I am looking for a new PCI soundcard and have been steered toward
either the e-mu 0404 or the m-audio audiophile 2496.

Can anyone tell me the differences in capabilities and quality of
these two cards. Are ther others including Terratec Phase 22 that I
should looker closer at?

I own a Sony Net MD NF810 minidisc recorder and am learning to record
live music. I play back thru the MD line out to the mic jack of my
sound card (Sound Blaster pci128 or onboard C-Media) and recreate a
digital file using Audacity. This digital capture feature is my main
motivation in buying a new card, but I plan to learn more about
mastering and recording live music and may move on to other (most
likely portable) digital recording formats.

Perhaps an external unit that I could use with my laptop, as well,
might be a better solution, I listen to a lot of music through my
desktop so a sound card upgrade is warranted.

Thanks in advance.

I don't like the look of the breakout fans on either device you mention,
they look prone to failure to me. The 2 cards are similar in features, The
E-Mu can be switched to AES digital instead of SPDIF, but minidiscs are
always SPDIF, so that probably shouldn't be a consideration. Looks like
both cards are around $100 - $120.

If you wanted to use it with your laptop, The Edirol UA-1X might be more
useful for less money.

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/ua1x.html

It doesn't do 96kHz 24 bit, but the question is do you need it? It does up
to 48 kHz 16bit. But, it costs less and since it is USB, you can use it
with a laptop too. The cabling looks more reliable to me, the only cable
hanging off is the USB cable. It costs about $80.

If your primary source of original program material is live to minidisc, the
44.1 kHz 16 bit is what you really want anyway. This device would be fine.
The 24 bit 96kHz only applies if you are using the sound card to record to
your hard disk from an analog source or if you need to transfer an existing
96kHz 24 bit source, which sounds like is unlikely in your case too.

But, if you really do want 96kHz, 24 bit, a more sturdy device, I have
successfully installed in 4 different computers (a 98SE, 2-Win XP's, and a
Mac) is the Echo MIA MIDI:

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/PCI/MiaMIDI/index.php

If you really do need 96kHz 24 bit PCI, I like this one. It's about $160.

Julian


"swampthing" wrote in message
...
I am looking for a new PCI soundcard and have been steered toward
either the e-mu 0404 or the m-audio audiophile 2496.

Can anyone tell me the differences in capabilities and quality of
these two cards. Are ther others including Terratec Phase 22 that I
should looker closer at?

I own a Sony Net MD NF810 minidisc recorder and am learning to record
live music. I play back thru the MD line out to the mic jack of my
sound card (Sound Blaster pci128 or onboard C-Media) and recreate a
digital file using Audacity. This digital capture feature is my main
motivation in buying a new card, but I plan to learn more about
mastering and recording live music and may move on to other (most
likely portable) digital recording formats.

Perhaps an external unit that I could use with my laptop, as well,
might be a better solution, I listen to a lot of music through my
desktop so a sound card upgrade is warranted.

Thanks in advance.

I don't like the look of the breakout fans on either device you mention,
they look prone to failure to me. The 2 cards are similar in features, The
E-Mu can be switched to AES digital instead of SPDIF, but minidiscs are
always SPDIF, so that probably shouldn't be a consideration. Looks like
both cards are around $100 - $120.

If you wanted to use it with your laptop, The Edirol UA-1X might be more
useful for less money.

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/ua1x.html

It doesn't do 96kHz 24 bit, but the question is do you need it? It does up
to 48 kHz 16bit. But, it costs less and since it is USB, you can use it
with a laptop too. The cabling looks more reliable to me, the only cable
hanging off is the USB cable. It costs about $80.

If your primary source of original program material is live to minidisc, the
44.1 kHz 16 bit is what you really want anyway. This device would be fine.
The 24 bit 96kHz only applies if you are using the sound card to record to
your hard disk from an analog source or if you need to transfer an existing
96kHz 24 bit source, which sounds like is unlikely in your case too.

But, if you really do want 96kHz, 24 bit, a more sturdy device, I have
successfully installed in 4 different computers (a 98SE, 2-Win XP's, and a
Mac) is the Echo MIA MIDI:

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/PCI/MiaMIDI/index.php

If you really do need 96kHz 24 bit PCI, I like this one. It's about $160.

Julian


"swampthing" wrote in message
...
I am looking for a new PCI soundcard and have been steered toward
either the e-mu 0404 or the m-audio audiophile 2496.

Can anyone tell me the differences in capabilities and quality of
these two cards. Are ther others including Terratec Phase 22 that I
should looker closer at?

I own a Sony Net MD NF810 minidisc recorder and am learning to record
live music. I play back thru the MD line out to the mic jack of my
sound card (Sound Blaster pci128 or onboard C-Media) and recreate a
digital file using Audacity. This digital capture feature is my main
motivation in buying a new card, but I plan to learn more about
mastering and recording live music and may move on to other (most
likely portable) digital recording formats.

Perhaps an external unit that I could use with my laptop, as well,
might be a better solution, I listen to a lot of music through my
desktop so a sound card upgrade is warranted.

Thanks in advance.