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Post Subject:
Seeking help on sound card !
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
On Jan 24, 4:42 am, pg <pen...@catholic.org> wrote:
> Hello to everyone !
>
> I am here to seek advise from all the gurus here.
>
> I am in the process of building my own intel core-4 machine, and I am
> thinking of getting a brand new sound card for it. My current
> soundcard, the one in my old machine, is Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
> Elite Pro.
>
> My budget for the new sound card is $750, while I can get anther X-Fi
> Elite Pro, I do not see the point. What I am looking for is a sound
> card that is at least as good as X-Fi Elite Pro, can do input and
> output at 48-bits / 384 KHz.
>
> I compose music, and that is a very taxing stuff for sound card. I
> need the best sound card that I can afford so I won't have to worry
> about anything when I do music composing. I need your advise as to
> which sound card I should purchase.
>
> Please help !
>
> Thank you !
Please provide a list of converters you've found with 48 bit
capability, then we'll tell you which one to buy.
Fran
On Jan 24, 4:42 am, pg <pen...@catholic.org> wrote:
> Hello to everyone !
>
> I am here to seek advise from all the gurus here.
>
> I am in the process of building my own intel core-4 machine, and I am
> thinking of getting a brand new sound card for it. My current
> soundcard, the one in my old machine, is Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
> Elite Pro.
>
> My budget for the new sound card is $750, while I can get anther X-Fi
> Elite Pro, I do not see the point. What I am looking for is a sound
> card that is at least as good as X-Fi Elite Pro, can do input and
> output at 48-bits / 384 KHz.
>
> I compose music, and that is a very taxing stuff for sound card. I
> need the best sound card that I can afford so I won't have to worry
> about anything when I do music composing. I need your advise as to
> which sound card I should purchase.
>
> Please help !
>
> Thank you !
Please provide a list of converters you've found with 48 bit
capability, then we'll tell you which one to buy.
Fran
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
"pg" wrote...
> I am in the process of building my own intel core-4 machine,
.....
> I compose music, and that is a very taxing stuff for sound card. I
> need the best sound card that I can afford so I won't have to worry
> about anything when I do music composing. I need your advise as to
> which sound card I should purchase.
By "core-4" can we assume that you mean "Quad Core"?
(Like an Intel Kentsfield, etc.?)
A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
What is your current computer? What is deficient about it that
makes you think you need a new computer?
What kind of music do you compose that requires a Quad-Core
computer?
What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or lead-
sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real instruments?
Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one built into
the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3 files?
None of these activities would appear to require even something
as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something that
costs $750. Also none of them would require even an infinetessimal
fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core (or even a Dual-Core)
computer.
It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your pocket burning
a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
> and I am thinking of getting a brand new sound card for it. My current
> soundcard, the one in my old machine, is Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
> Elite Pro.
Exactly why did you buy that sound card in the first place?
Which features did it have that you could not have found in some
ordinary sound card? It is not clear why anyone would buy such
a thing?
> My budget for the new sound card is $750, while I can get anther
> X-Fi Elite Pro, I do not see the point.
And likely most of us "guru"s here don't see the point in even the
Soundblaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card. You haven't identified
any activity or requirement that would indicate that you need anything
more than a $25 generic white-box sound card.
> What I am looking for is a sound card that is at least as good as
> X-Fi Elite Pro,
What is it about the X-Fi Elite Pro that is "good"? Soundblaster in
general has the reputation of a high-priced, mediocre performance,
guaudy plastic toy among professional audio users.
> can do input and output at 48-bits / 384 KHz.
You cannot be serious. Where did you get those specifications?
Those numbers make you look like a fool and unworthy of any
continued dialog here. If you have some valid reason for thinking
you really need 48-bits and/or 384K sample rate, you'd better
tell us quickly before we all write you off as a troll.
"pg" wrote...
> I am in the process of building my own intel core-4 machine,
.....
> I compose music, and that is a very taxing stuff for sound card. I
> need the best sound card that I can afford so I won't have to worry
> about anything when I do music composing. I need your advise as to
> which sound card I should purchase.
By "core-4" can we assume that you mean "Quad Core"?
(Like an Intel Kentsfield, etc.?)
A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
What is your current computer? What is deficient about it that
makes you think you need a new computer?
What kind of music do you compose that requires a Quad-Core
computer?
What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or lead-
sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real instruments?
Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one built into
the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3 files?
None of these activities would appear to require even something
as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something that
costs $750. Also none of them would require even an infinetessimal
fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core (or even a Dual-Core)
computer.
It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your pocket burning
a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
> and I am thinking of getting a brand new sound card for it. My current
> soundcard, the one in my old machine, is Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
> Elite Pro.
Exactly why did you buy that sound card in the first place?
Which features did it have that you could not have found in some
ordinary sound card? It is not clear why anyone would buy such
a thing?
> My budget for the new sound card is $750, while I can get anther
> X-Fi Elite Pro, I do not see the point.
And likely most of us "guru"s here don't see the point in even the
Soundblaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card. You haven't identified
any activity or requirement that would indicate that you need anything
more than a $25 generic white-box sound card.
> What I am looking for is a sound card that is at least as good as
> X-Fi Elite Pro,
What is it about the X-Fi Elite Pro that is "good"? Soundblaster in
general has the reputation of a high-priced, mediocre performance,
guaudy plastic toy among professional audio users.
> can do input and output at 48-bits / 384 KHz.
You cannot be serious. Where did you get those specifications?
Those numbers make you look like a fool and unworthy of any
continued dialog here. If you have some valid reason for thinking
you really need 48-bits and/or 384K sample rate, you'd better
tell us quickly before we all write you off as a troll.
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
"Richard Crowley" <rcrowley@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
news:5vt3t7F1nbft9U1@mid.individual,net
> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
Yep. I have a few clients like these.
> What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
> that makes you think you need a new computer?
I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
> Quad-Core computer?
Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
Hopefully, put notes on scores.
> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or
> lead- sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
> instruments?
That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
> Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
The software will do that, too.
> Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one
> built into the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3
> files?
The software will do that, too.
> None of these activities would appear to require even
> something > as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something
> that > costs $750. Also none of them would require even an
> infinetessimal fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core
> (or even a Dual-Core) computer.
There are synths and there are synths. Also, if you are writing complex
orchestrations, you can end up running lots of them in parallel.
> It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your
> pocket burning a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
Could be, or could be that he does not want to fit his music to his
computer.
BTW my clients are pretty happy with machines on the order of 2 GB of RAM
and single or dual core Athlon 64s. But they don't try to press any
limits - they focus on the music.
"Richard Crowley" <rcrowley@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
news:5vt3t7F1nbft9U1@mid.individual,net
> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
Yep. I have a few clients like these.
> What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
> that makes you think you need a new computer?
I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
> Quad-Core computer?
Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
Hopefully, put notes on scores.
> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or
> lead- sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
> instruments?
That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
> Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
The software will do that, too.
> Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one
> built into the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3
> files?
The software will do that, too.
> None of these activities would appear to require even
> something > as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something
> that > costs $750. Also none of them would require even an
> infinetessimal fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core
> (or even a Dual-Core) computer.
There are synths and there are synths. Also, if you are writing complex
orchestrations, you can end up running lots of them in parallel.
> It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your
> pocket burning a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
Could be, or could be that he does not want to fit his music to his
computer.
BTW my clients are pretty happy with machines on the order of 2 GB of RAM
and single or dual core Athlon 64s. But they don't try to press any
limits - they focus on the music.
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
"Arny Krueger" wrote ...
> "Richard Crowley" wrote
>> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>
> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>
>> What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
>> that makes you think you need a new computer?
>
> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
> use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
But are the apps written to take advantage of multi-core?
>> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
>> Quad-Core computer?
>
> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
>
>> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>
> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>
>> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or lead-sheets,
>> etc.) for musicians to play with real
>> instruments?
>
> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
And that is the kind of "composing music" that requires the
LEAST computing horsepower. I use one of the more
sophisticated music notation apps (Sibelius) and it has
remarkably modest compting requirements. (Especially
compared to any kind of multi-track audio NLE or video
processing, etc.)
Still sounds to me like the OP doesn't know what he needs
and has a fixation with shiny toys. At least from what he
wrote here (which is all we know about him).
"Arny Krueger" wrote ...
> "Richard Crowley" wrote
>> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>
> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>
>> What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
>> that makes you think you need a new computer?
>
> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
> use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
But are the apps written to take advantage of multi-core?
>> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
>> Quad-Core computer?
>
> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
>
>> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>
> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>
>> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or lead-sheets,
>> etc.) for musicians to play with real
>> instruments?
>
> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
And that is the kind of "composing music" that requires the
LEAST computing horsepower. I use one of the more
sophisticated music notation apps (Sibelius) and it has
remarkably modest compting requirements. (Especially
compared to any kind of multi-track audio NLE or video
processing, etc.)
Still sounds to me like the OP doesn't know what he needs
and has a fixation with shiny toys. At least from what he
wrote here (which is all we know about him).
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
"Richard Crowley" <rcrowley@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
news:5vulqjF1oa0o9U1@mid.individual,net
> "Arny Krueger" wrote ...
>> "Richard Crowley" wrote
>>> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>>
>> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>>
>>> What is your current computer? What is deficient about
>>> it that makes you think you need a new computer?
>>
>> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega
>> synth/sampler, they use CPU cycles like there is no
>> tomorrow.
>
> But are the apps written to take advantage of multi-core?
Some say they are.
>>> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
>>> Quad-Core computer?
>>
>> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments,
>> with lots of EFX.
The horsepower gets used when they play their compositions back.
>>> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>>
>> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>>
>>> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores
>>> (or lead-sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
>>> instruments?
>>
>> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
> And that is the kind of "composing music" that requires
> the LEAST computing horsepower. I use one of the more
> sophisticated music notation apps (Sibelius) and it has
> remarkably modest compting requirements.
I wouldn't expect that the actual process of putting notes on staffs would
take many resources by modern standards.
> (Especially
> compared to any kind of multi-track audio NLE or video
> processing, etc.)
I have a system with a 6GHz dual core processor, and everything but video
editing runs pretty much I/O bound. Video editing, particularly that which
involves rendering or transcoding, can still use whatever CPU you've got and
ask for more.
"Richard Crowley" <rcrowley@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
news:5vulqjF1oa0o9U1@mid.individual,net
> "Arny Krueger" wrote ...
>> "Richard Crowley" wrote
>>> A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>>
>> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>>
>>> What is your current computer? What is deficient about
>>> it that makes you think you need a new computer?
>>
>> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega
>> synth/sampler, they use CPU cycles like there is no
>> tomorrow.
>
> But are the apps written to take advantage of multi-core?
Some say they are.
>>> What kind of music do you compose that requires a
>>> Quad-Core computer?
>>
>> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments,
>> with lots of EFX.
The horsepower gets used when they play their compositions back.
>>> What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>>
>> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>>
>>> Are you writing compositions and then printing scores
>>> (or lead-sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
>>> instruments?
>>
>> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
> And that is the kind of "composing music" that requires
> the LEAST computing horsepower. I use one of the more
> sophisticated music notation apps (Sibelius) and it has
> remarkably modest compting requirements.
I wouldn't expect that the actual process of putting notes on staffs would
take many resources by modern standards.
> (Especially
> compared to any kind of multi-track audio NLE or video
> processing, etc.)
I have a system with a 6GHz dual core processor, and everything but video
editing runs pretty much I/O bound. Video editing, particularly that which
involves rendering or transcoding, can still use whatever CPU you've got and
ask for more.
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
On Jan 25, 4:03 am, "Arny Krueger" <ar...@hotpop,com > wrote:
> "Richard Crowley" <rcrow...@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
>
> news:5vt3t7F1nbft9U1@mid.individual,net
>
> > A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>
> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>
> > What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
> > that makes you think you need a new computer?
>
> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
> use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
>
> > What kind of music do you compose that requires a
> > Quad-Core computer?
>
> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
>
> > What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>
> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>
> > Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or
> > lead- sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
> > instruments?
>
> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
>
> > Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
>
> The software will do that, too.
>
> > Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one
> > built into the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3
> > files?
>
> The software will do that, too.
>
> > None of these activities would appear to require even
> > something > as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something
> > that > costs $750. Also none of them would require even an
> > infinetessimal fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core
> > (or even a Dual-Core) computer.
>
> There are synths and there are synths. Also, if you are writing complex
> orchestrations, you can end up running lots of them in parallel.
>
> > It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your
> > pocket burning a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
>
> Could be, or could be that he does not want to fit his music to his
> computer.
>
> BTW my clients are pretty happy with machines on the order of 2 GB of RAM
> and single or dual core Athlon 64s. But they don't try to press any
> limits - they focus on the music.
Thanks for all your replies ! I sure learn a lot from them.
Basic thing is - the current machine that I have has 4GB of RAM, an
Intel dual-core CPU, a Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card, and I
am still hitting the ceiling quite a bit !
If one is composing one-channel simple midi - they can use Pentium III
and it'll run fine. But if you start adding channels, and overlapping
the channels on top of other channels - and trying to sync them all -
from orchestra to choir to what-have-yous, I've hit the ceiling so
many times that it's not funny anymore.
That is why I'm building my new machine - with the Quad-core CPU, and
at least 16GB of RAM, and I am looking for a sound card that has the
capacity waaaay passed the Creative X-Fi Elite Pro that I am using
now.
Look, I'm not a computer pro. When my machine starts to bog down, and
error messages starts to appear, I often don't know which is which.
The worst thing is - in the midst of composing, when the inspiration
is there, when the REAL FLOW is there, the machine conks ! It's worse
than a bummer, because inspiration just won't come back !
I'm just tired of the errors. I don't care if it's software, hardware,
or what-ever-ware - I just don't want the errors to interrupt me when
I'm doing the composing.
That is why I am building my new machine - and if you look at the
specs of my new machine to the one I'm currently using - you'll notice
that I give it a minimum of a multiple of 2.
Intel dual-core ----> Intel quad-core
4GB of RAM ---> 16GB of RAM
I know that my current soundblaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card supposed
to be creme de la creme, that is why I post my message here, hoping
the GURUs, the PROs here can help out - to point out to me if there's
anything that can out-perform the X-Fi Elite Pro.
And you did !
Thanks to you all, now I'm looking at several brand names that I'm
never know and I'll sure to check them out !
Thank you all again ! You're all very helpful, including those
skeptical ones ! :)
Danke ! Gracias ! Thank you ! Xie Xie ! Merci Beaucoup ! Arigato !
On Jan 25, 4:03 am, "Arny Krueger" <ar...@hotpop,com > wrote:
> "Richard Crowley" <rcrow...@xp7rt,net > wrote in message
>
> news:5vt3t7F1nbft9U1@mid.individual,net
>
> > A Quad-core computer to use to "compose music"?
>
> Yep. I have a few clients like these.
>
> > What is your current computer? What is deficient about it
> > that makes you think you need a new computer?
>
> I understand that if you run the latest-greatest-mega synth/sampler, they
> use CPU cycles like there is no tomorrow.
>
> > What kind of music do you compose that requires a
> > Quad-Core computer?
>
> Music with lots of very complex virtual instruments, with lots of EFX.
>
> > What do you mean, *exactly*, by "compose music"?
>
> Hopefully, put notes on scores.
>
> > Are you writing compositions and then printing scores (or
> > lead- sheets, etc.) for musicians to play with real
> > instruments?
>
> That's what my similarly afflicted clients do.
>
> > Are you creating MIDI files for sale?
>
> The software will do that, too.
>
> > Are you playing your music on a synth (perhaps the one
> > built into the soundblaster?) and then recording it into WAV or MP3
> > files?
>
> The software will do that, too.
>
> > None of these activities would appear to require even
> > something > as whizzy as your current sound card, much less something
> > that > costs $750. Also none of them would require even an
> > infinetessimal fraction of the horsepower of a Quad-Core
> > (or even a Dual-Core) computer.
>
> There are synths and there are synths. Also, if you are writing complex
> orchestrations, you can end up running lots of them in parallel.
>
> > It sounds like you just have a lot of money in your
> > pocket burning a hole and you want to buy some new shiny toys,
>
> Could be, or could be that he does not want to fit his music to his
> computer.
>
> BTW my clients are pretty happy with machines on the order of 2 GB of RAM
> and single or dual core Athlon 64s. But they don't try to press any
> limits - they focus on the music.
Thanks for all your replies ! I sure learn a lot from them.
Basic thing is - the current machine that I have has 4GB of RAM, an
Intel dual-core CPU, a Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card, and I
am still hitting the ceiling quite a bit !
If one is composing one-channel simple midi - they can use Pentium III
and it'll run fine. But if you start adding channels, and overlapping
the channels on top of other channels - and trying to sync them all -
from orchestra to choir to what-have-yous, I've hit the ceiling so
many times that it's not funny anymore.
That is why I'm building my new machine - with the Quad-core CPU, and
at least 16GB of RAM, and I am looking for a sound card that has the
capacity waaaay passed the Creative X-Fi Elite Pro that I am using
now.
Look, I'm not a computer pro. When my machine starts to bog down, and
error messages starts to appear, I often don't know which is which.
The worst thing is - in the midst of composing, when the inspiration
is there, when the REAL FLOW is there, the machine conks ! It's worse
than a bummer, because inspiration just won't come back !
I'm just tired of the errors. I don't care if it's software, hardware,
or what-ever-ware - I just don't want the errors to interrupt me when
I'm doing the composing.
That is why I am building my new machine - and if you look at the
specs of my new machine to the one I'm currently using - you'll notice
that I give it a minimum of a multiple of 2.
Intel dual-core ----> Intel quad-core
4GB of RAM ---> 16GB of RAM
I know that my current soundblaster X-Fi Elite Pro sound card supposed
to be creme de la creme, that is why I post my message here, hoping
the GURUs, the PROs here can help out - to point out to me if there's
anything that can out-perform the X-Fi Elite Pro.
And you did !
Thanks to you all, now I'm looking at several brand names that I'm
never know and I'll sure to check them out !
Thank you all again ! You're all very helpful, including those
skeptical ones ! :)
Danke ! Gracias ! Thank you ! Xie Xie ! Merci Beaucoup ! Arigato !
Re: Seeking help on sound card !
I think it's established that you're asking in the wrong place. The
guys here are into live recording, PA etc. and know little of (or
choose to look down on) the sort of computer-based music construction
which I think you're talking about.
Try alt.music.home-studio, alt.steinberg.cubase (or user groups for
any of the other high-end sequencer programs.)
I think it's established that you're asking in the wrong place. The
guys here are into live recording, PA etc. and know little of (or
choose to look down on) the sort of computer-based music construction
which I think you're talking about.
Try alt.music.home-studio, alt.steinberg.cubase (or user groups for
any of the other high-end sequencer programs.)
