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#1
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
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 |
#2
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
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#3
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
"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. |
#4
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
"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... ;-) |
#6
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
"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. |
#7
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
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. |
#8
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
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#9
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a couple of questions about recording on PC
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 :-) |
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