Re: OT Best Quality Sound Card - Least Amount of Money

[Art Simon <simart@gmail.com>]

I think my M-Audio Revolution 5.1 PCI sound card is killer, but to use it with guitar it needs an external preamp, so I don't end up using it as often as my Line6 TonePort. Super stable and low-latency ASIO drivers, and it sells for around $70. I think it's a much better choice for music than the creative labs stuff, if all you need is stereo in and out.

I had an old RME PCI card, and it was great as well, but hard to justify for $300 used when the Revolution 5.1 is so good.

On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com> wrote:

In every field,  there tend to be fantastic deals on gear that gives the most bang for the buck.

In percussion, for example  you could, for years,  buy a certain brand of the budget CP conga
that would be as good as the professional (and highly overpriced) LP congas.   Sure,  the
LPs were Cadillacs and had the heavy duty 'comfort rims',  but, essentially,  the budget conga
produced completely professional sound at half the budget.    The reputation of these cheap
congas got so good that LP (CP's parent company) quit making the congas in Natural Wood
colors (the most popular conga color) just to force professional drummers on a budget to
buy the more expensive ones and , eventually, they phased the cheaper ones out altogether to
eliminate the competition.

Are there any similar stellar deals in Audio cards for PCs (running Win XP)?

Or does one have to buy the bullet and plunk down the big bucks for boxes like the RME ones?

Do the latest M Audio cards really tank heavily when compared to the pricier sound cards?

Are there PCI cards that sound comparable to more pricey breakout boxes?

Is anything made for the Prosumer Gamers of the world that are close in fidelity to
the most expensive breakout boxes?

******************************************

I'm building a second PC desktop so that my wife and I can both work, simultaneously on our
respective album projects and I don't have an unlimited budget.

I picked up a Mackie ONXY satellite system that got good reviews and I got it hella cheap.
Now my funky old Creative Labs sound card seems to be biting the dust.   I'm wondering if I should
buy a second ONXY while they are still available and relatively inexpensive (around $175).


*All you audiophile pros out there:      what are your recommendations?*

*What's the best bang for the buck,  financially,  for a Sound Card for a PC these days  (including
older gear that is no longer made but still readily available through places like E Bay)?

What can you recommend for a person who loves to live a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget?
*

-- 
Art Simon
simart@null.net
myspace [dot] com/artsimon