Hi Bill,
I can echo Richard Hess on the quality of the “Card D”. That would include both
the product line and support of Digital Audio Labs in general. One thing to
consider with the Card D and some others is: can you sync it to external word
clock? I believe the Card D can use the SPDIF input for external clock but you
loose the input in the process. If you want to spend a little less and still
stay “inside the box”, you might consider M-Audio’s Delta 1010LT. It has a
separate input to sync to external word clock should you choose to do so. I’ve
had equally good experience with M-Audio and their product line although some
of their gear is not as robust as DAL. M-Audio makes several products for
digitizing audio both PCI and external. Neither of M-Audio’s or DAL’s PCI cards
seem to suffer from the known harsh environment of desktop computers which
simply means that they are adequately shielded.
Cheers!
Corey Bailey
Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
Quoting "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]>:
> Hi, Bill,
>
> The two inboard high-quality sound cards that keep popping up are the
> CardDeluxe from DAL and the Lynx series.
> http://www.digitalaudio.com/
> http://www.lynxstudio.com/index.asp
>
> Some people on this list use the CardDeluxe and, at one point, Bruel
> and Kjaer used it in their PC-based instruments. I believe that this
> is the most affordable high-end card available. The Lynx spec out a
> bit better but cost more.
>
> There may be driver issues with any system internal or external.
>
> I will second the recommendation for RME. I have two RME Multiface II
> units that sound great and have 8 channels of A-D and D-A conversion.
>
> The DAL and Lynx cards are PCI and that may be an end-of-life
> interface. The RME card that interfaces to the outboard converters is
> available in PCI-Express which is the newer technology and if you
> upgrade you only have to swap the interface card, not the converters.
> A point of confusion: the connection between the RME card and the
> external converters is via a FireWire cable but it is NOT FireWire protocol.
>
> My relationship with RME is I have purchased two Multiface units and
> two Multiface II units about seven years later. They have my money, I
> have their units. I am happy.
>
> http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_multiface_2.php
>
> I also have a MOTU 828 MK II which has a FireWire interface. It has 8
> line inputs and two mic inputs. I use it for field recordings with a
> PC laptop. They finally seem to have a stable driver set for my Dell
> Inspiron 5150 (an older, but quite competent laptop). The drivers
> have been more stable in a Dell 8300 Desktop.
>
> I have also heard of problems with some users with the MOTU
> Traveller, while others love it. I did not like the MOTU 8PRE and sold mine.
>
> I think the RME Multiface II sounds better than either the original
> Multiface or the MOTU 828, but the MOTU 828 is no slouch--I think
> it's approximately equivalent to the original Multiface. All these
> differences are very subtle. The 828 was much better sounding than
> the 8PRE. There is a USB version of the 828 and also a MK III version of it.
>
> If you're using a Mac (I know you said PC), I have heard great things
> about Metric Halo.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
> Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
> Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
> Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
>
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