giga and Cubase, maybe audio editor too!

Check all the information and reviews available on internet about these cards
then think what you need!

[Arty2002]

Thanks for the input..

I`m going to use it with sequencer..

Looks like TerraTec DMX 6fire 24/96 is expanded version of TerraTec EWX 24/96, they are sharing drivers after all..But there is no mention of gsif for DMX 6fire 24/96 at their product page(it`s mentioned at faq page.),then again EWX 24/96 comes with giga bundle..That confuses me a bit.

For ECHO, looks like Layla 24 differs form Gina 24 for only midi port?

For me most important features are smooth playback of asio+gsif (multiclient) on WindowsXP,
Midi is a plus but not that important, beacuse I can use `To PC host` port on my korg keyboard.

In all those cards DMX 6fire 24/96 also has some decent windows soundcard features wich attracts me. But I`m not sure if that cause some sideeffects..

Thanks again,, images/icons/confused.gif

Arty

[Bruce A. Richardson]

Originally posted by Arty2002:
Thanks for the input..
For ECHO, looks like Layla 24 differs form Gina 24 for only midi port?
<font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">The Layla is actually a more robust solution in several ways. The converters and analog components are mounted in a separate rackmount box, which gives you better electronic isolation. It has a MIDI in/out/thru. It also has more flexible word clock options. Both have eight channels of lightpipe i/o for expansion purposes.

I have both the Layla 24 and Gina 24. Of course the Gina is less expensive, but I believe in the long run, if you wanted to go with the Echo product you\'d be better served with the Layla 24 in terms of flexibility and options.

[marco b]

I think there\'s GSIF driver also for DMX 6 fire, but better make it sure
and search thru internet forums like this!

Audiophile 2496 is still strong candidate, because it\'s robust
drivers for Win2000/XP and multiclient!

Not necessarily any side effects, but better optimize your Win XP
system for audio.

I\'m also updating my bit old PIII 700Mhz for more speedy system!
I\'m considerin\' Athlon Xp 2000+ and 512 Mb DDR RAM PC2100 very strongly.
Mobo is difficult to decide, but I\'m sure it won\'t be VIA chipset,
Strongest ones are now Sis 745(ECS K6S7A or Asus 7S333) or nforce (Abit NV-133R)
Maybe possibly older AMD 761 chipset (Epox or Gigabyte).
I also update my WIN 98SE to XP.
I still keep my three souncards; DeltaDio 2496, SW1000XG and SbLive!
(I would think to give up SBLive! and buy some better low latency card
for audio only, SW1000XG is good but only 16bit and still 28 ms latency).

[Arty2002]

Sorry, that was a double post..
Plz Check below..
images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[Arty2002]

I was away for few days, so at first: thank you all for the replies..

Unfortunatley I can`t make investment for second machine just for music images/icons/frown.gif , I`m a hobbyist (currently) and that will be a jump for me from on keyboard `synth` sounds to `real` samples..

So :
*It will have fit only empty pci slot on my current machine..
*Supporting stantard windows sounds and applications is a plus..
*I guess I just need `basic` soundcard with gsif and asio
*I`m planing to buy gigastudio96 and few samples at first..I just want to be able to play them with low latency through my keybard without pop&clicks..

I manage to find few resourcefull reviews..
I like to share them with others, so here thay are:

PC Notes - General sound card info & personal opinion of Martin Walker (\"http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/may01/articles/pcnotes.htm\")

ECHO Mia @ Sound On Sound (\"http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/jun01/articles/echomia.htm\")
HOONTECH SOUNDTRACK AUDIO DSP24 @ Sound On Sound (\"http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/jul01/articles/hoontechdsp24.asp\")
M AUDIO AUDIOPHILE 2496 AND TERRATEC EWX 24/96 @ Sound On Sound (\"http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/apr01/articles/soundcard.asp\")
TERRATEC DMX 6FIRE @ Sound On Sound (This one needs subscribing, can anyone with acess summarize it to me?) (\"http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/Apr02/articles/terratecdmx6.asp\")

Audio cards analogue data quality comparsion (\"http://www.io.com/%7Ekazushi/audiocard/\")

TerraTec 6fire DMX vs. Creative Audigy Platinum eX @ Digit-Life (Detailed info about TerraTec) (\"http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/terratecdmx6fire/index.html\")
Hoontech ST Audio DSP24 MKII Professional Sound Card Review @ Digit-Life (\"http://www.digit-life.com/articles/hoontechdsp24mk2/index.html\")
Hoontech SoundTrack Audio DSP24 Value Sound Card @ Digit-Life (\"http://www.digit-life.com/articles/hoontechdsp24value1/index.html\")
Midiman/M-Audio Audiophile 2496 Sound Card Review @ Digit-Life (\"http://www.digit-life.com/articles/maudioaudiophile/index.html\")

M-Audio Audiophile 2496 @ TweakMax (\"http://www.tweakmax.com/html/ap2496/ap2496-1.cfm\")

I hope those will help others out there..

If you have any additional url`s to help me out I`ll be more than happy to read them..

Thanks again..

Arty

[csduke]

I have owned an Echo Mia for one year. I have never had a problem with it. It is quiet - even though it is not external to other cards - and clean sounding. The 8 virtual channels (mixed in SW) work as advertised and the card uses the same drivers as its more expensive/capable brothers.

I think the Mia is a great card for the hobbyist for both its quality and its price.

[SOD213]

Originally posted by csduke:

I think the Mia is a great card for the hobbyist for both its quality and its price.<font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">I agree. I was foolish and sold my Mia/Audigy Platinum combo for the Terratec DMX 6Fire. I figured I\'d get the best features of both cards in a single soundcard. I was wrong. I can\'t get the DMX to work with Giga in XP or 98. Crashes non-stop, even with the newest driver and verifying the mixer to be in GSIF mode. I just ordered a Layla 20 (1/2 the price of a 24!!) and am sticking an Audigy back in and running Giga under 98 again. Small price to pay for a working system. Yay for Dual Boot. images/icons/smile.gif

[Luigi]

I just wanted to say that I have the DMX6 fire and it\'s fully GSIF compatible. I don\'t have any problems with using the card with GS under windows XP. You can also buy the DMX6 fire LT (DMX6 fire without frontmodule) which is therefore cheaper. (you can always buy the frontmodule afterwards).

[Phil]

i wouldn\'t consider the ewx24/96 as an option. it\'s certainly not a serious low end card.
there\'s no support and the manual is fairly poor.
i\'m ditching mine asap.
now i feel better images/icons/smile.gif
phil