before i’m getting told to use the search function. i did but i couldn’t really find what i was looking for, because most of the threads seem to be about problems with notebook soundcards.
but this is also a point of interest for me, because i’m looking for one, which is 100% compatible with renoise. as mentioned above some users seemed to have some problems with firewire/pcmcia cards. are there any recommendations out there? i prefer a pcmcia one.
thanks in advance
Im using M-audio Audiophile USB, and havent have any problems with it on Renoise.
I think Echo Indigo would be good choice, if you prefer pcmcia -card. But owners of that could tell you more about it.
depends if you plan on getting a new laptop in the future, then a pcmcia card wouldn’t be a smart choice…technology has moved on to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard . Dunno if there are soundcards for that standard out yet, maybe better of buying a firewire or usb card.
I own a echo indigo i/o pcmcia card and am very happy with it, low latency and good crisp soundquality, I could really hear the difference with the onboard soundcard, much more defenition in the low frequencies.
I’ve read some problems here on the board with the echo cards & renoise but never had any problems with the card myself, so maybe those problems were hardware dependant, motherboard(?).
yeah, but look at it 
Echo is OK, but it will break as the design is fundamentally flawed; the volume control is on the actual card itself (I know you can use the software to control the level, but at times you will need to use the hardware for speed). Everytime you use the volume control, the unit is put under stress and you will end up with a cracked card.
A breakout box is a better idea if you have the spare cash. There are a lot of these about (I use a 1616m which I like and feels solid, but there are alot of other brands which will do the same job)
PCMCIA seems to be the best option for me and I have experienced no audio drop outs (A problem which seemed to plague my old USB interface.) You will need to check out the make of your PCMCIA unit inside your laptop. Google you Make and Model to find out, then investigate if you PCMCIA slot is compatible.
My Indigo is broken, but not because of the volume control (which never gave me problems but is very convenient!!!)
The audio-out jack on mine is busted. but supposedly repairable… (still works intermittently)
There you go… Another thing that can go wrong with the Echo Indigo.
It is a good card, but the design is not robust or well thought out enough it seems
eh. it broke after 3 years of hard use. im gonna fix it.
super portable. pretty cheap (~$120). super good sound. super low latency.
i’d buy another one.
i still use it actually. just gotta f#%$ with the jack a bit.
then again. when im not in the mood to deal with it i just use my onboard realtek with asio4all. 
I’ve been using a Tascam US-122 with my laptop without any problems. has mic (xlr) inputs and 1/4" line/guitar ins, inserts, phantom power, even overload lights. sounds great! only thing it’s lacking is balanced outs, just has stereo rca. can anyone recommend something similar but with balanced xlr outs?
i just bought the echo indigo io…
waiting for delivery
see how she goes ey. .
I have an Acer notebook and I just bought Indigo IO.
I thought the sound would be better than my internal soundcard, and the latency would be better. I use sennheiser HD-570 headset, and i can’t hear any difference, but the latency has become maybe 15ms better, and that’s the only real joy. I don’t use the input, so for me right now, i “only” gained a better latency, a little bit dissapointed. I also had trouble with the drivers.
I just bought Line 6 Toneport UX2 and it seems very good so far compared to my old M-Audio Audiophile. Absolutely no glitches on my Powerbook 15", but ITunes seem to slightly glitch when I use my Macbook 13" with Windows XP running in a window.
It comes with the application Gearbox that emulates different amplifiers and cabinets for guitar and bass which is very usable for people using analog instruments. Within Gearbox you can download all kinds of presets. Right now I use a combination of my old metall-fuzz and Mark Knopflers amp-preset from “Sultans of Swing”, and it rocks a friggin lot!
Line 6 also produces the well known, and celebrated POD.
Price: approximately 200 EUR.
Pretty low latency. Actually I don´t know exactly how much, but I consider myself hard to satisfy when it comes to that 
USB powered.
Inputs: 2x phantompowered mono XLR w/gain knobs, 2x mono instrument jack, 2x mono line inputs, 1x stereo direct thru input.
Outputs: 1x stereo phone w/volume knob, 2x mono (left and right) output w/volume knob.
And it has an assignable analog meter that looks cool. One bad thing is that it cannot record more than two mono tracks at the time in Cubase and similiar, but I have not yet seen anything in this price-class that does that.
You can`t hear any difference? The main thing you should notice when you upgrade to any decent soundcard is the lack of noise. Stick your headphones in the Indigo and turn it up full. Should be silent. Now do the same in your internal. I would be very suprised if you didnt get hiss.
Plus the fact that you’re not likely to hear a difference with headphones. Can you try comparing the outputs on an amplified speaker system? I bet you would then.
I’m considering a laptop now the c2d ones are going pretty cheaply, and a sound card will be needed, so I’ll probably refer to this thread later on.
Actually, the built-in soundcards in the old Powerbooks are pretty good although you are tied to mini-jacks. Little noise and very low latency, that, together with Final Cut was the greatest reasons why I turned to Apple in the first place.
However, when my old Powerbook G4 went in the floor, I bought the new Intel Macbook PRO 15". The soundcard sucked very much, with constant noise in line-in, and audio-hickups way beyond the acceptable (probably because of new marketing lines after Apple was sold to IBM, other components also seemed cheaper). I tried using a gate to cover the line-in noise, but after one show I went back to Apple-store in Norway.
Apple tried to fix my computer 3 times without luck, so I ended up buying the smaller Macbook 13" and Toneport UX2. In a way, I am happy I went through that process because I do hear a remarkable difference in the lower frequencies and the inputs are more flexible. But on the other hand, I am much for everything that is built-in if it works properly, like with the Amiga.
Anyway, just wanted to share my story.
Motorola - rest in peace.
im thinking to get a emu 0404, looks like a nice card to me
If you own a PC that is.
You think so? In my experience it has always been more apparent on headphones…
My Echo Indigo has been superb and I bought it when it was first released. No problems here, though I tend to take very good care of all of my equipment.