Boring 'what sound card should I get' question and some more

[eggnchips]

Hey guys,

I want to sell my Edirol Fa66 and get a soundcard with more inputs so I can use all of the outs on my Tr 707.
What soundcards are you using around 500€ mark?
RME looks good but expensinve. MOTU seems reasonable.
Of course I want the best quality with lots of inputs, and the best price.

Or should I get a good mixer instead?

Also, will I notice any sound quality difference by upgrading from the Fa-66?

If do then a mixer and a new card could be a possibilty.

Thanks.

[lem]

Also, will I notice any sound quality difference by upgrading from the Fa-66?

You will notice it a lot less than if you were to buy new monitors. To be honest I have never really noticed much difference when I have changed soundcard. I know a fair few producers that use Creative soundcards that produce amazing music.
I have noticed more quality in terms of stability and quality of engineering than the actual sound.
But there obviously is a difference, I am just saying that I have never noticed it with the soundcards I have had.

[agodi]

I upgraded from a fa-66 to a rme hammerfall multiface about a year ago. Theres definitely a sound quality difference from the inputs as the a/d converters on the rme are far superior. I also noticed an improvement on the outputs to my monitors but that may have been down to gain settings etc.
The RME is expensive but I got lucky on ebay and got one with the cardbus for just €300. Its a much better sound card in terms of sound quality and I/O's but there are still some issues to consider; theres no on and off switch, no gain on the inputs and the software mixer it comes with can be a little confusing to navagate at first (its very flexible once you get used to it). However at this price the level of sound quality and the speed of the converters more than make up for any minor inconveniences

[Phase Ghost]

I've have Echo Audiofire's and a Focusrite Pro 40 and don't have a real complaint with either. The Focusrite will occasionally do a little drop out for a split second, but I'm not sure if that's the sound card or core audio fuckin up. It might happen once a session if at all.

The audiofire's (2 & 4) are built to withstand a dynamite blast. I had them daisy-chained with absolutely no problem. If I were in your shoes, I'd look at the Audiofire 8. 8 line in and out with adat and spdif. The only thing I don't like about the audiofire is there aren't any controls on the front panel. What's really nice about the focusrite is the volume knobs on the front along with 2 instruments/line inputs on the front. Both front inputs on the pro 40 have optional phantom power that can be controlled per channel. That's nice if you plug in mic's and guitars on occasion, but don't always have them in. Obviously, a patch bay could solve this problem easily, but it's proved to be very useful for me.

MOTU has a great reputation, but will cost twice as much as the one's I mentioned.

[lem]

Also, will I notice any sound quality difference by upgrading from the Fa-66?

You will notice it a lot less than if you were to buy new monitors. To be honest I have never really noticed much difference when I have changed soundcard. I know a fair few producers that use Creative soundcards that produce amazing music.
I have noticed more quality in terms of stability and quality of engineering than the actual sound.
But there obviously is a difference, I am just saying that I have never noticed it with the soundcards I have had.

sorry this is not true there is a huge difference is sound cards, the fact they use different slops for different cards makes a huge different. Some like a apogee or rme or prism or radar has better convertors and filters etc.

so my best bet for you is maybe the apogee duet and a mix say a mackie ( which would put you just over your price range)

how many inputs would you be using

sorry michaell I forgot you knew my opinion better than me. i will make sure i seek your approval b4 i post next time. look forward to my pm's...

eggnchips, if it was me i would be looking to get a soundcard with as many inputs, not a mixing desk. maybe a motu and some of the focusrite stuff is wicked for the price.
I have a focusrite at the moment and unless it breaks i wont be replacing it and i definately wont be spending anywhere in the region of appogee or prism prices.
I acknolege that these are better interfaces, but i didnt think that the you were talking in this range.

if you have over a grand to spend on a soundcard, get better monitors. it is the single biggest improvement you will ever make to your sound.
not much point in appogee convertors if you are playing it back through cheap krks. its just my opinion.

[eggnchips]

I've have Echo Audiofire's and a Focusrite Pro 40 and don't have a real complaint with either. The Focusrite will occasionally do a little drop out for a split second, but I'm not sure if that's the sound card or core audio fuckin up. It might happen once a session if at all.

The audiofire's (2 & 4) are built to withstand a dynamite blast. I had them daisy-chained with absolutely no problem. If I were in your shoes, I'd look at the Audiofire 8. 8 line in and out with adat and spdif. The only thing I don't like about the audiofire is there aren't any controls on the front panel. What's really nice about the focusrite is the volume knobs on the front along with 2 instruments/line inputs on the front. Both front inputs on the pro 40 have optional phantom power that can be controlled per channel. That's nice if you plug in mic's and guitars on occasion, but don't always have them in. Obviously, a patch bay could solve this problem easily, but it's proved to be very useful for me.

MOTU has a great reputation, but will cost twice as much as the one's I mentioned.

If you like them both, and the Focusrite seems to have more control/features, why do you recommend the Audiofire?

[lem]

Also, will I notice any sound quality difference by upgrading from the Fa-66?

You will notice it a lot less than if you were to buy new monitors. To be honest I have never really noticed much difference when I have changed soundcard. I know a fair few producers that use Creative soundcards that produce amazing music.
I have noticed more quality in terms of stability and quality of engineering than the actual sound.
But there obviously is a difference, I am just saying that I have never noticed it with the soundcards I have had.

sorry this is not true there is a huge difference is sound cards, the fact they use different slops for different cards makes a huge different. Some like a apogee or rme or prism or radar has better convertors and filters etc.

so my best bet for you is maybe the apogee duet and a mix say a mackie ( which would put you just over your price range)

how many inputs would you be using

sorry michaell I forgot you knew my opinion better than me. i will make sure i seek your approval b4 i post next time. look forward to my pm's...

eggnchips, if it was me i would be looking to get a soundcard with as many inputs, not a mixing desk. maybe a motu and some of the focusrite stuff is wicked for the price.
I have a focusrite at the moment and unless it breaks i wont be replacing it and i definately wont be spending anywhere in the region of appogee or prism prices.
I acknolege that these are better interfaces, but i didnt think that the you were talking in this range.

if you have over a grand to spend on a soundcard, get better monitors. it is the single biggest improvement you will ever make to your sound.
not much point in appogee convertors if you are playing it back through cheap krks. its just my opinion.

but mate regardless of you opinion the difference is sound card from a apogee to a focus rite is huge

if you read my post i am not disagreeing with you at all. appogee is definately way better than focusrite. but for the same features you are looking at twice the price. of course something twice the price is going to be better! i wasn't taking the op or you to be fools.

saying that a focusrite has crap convertors is like saying you can't produce music on it.
100's of people do, and are making a living out of it.
thats not an opinion, it is fact.

[lem]

no i get you but i didn't say crap i sad bad.
As this is one reason why apogees are better and more expensive.

What i was trying to point out he would be better sending a little extra and getting a really top notch sound card, than a run of the mill one

i think thats your opinion, and mine is just as valid. i guess its just whatever is more important to you. i personally like getting the best out of whatever i am using a bit of noise and bad convertors has never been a problem for me.
if i was trying to make sample librarys i would probably be really concerned about convertors.