Sound Cards, Soundboards, Audio Cards - Whatever ya call 'em, we cover 'em. Pro and semi-pro audio hardware for PC and Mac. Multichannel Analog/Digital Converters with Digital Audio Cards are the current rage.
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Sound Cards, Analog/Digital Converters, Hard Drives
Audio Hardware
What's the diff between a "consumer soundcard" and a "pro audio card"? Traditionally, a consumer card combines audio recording with an onboard synthesizer, MIDI converter, and games capabilities. A pro audio card has better-quality analog/digital converters, no onboard synth, and no interest in games. Nowadays, most pro audio cards include MIDI and SMPTE features in addition to audio.
A year or two ago, a good 16-bit stereo card was a prized possession, but now cards with 4, 8 or even more channels are the order of the day, and 24-bit, 96 kHz audio is starting to look like the hip place to be. To be really cool, consider a digital-only card with your choice of DA/AD converters.
September 9, 1999
Hard Drives
Audio Cards:
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Guillemot ISIS Maxi Studio
This card has a split personality. On the audio side, it has 8 channels in, 4 channels out, plus 2 channels of S/PDIF, and MIDI. However, it also has all the features of a consumer soundcard, including an onboard synthesizer and full games compatibility.
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The Frontier Wavecenter
This digital I/O card is one of our favorites. 8-channel I/O through an ADAT optical cable, or 2 channels of S/PDIF. Plus MIDI.
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The AudioMedia III
Check out this soundcard and software package from Digidesign.
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Darla
Little sister's a good bargain. From Event Electronics.
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PCXpocketAD
A pro audio card for laptops? The PCXpocketAD is the only one we've heard of so far. If you make live field recordings, or just need to use a laptop to record audio for whatever reason, then this is one handy little card.
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The StudioCard 2000
from Antex
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The Card D Plus
from Digital Audio Labs. An old campaigner, but still a good solid choice.
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The Multisound Pinnacle
from Turtle Beach. An oldie, but still kicking.
DA/AD Converters:
MIDI Converter
Microphones
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