Help me pick an external sound card

Hey boys and girls, first of all, I'm kind of new here, so sorry if this is in the wrong place. Okay, so I've always been interested in audio recording and editing, but only now have I actually shown initiative and am trying to take this up as a serious hobby (right now, I'm trying to get some podcasting done). I've tried recording a few audio files without a sound card (motherboard jacks) and noticed an annoying background noise and just a general lack of quality. I've decided to get a sound card, there's a catch tho - I'm using a laptop, so I need an external sound card, this is where it get's tricky. I've been researching external sound cards (USB sound cards) that are of average cost (around 100$, I'm new at this, if things go well, I can buy something more expensive) and it seems that Creative pretty much owns the market. So what's the problem? Well, creative has an emphasis on sound output, and sound input stays in the shadows, there's no info on it, no examples of how various mic's sound, there's nothing. I'm leaning towards the Creative X-Fi HD, the reviews are good, as far as sound output and audio ripping from games and stuff, but again, no info on vocal recordings. I'm not aiming very high here, I just want decent sounding podcasts without any hiss or vocal obstruction. I have a couple of decent mics, both condenser and dynamic, so that's not the problem.

If you could help me out, or point me in the right direction, I would be very grateful.

Thank you for your time.

sound cards external

asked Jul 24 '12 at 11:55

VaidasB
141●16●19●22

usb digital mics will reduce the static feedback, but using an external card vs the internal won't make much of a difference

(Jul 24 '12 at 12:27) pjob797

3 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

I would recommend an audio interface rather than an external sound card. Something like this M-Audio fast track will be great. It has an XLR input with phantom power so you can use a condenser mic if you want. It connects via usb and should eliminate any noise. It's what I have and I've had no problems with it.

It comes bundled with Pro Tools SE which is a really watered down version of Pro Tools but it's great for podcasts and is the industry standard.

Hope this works for you.

answered Jul 24 '12 at 12:30

ojmar
1.5k●31●38●63

Thanks, but this is XLR only (if I'm correct), the phantom power is a nice feature. I guess I'll keep this as a last resort as I want to explore my options.

answered Jul 24 '12 at 12:47

VaidasB
141●16●19●22

It has a jack input as well..but the fast track pro has more inputs and output options. What more do you need?

(Jul 24 '12 at 12:49) ojmar

XLR phantom power is a good way to go. The sound quality is much better. A Behringer mixer is a less expensive option. Using a go-between gives you more control over the input signal. I really think that was good advise.

(Jul 24 '12 at 13:20) ClosetFuturist

An option would be to look for a decent used Mbox 2 or Mbox mini. I currently use the Mbox 2, but they're essentially both the same, the mini just doesn't have some things. They sound decent and also usually can be found with Pro Tools LE(usually version 7.4 or 8).

answered Jul 24 '12 at 20:02

MagicTrax
376●1●5●11

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