I temporarily using an inexpensive Aopen Cobra AW840 sound card. The
recording mixer allows me to select one of three inputs: Microphone,
Wave (which carries signals from all my various digital players like
Windows Media Player, Winamp, CoolEdit), and Stereo Mix (which carries
signals from the analog sources of Line In, DVD burner, and CD burner).

If I put CoolEdit in its record mode and watch its level meter with no
inputs, here's what I see:


Input Gain=Min Gain=Max
Microphone -68 dB -54 dB
Wave -120 dB -120 dB
Stereo Mix -120 dB -58 dB

Are those background levels in the -54 to -68 range a function of
circuitry on the sound board? (Aopen doesn't publish s/n ratio for this
board, and these numbers are probably why.) So to improve the s/n
numbers, I should look for a better PCI sound card. Any suggestions in
the $50 range?

Thanks,

Ray

"Ray K" wrote in message

I temporarily using an inexpensive Aopen Cobra AW840 sound card. The
recording mixer allows me to select one of three inputs: Microphone,
Wave (which carries signals from all my various digital players like
Windows Media Player, Winamp, CoolEdit), and Stereo Mix (which carries
signals from the analog sources of Line In, DVD burner, and CD
burner).
If I put CoolEdit in its record mode and watch its level meter with no
inputs, here's what I see:

Input Gain=Min Gain=Max

Microphone -68 dB -54 dB
Wave -120 dB -120 dB
Stereo Mix -120 dB -58 dB

Are those background levels in the -54 to -68 range a function of
circuitry on the sound board?

Most likely.

(Aopen doesn't publish s/n ratio for
this board, and these numbers are probably why.) So to improve the s/n
numbers, I should look for a better PCI sound card. Any suggestions in
the $50 range?

Well forget about the mic input for anything important, period.

For $50 you might get better dynamic range out of some flavor of
SoundBlaster Live! MP3/5.1 whatever. The very newest Live! are actually
pretty clean. Or, see if you can pull a used Audiophile 2496 off eBay.

Arny Krueger wrote:
"Ray K" wrote in message


I temporarily using an inexpensive Aopen Cobra AW840 sound card. The
recording mixer allows me to select one of three inputs: Microphone,
Wave (which carries signals from all my various digital players like
Windows Media Player, Winamp, CoolEdit), and Stereo Mix (which carries
signals from the analog sources of Line In, DVD burner, and CD
burner).
If I put CoolEdit in its record mode and watch its level meter with no
inputs, here's what I see:


Input Gain=Min Gain=Max


Microphone -68 dB -54 dB
Wave -120 dB -120 dB
Stereo Mix -120 dB -58 dB


Are those background levels in the -54 to -68 range a function of
circuitry on the sound board?


Most likely.


(Aopen doesn't publish s/n ratio for
this board, and these numbers are probably why.) So to improve the s/n
numbers, I should look for a better PCI sound card. Any suggestions in
the $50 range?


Well forget about the mic input for anything important, period.

For $50 you might get better dynamic range out of some flavor of
SoundBlaster Live! MP3/5.1 whatever. The very newest Live! are actually
pretty clean. Or, see if you can pull a used Audiophile 2496 off eBay.

Thanks for the input and lead.

Ray