newbie question, soundcard or audio interface???

Tango · Post by **Tango** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:41 am

hello all audio gurus,

i have one question. I'm recording vinyl music via this route:

vinyl turntable -> DJ Mixer -> Computer on board audio In.

and the sound sounds not very good.

someone said I need to have a good sound card but at the same time I notice something called audio interface.

So are "soundcard" and "audio Interface" the same thing? do they serve the same purpose if I want to record my vinyl music into my computer to sound better?

sorry thiss questions sounds stupid because the town I'm living have no shop selling these things. I have to ask my uncle to get it for me in the city, so I want to get it right.

many thanks in advance for your advice.

borg · Post by **borg** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:45 am

soundcard, audio interface it's all the same... but with so little info you're giving us, it's hard to recommend something. OS? laptop/desktop? your exact needs (midi, # of in/outputs,...)? budget? what is 'doesn't sound good' to you? ...

Tango · Post by **Tango** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:24 am

thank you borg for your kind reply.

Now I know they are the same, I think I will get the RME firewire audio interface.

I'm using a old G3 iMac at the moment but I think I will get a Powerbook in the near future. I already have a usb midi controller so I don't need that. as for # of inputs/outputs, I only do very simple stuff at the moment, so 4 is all i need.

as for what is "doesn't sound good", now the sound I get from the vinyl via my present routing seems to be lost the depth of sound, I've just done some simple test by simply record the vinyl sound into Live and without alter anything, even do not touch with the speed and then render to AIFF and burn to a audio CD by iTune.

when I paly the Vinyl and CD via the same DJ mixer, they sounds different. the sound from CD lost the definition of hi frequency and the bass does not sound as powerful as a whole it sounds bad.

thanks again borg for your kind reply.

borg · Post by **borg** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:12 am

RME is of course a great choice... you might consider the Digi/Multiface if you're going to buy a powerbook. (pcmcia being, at the moment, the better interface).

i'm not an expert, and hardly use vinyl as input source. but what i do know is, that i use a phono pre amp (soft emulation) to do this. do you have the turntable going through the DJ mixer or direct to your computer?
others will have to fill you in here... there's something like the 'RIAA curve' for vinyl.