a couple of questions about recording on PC

[Croline]

hello. i have some questions about recording my final mixes to my computer.

- any advice for a good soundcard which would have 2 XLR IN / 2 XLR OUT ?
(or balanced jack outputs). it has to have good A/D and D/A converter, but
i'm not a pro, but i got a good homestudio (i make electro/accoustic stuff
and got a soundcraft spirit studio 24. i plan to buy some TLAudio stuff to
treat my whole mixes)

- can i keep my soundblaster 128 in addition to this "pro" soundcard (for
regular pc multimedia purpose) or will it be a mess ?

- is there any used to record at 24bits96khz when on CD it's finally 16bit
44khz ? or is there a use if then i send my 24bit 96khz stereo .WAV files to
the mastering, do they bother or 16bit 44khz is the same for them ? (i ask
this to know if it's necessary to get a 24 bit soundcard)

- distance between my mixboard and my pc should be a couple of meters.
will XLR assure me no loss of quality despite the cable's lenght ? (never
used xlr cables)

thanks and sorry for my english

matthieu

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> > Lynx L22.
> seems nice but 749$ seems big for me :)
> i'd say 300$ at most is my budget. i've been thinking about an Echo Mia.

Well, it's what you asked for. However, if you can't afford a $700
sound card, you might, just might, if you reeeeeeally put your
headspace behind it, find that you can limp along without XLR
connectors. Just don't let anybody go behind your rack to see the
wiring and they'll never know that you aren't "professional" because
you don't have XLR connections. The Mia is acutally a decent card for
the money and if that's your budget, go for it.

> i'll only use this soundcard to record final mixes but i'll do my best to
> take full advantage of the soundcard.

My point was that if you're going to be using the computer for audio,
it will work smoother if you don't also use it for games, net surfing,
homework, e-mail, and doing your taxes. Also, while you say today that
you'll "only" use it to record final mixes, your work will grow as you
learn the capabilities of the software that's out there. Since you'll
probably want to make CDs from your mixes so that you can listen to
them someplace other than where your computer is, first you'll be
wanting to edit if only to clean up the start and end of your
recordings, maybe put a clean fadeout on a song, maybe adjust the
volume of one song relative to the one next to it so they flow
together better, maybe compress just a little to make it sound louder,
and before you know it, you've got an audio workstation going. Don't
think it won't happen.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )

[Arny Krueger]

"Croline" > wrote in message


> hello. i have some questions about recording my final mixes to my
> computer.

> - any advice for a good soundcard which would have 2 XLR IN / 2 XLR
> OUT ? (or balanced jack outputs). it has to have good A/D and D/A
> converter, but i'm not a pro, but i got a good homestudio (i make
> electro/accoustic stuff and got a soundcraft spirit studio 24.

As Mike pointed out, its hard to do better than a Lynx L22.

> I plan to buy some TLAudio stuff to treat my whole mixes)

Seems like a strange thing to do, given that those kinds of things are
doable on a PC.

> - can i keep my soundblaster 128 in addition to this "pro"
> soundcard (for regular pc multimedia purpose) or will it be a mess ?

Yes, you can keep the SB128. You might want to use it for casual monitoring.
I don't think you want to use it to record if you have a good card in the
machine. I find it convenient to set up Windows so the on-board or other
consumer card is the default output. Let all the windows desktop bongs,
chirps, and other noises go there instead of messing up the serious work.

> - is there any used to record at 24bits96khz when on CD it's
> finally 16bit 44khz ?

If you do a fair amount of processing or mixing, its good to record at 24
bits. The convert to 16 bits right before burning the 16/44 CD.

> or is there a use if then i send my 24bit 96khz
> stereo .WAV files to the mastering, do they bother or 16bit 44khz is
> the same for them ? (i ask this to know if it's necessary to get a 24
> bit soundcard)

Depends on your mastering house.

> - distance between my mixboard and my pc should be a couple of
> meters. will XLR assure me no loss of quality despite the cable's
> lenght ? (never used xlr cables)

XLR's are overkill for runs of just a few meters. Actually, the main
benefits of XLRs relate to durability and the fact that they latch in
place. Electrically, TRS is just as good, but there's no comparison from a
mechanical/durability standpoint.

However it takes stage use, or lots and lots of studio reconfigurations to
seriously justify XLRs in production applications. However, there's
something to be said for cables that won't come out of the jacks without
conscious effort, even in a production environment. Perhaps especially in a
production environment.

Besides, XLRs are connectors, and they can be used with any kind of cable
from sublime to ridiculous. In lengths of a few meters you could probably
get away with partially-straightened coat hangers, if you could resolve the
shielding, twisting, and flexibility issues with coat hangers.

The important consideration with short lengths relate more to grounding.
XLR's or TRS's generally suggest that the I/O is balanced, and that helps
with grounding and noise pickup issues that may be significant even over
short lengths. However, I used the word "suggestion" very consciously, as
the use of XLR or TRS connectors is no guarantee that the I/O interface is
actually balanced. In the case of the L22 and other Lynx cards, the
interfaces are balanced.

[Arny Krueger]

"Croline" > wrote in message


>> Lynx L22.

> seems nice but 749$ seems big for me :)
> i'd say 300$ at most is my budget. i've been thinking about an Echo
> Mia.

Hold that thought. You might even act on it...

;-)

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> XLR's are overkill for runs of just a few meters. Actually, the main
> benefits of XLRs relate to durability and the fact that they latch in
> place. Electrically, TRS is just as good, but there's no comparison from a
> mechanical/durability standpoint.

I suspect that XLR may be the "other" name he knows, coming from the
SoundBlaster world of mini 1/8" unbalanced stereo phone jacks. Any
experience with those beyond plugging in the computer speakers and
leaving them in place for a year until it's time for a new computer
would certainly leave someone wanting a more robust connector.

Nothing wrong with a well built 1/4" jack though, either on a breakout
box or directly on the rear of the sound card as with the Mia. In
fact, an RCA jack is preferable to a mini phone jack.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )

[Arny Krueger]

"Mike Rivers" > wrote in message
news:znr1057492228k@trad
> In article >
> writes:
>
>> XLR's are overkill for runs of just a few meters. Actually, the main
>> benefits of XLRs relate to durability and the fact that they latch
>> in place. Electrically, TRS is just as good, but there's no
>> comparison from a mechanical/durability standpoint.

> I suspect that XLR may be the "other" name he knows, coming from the
> SoundBlaster world of mini 1/8" unbalanced stereo phone jacks.

Could be.

> Any experience with those beyond plugging in the computer speakers and
> leaving them in place for a year until it's time for a new computer
> would certainly leave someone wanting a more robust connector.

Agreed. There's just not enough strength in a 1/8" pot metal post. Maybe
someone could come up with a titanium/epoxy version.

> Nothing wrong with a well built 1/4" jack though, either on a breakout
> box or directly on the rear of the sound card as with the Mia.

In theory an XLR should outlast an XLR in mechanically stressful
applications like on-stage. However, I seem to see them both break about as
often. Mostly its the wire, which both share in common. In a home studio,
either should be just fine. Somehow I feel better about trucks rolling over
XLRs. If I was going to use an audio cable to climb a wall, I'd prefer XLRs.

> In fact, an RCA jack is preferable to a mini phone jack.

I'm not sure if I'd go that far. There's quite a range of things out there
selling under the title RCA plug. The best of them would clearly be
preferable to the best 1/8" stuff I've ever seen, but the worst IMO
wouldn't.

[Laurence Payne]

>hello. i have some questions about recording my final mixes to my computer.
>
> - any advice for a good soundcard which would have 2 XLR IN / 2 XLR OUT ?
>(or balanced jack outputs). it has to have good A/D and D/A converter, but
>i'm not a pro, but i got a good homestudio (i make electro/accoustic stuff
>and got a soundcraft spirit studio 24. i plan to buy some TLAudio stuff to
>treat my whole mixes)
>
> - can i keep my soundblaster 128 in addition to this "pro" soundcard (for
>regular pc multimedia purpose) or will it be a mess ?
>
> - is there any used to record at 24bits96khz when on CD it's finally 16bit
>44khz ? or is there a use if then i send my 24bit 96khz stereo .WAV files to
>the mastering, do they bother or 16bit 44khz is the same for them ? (i ask
>this to know if it's necessary to get a 24 bit soundcard)
>
> - distance between my mixboard and my pc should be a couple of meters.
>will XLR assure me no loss of quality despite the cable's lenght ? (never
>used xlr cables)
>


M-Audio Audiophile.
The in/outs aren't XLR and may not even be balanced, but it really
doesn't matter at line level.

All currently available quality cards that I know of are 24 bit. If
you're doing any processing on the recorded file use 24 bit. If not,
16 bit is fine. 96KHz is overkill at this level of working.

Many people use a soundblaster alongside a quality card. You may find
you don't need it unless you make use of the onboard midi.

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> "Roger W. Norman" > wrote in message
>
>
> > Yep, it's problem is really with 1/8" jacks, not the plugs.
>
> True. I see at least 10 of the jacks broken for every broken plug.
> Ironic, given that the plug is generally easier to replace.

We're going to have to report you to the HUAC, Arny. Replacing broken
parts is un-American. You're supposed to replace the entire device.
I'm presently out on bail on the charge of replacing the electronic
timer in my coffee grinder with a toggle switch. <g>






--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )

[Laurence Payne]

>> Many people use a soundblaster alongside a quality card. You may find
>> you don't need it unless you make use of the onboard midi.
>
>A card like the SoundBlaster Audigy or some of the better on-board sound
>systems are suitable for casual monitoring and debugging. They are
>beneficial only if you route all those crazy Windows desktop noises to them,
>since they are then kept away from the serious work.

I guess I assumed that anyone even remotely interested in audio would
long ago have disabled all Windows sounds :-)