Helen-Marie Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Hello. Can anyone recommend a really good External USB Sound card? We run backing tracks from a laptop and are currently using a Creative Sound Blaster Live! which retail for about £30 but we are not happy with the sound and so I am doing some research into maybe buying a better sound card. Also, are external sound cards available as 19" rack mountable units? and if so, does anyone recommend a decent one. Thank you in advance.Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervaka Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 what's your budget? how many ins/outs do you require? I assume just a stereo pair, as you just want to take a feed to a desk? they are indeed available in rackmount form, but usually carry lots of I/O more suited for studio use. in any case I'd say a USB dongle is easier to cart around than a 1u rack card anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen-Marie Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 what's your budget? how many ins/outs do you require? I assume just a stereo pair, as you just want to take a feed to a desk? they are indeed available in rackmount form, but usually carry lots of I/O more suited for studio use. in any case I'd say a USB dongle is easier to cart around than a 1u rack card anyway! hi, It is going to be used for gigging in clubs so we dont really want to be spending an absolute fortune on one, maybe anything upto £300? I am unsure what sort of prices the more professional cards are priced at so if we hadto pay more to get the right sound we would. Yes we just need a stereo pair as it is going to a desk. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviljohn2 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 My USB Edirol UA25 works well and came in just over £100. The firewire models are good too. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spliglet52 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 My USB Edirol UA25 works well and came in just over £100. The firewire models are good too. :) I've got a UA25 too, they are a good solid well built unit. The only thing I find can be an issue is slight interference from the powerpack of my laptop, maybe something to be aware of. If anyone has any suggestions how to reduce this it would be appreciated!! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palantir Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 The only thing I find can be an issue is slight interference from the powerpack of my laptop, maybe something to be aware of. If anyone has any suggestions how to reduce this it would be appreciated!! I put a cheap Ground Loop Isolator (from ebay) between the usb sound out & the desk: I'm sure there are better ways of doing it but it does the trick for me. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen-Marie Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 I have had 2 Edirol units before and I wasnt impressed with the sound, I put one (I think it was a UA25?) against a £30 Terratec interface I had and the Terratec was alot better, alot more life in it, where as the Edirol seemed to kill the tracks. I also have a UA-4FX and that is the same, it has no life in it. I would still use the Terratec if I could as it had a great sound but it isnt ASIO, and it hasto be to run through the software I am using on the laptop. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I put a cheap Ground Loop Isolator (from ebay) between the usb sound out & the desk: I'm sure there are better ways of doing it but it does the trick for me. Yes, there is a better way - an expensive ground-loop isolator! :) Transformer-based ones are generally best. But the Ebay cheapies are usually effective. Please note that any postings recommending lifting mains grounds will be removed - we cannot condone this practice - there's always a "proper" way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_kyuss Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Hi all, For around £200 you could get a Digidesign MBox 2 Mini with 2 in / 2 out. Its got really good AD/DA comverters. The only problem is if you want more ins and outs it get alot more expensive. There is a 4 in 2 out Mbox for £289.99. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundiesam Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 if you want a 19inch unit take a look at the motu stuff... not cheap though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervaka Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 running the laptop off battery during the set is by far the easiest way of solving the ground problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 ;) Yes, but it creates the potential for an even worse problem doesn't it.. Better to just do it the 'proper' way, specially when it's not particularly expensive to do. Don't think many people worth their salt, so to speak would risk running a live gig from a laptop running off battery.. I certainly wouldn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I bought a new laptop in January. The specs show it to have one of the better batteries and battery life is very very good on it. I still wouldn't be happy on running it in a show critical application for a couple of hours. If the device was playing audio this is going to hammer the battery life into the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervaka Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 ah, I didnt see the part where we're talking club music, my mistake! an average set onstage is just a few minutes, where club sets can last hours.. I stand corrected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Jelfs Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I've got a Terratec Phase 88 FW unit, 1U rack mount, 8-in/8-out analogue, plus S/PDIF and MIDI, nice piece of kit, plus fully balanced line-ins/outs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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