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Sound Cards

Well, in another thread, I got great advice on this topic, which I am now exploring further. I am looking to be able to record LPs and perhaps CDs.

I found this good link, which tests various sound cards along various technical criteria: http://www.pcavtech.com/soundcards/compare/index.htm

The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the highest-rated "consumer" card, rated "excellent" in all areas except signal-to-noise ("very good") and dynamic range ("very good"). This card lists for $80, and costs a mere $40 extra when buying a Dell.

I'm trying to decide if this is good enough.

1. A poster pointed out that the Turtle Beach card doesn't do A/D conversion at 24/96 (it does 18/44), and that even though CDs are only 16/44, the extra headroom allows for digital manipulation of the "image" without loss of quality prior to recording. What if I don't care to manipulate the sound files (I don't imagine having time)? Will there be an audible difference between 18/44 and 24/96 when doing "no-fiddle" copies from LP or CD?

2. The more expensive cards seemed aimed primarily at musicians, and allow mixing signals from various sources, and the like. None of this applies to me. Are these more expensive cards harder to use, or less appropriate for my purpose for any reason?

3. What is S/PDIF? It seems to allow attaching the CD source directly to the sound card (internal to the computer). Is this desirable? Or is it preferable to write the file to hard disk first, then burn it, to avoid timing issues?

4. Since the cost of the higher-end cards is about the same as the cost of a mass-market standalone CD burner stereo component, would I be better off just buying one of the latter?

5. Finally, what higher-end card do people prefer? I've found three internal cards that are listed in the above link as "excellent" across the board, cost $400 or less, have Windows XP support, and do 24/96 A/D conversion:
-- Digital Audio Card Deluxe. $400. Well-reviewed in this forum.
-- Midiman Audiophile 2496. $230. The only one of these three that doesn't support balanced inputs. Also reviewed positively in this forum.
- Echo Audio MIA. "Under $250". Not mentioned in this forum so far.

Thank you for any comments/advice!

- Eric
ehart
rwwear
2,850 posts
 
For copying vinyl I usa a Marantz pro CD burner. It is a standalone unit and since it is a pro model it uses computer cdrs and has none of the copyguard issues that the consumer models have. J&R has a newer model than mine for 479.00 I believe. For CD copying, most of the time I use a TDK burner in my computer. But sometimes I use the Marantz because I'm using my computer for something else or just want to go to bed and let the CD record while I'm asleep.

Robert Wear
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
I hate to say this, but do you guys realize that you can get a used Philips CDR on ebay for about 250.00?
I have not found a sound card that does a to d as well.
I would like to hear if anyone else has.
rwwear
2,850 posts
 
Yes you can get a Philips cheap but it is not a pro model. And when making digital copies, you don't go through the A to D converters. I would not own a consumer model CD burner. Sorry, but consumer CD burners have too many limitations. And the Marantz standalone unit that I have has just as good or better A to D coverters as the Philips. The Marantz is a pro model Philips.

Robert
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
Uhh, Robert, I was not insulting your Marantz.
In fact your post was not even visible to me when I wrote about the Philips.
Also, I am not touting the Philips as the "tank....end all..best in the world"....I am merely saying that for the money, it is a hard machine to beat.
The music CD's you have to buy are cheap cheap cheap if you know where to get them. Hence, not an issue for me.
I sure would like to hear some folks talk about experices they have had with home studio cards with multiple inputs..
beatlefred
17 posts
 
I was curious to know about the Marantz: can it make copies of a compilation CD? In other words if I make a CD of songs from my CD collection- can I then use the Marantz to make multiple copies of that CD I created -or is it copy-protected or I can make only slow real-time analog copies?? What is the model# of the Marantz you have and might you know what the # is for the newest model that was mentioned came out??
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