What is a ?

  • a critical piece of piece of electronic wizardry…
  • which translates the artists performance…
  • into the form your recording software needs, based on
  • the artist’s performance – captured by , or direct from the instrument

If your sound card was provide with your PC or MAC – save up and buy a third party sound card that is designed for [tag]recording[/tag].

But what really matters when it comes to selecting a for recording?

M-Audio Delta 44 Digital Audio Sound CardMost computer sound cards are equiped with a range of 1/8” jack sockets. These are used to provide input and outputs connections for different purposes.

Headphones Output

Strangely enough, this is intended for you to connect !

If your sound card does not provide a line output, you can also use this connector to link to an external amplifier to drive your monitor speakers.

Microphone input

This is designed for use with computer , so don’t try it with a recording microphone. If you do, you’ll probably get a very distorted sound – because a recording microphone won’t match either the signal level or the impedance of this input channel.

(If you don’t have a technical background, think of “impedance” as the “diameter of the pipe” the signal has to squeeze through. As in home plumbing, if you don’t match same-size pipes, you get a mess if you don’t match connector impedance.)

Joystick and/or MIDI port

A joystick or MIDI port (with an adapter you can hook up a keyboard or other MIDI device to it)

Line Input

The line input on a sound card can be used to record from some signal sources.

However, don’t use any of these on line inputs:

  • recording microphones of any kind,
  • headphone jacks,
  • instruments with outputs (Guitar and Bass), or
  • any instrument amplifier speaker outputs

Line inputs can however be used with anything that has a line output. For example:

  • Keyboard line output
  • instrument amp line outputs (Guitar, Bass)
  • CD player outputs etc.

You will probably need adapters for some of these – for example, to convert standard ¼” jack to 1/8” mini-jack or vice-versa.

So How Should I go about choosing a Sound Card?

Here’s some key points to consider when you do your research on which sound card is suitable for your needs:

1. How many inputs will I need to record?
2. Are you planning to record with microphones and if so will you require a pre amp?
3. Budget: how much are you willing to spend for that perfect sound?

Tip: Choose a professional sound card. Avoid a consumer sound card.

Here’s 3 points I consider essential to help me decide which sound cards sound the best for recording:

  1. Which AD and DA are used in the sound card?
    • These convert your incoming analog signals to its digital equivalent
    • Having better quality analog circuitry and AD – DA converters will produce a better quality sound product.
  2. PreSonus DigiMax FS 8-Channel ADA Converter with Microphone PreampsIs the sound card rate-locked?
    • I always recommend you avoid a sound card that is rate-locked.
    • Why does it matter? For example, let’s say your sound card is rate locked at 48 kHz. When you are recording at 44.1 kHz (The standard sampling rate for music CD’s) the soundcard will have to convert the sound source once upon input and again upon output. This will decrease the sound quality you hear. It can also create delay (”latency”) problems in your recording sessions causing tracks to sound out of time. And sync errors can be common.
  3. What type of analog circuitry before and after the AD and DA converters?

To answer that, let’s look in a bit more depth at professional versions of a “sound card”…

Many software developers like Digidesign and Steinberg offer that are becoming the preferred option among musicians instead of a standard soundcard. Audio Interfaces have what’s called a breakout box - hardware that sits separate from the computer but is attached to it via a PCI slot or connection.

  • M-Audio AudioBuddy Dual Microphone Preamp with Phantom Power and Direct BoxAn audio interface contains a number of connectors to handle multiple connections from microphones, instruments, and mixers of monitor system.
  • Audio Interfaces also feature balanced inputs, meaning you don’t have to get that XLR to 1/8” Jack adapter to plug into your sound card, which will never produce as clean of a recording, you can just plug it in normally into the audio interface.
  • Audio Interfaces will usually also include a and phantom power (Used to power Condenser Microphones)

Digital Audio Converter (DAC)

What determine the sonic performance of your home recording?

The Digital Audio converter “reads” the incoming analog signal from the sound source and samples it; transforming it into data, or numbers. Then the computer can manipulate it in various ways, use and merge it with other data, and store it to your hard disks.

Whether the sound card is attached to a PCI slot, Firewire or USB which merely shuttle the data created by the DAC, having a good converter will determine how good the sound is.

Software Drivers manage the flow of data that goes from the CPU (Central Processing unit) of your computer and from the DAC. It organizes the data so the CPU can grab and use it when an audio application needs it.

When buying a soundcard it’s important to know about the drivers that are included and if:

  • Driver is compatible with your operating system (Windows XP, MAC OSX etc)
  • There are download updates available online
  • The driver is compatible with your recording software
  • It has an updated driver within the past six months and is updated to the latest service packs and OS updates

Advice: Professional sound cards don’t become dated as quickly as the consumer counterpart. So it’s important to think about where you’re heading in the future with recording. Aim to invest in equipment that will last compatibly for at least five years.

In the big picture, if you spend a lot of money on a great sound card, yet you neglect other areas of your recording studio (i.e. cheap monitor speakers, microphones and low end recording software) you will not reap the benefits of your professional sound card quality. Matching a high end sound card with low end recording gear will prevent it from properly utilizing its potential and produce a lower quality result.

PCI, USB and Firewire cards

These are the three choices of sound card type for your computer.

A PCI card is the older choice of the three, yet with newer versions is still the fastest audio device out there. The only downside to a PCI card is that since there are different brands of PC’s on the market and many have certain PCI slots that share resources with other slots, sometimes the video PCI card will cause conflict among other things. You generally have to find the good slot. You can be lucky and find it the first time. If you don’t mind the potential threat of sleepless nights and headaches(!!), a PCI card is reliable, solid and fast.

Alesis IO14 14-Channel FireWire Audio/MIDI InterfaceFirewire cards are easier to install. Your computer will require a firewire port (commonly built in these days). On older models you can install a PCI firewire card. A good firewire interface will provide plenty of tracks to record and work with and can lead to fewer hassles than a PCI. Using Firewire cards with good DACs and Drivers is also a great way forward.

USB cards are the easiest way to go. With the “plug and play mentality” USB can be a simple solution for right now – or it could give you some headaches. The downside to using USB for your soundcard is a lower track count for recording, higher , and recording software glitches or crashes when you’re running close to it’s maximum limit. Mac computers seem to handle USB better than PC’s.

Advice: As with most recording gear it is all relative and personal. Depending on what you have and what you want there are many factors to consider. Make a list of your requirements and start eliminating sound cards that don’t qualify until you find your match.

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