Ableton Forum

ok i v done a lot of research on this but i can't find any answer, if you work only with software,vst etc. with a pair of good expensive monitor to achieve the best mix possible is it gonna affect my ability to hear everything if use a small low end audio interface? because the point here is i don't want to spend a 1000 dollars on an audio interface which have top notch dac converter because i don't need them.., long story short, what is the best soundcard for maximum audio quality for mixing in 100 percent digital enviroment. i would like to hear your opinion on this.

thanx

there are going to be a lot of opinions on this subject, but if you are going out and spend 2500 dollars on monitors and use it with your soundblaster its just going to reveal how bad your sound card is

good monitors dont sound like the music is supposed to, they sound how it is, so its not like any amount of money on monitors is going to make up for a weak link in the chain

thanx for the answer,but in low end audio interface i didn't mean soundblaster or any multimedia soundcard i meant low end like emu0404 or m-audio fast track for exemple.

Your audio signal is only as good as its weakest link in the path.

Da hand wrote:Your audio signal is only as good as its weakest link in the path.

True, but DAC is probably going to be one of the most difficult to hear. Make sure your room is providing a good flat response before even thinking about upgrading your soundcard - it'll have far more effect on your sound if you're not recording external sources. Expensive cards are generally more about ADC than DAC because the former is far more likely to induce artifacting and noise.

Here's a worthwhile video on the subject (can't remember is it covers DAC explicitly, but it does cover conversion and the issues around it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wj ... r_embedded

Actually, I find that the difference in sound output between a cheap card and a good one is very noticeable - especially on a good set of monitors. When I listen to the same songs through my PCI Echo Gina and then through the Fast Track Pro - the difference is very big. The Echo Gina has all the detail, depth and punch, while the Fast Track Pro's sound is muffled in comparison.

To hijack slightly - is this true on the input side as well? I mean, if I get a nice pre-amp (thinking about an avalon or voicemaster), will running the line signal or mic signal from the pramp into my cheap Ozonic ruin whatever benefits the preamp has? How do people use preamps that don't have firewire or USB outs?

Da hand's post indicates how subjective this all is so I'm not going to get into a debate about whether you can or can't hear a difference... Simply put, a nice pre-amp will make your recordings sound a whole lot better, but will be hampered by your conversion (saying how much leads us back down that difficult road of "can you hear the difference?"). I strongly believe in testing things for yourself. If you know someone with a good set of converters you can easily compare your "shit" set of converters to their good set using a null test. Basically unless you can tell the difference in a blind test (consistently - ie correctly identify the better sound card 8/10 times - or something along those lines) I don't believe there is an audible difference (or at least not a sufficient difference to have an effect on your mixes). Watch that video I posted (its worth the hour out of your life) - it is one of the best videos I've seen in terms of simply explaining the myths around this stuff...

palo wrote:thanx for the answer,but in low end audio interface i didn't mean soundblaster or any multimedia soundcard i meant low end like emu0404 or m-audio fast track for exemple.

i realized, but the fact that you would never use a multimedia soundcard means that you believe there is a difference

people can make great mixes with 20 dollar headphones out of their on board soundcard, knowing the flaws in your set up is just as important as the individual pieces

when i stepped up from a korg soundcard to an RME i was blown away by the improvement, and im sure there are cards that sound even better

so when asking what the best soundcard is dont expect anyone to recommend one of the bargain cards

If you're this serious about your monitoring environment, YES. After a good interface and good monitors, a good DAC is the next step for maximum clarity.

Well, there's also word clock. But that's another can of worms.


Tod

Da hand wrote:Your audio signal is only as good as its weakest link in the path.

+1

and then of course good room acoustics play a central role in how we perceive sound from our monitors.

I like monitoring with headphones as bad room acoustics are bypassed. you may not get the same results as monitoring with speakers but you at least get very close to the true sound.