I’m using Emagic 2|6 on a USB1 connection (it sucks, i get poppy, cliky audio)
Thinking of getting the m-audio audiophile - firewire
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 here. Pretty good. I have crappy speakers, though 
SB Audigy 2 here
pretty ok…
Some people say that ASIO support could be better… But i don’t have anything to compare…
EMU 1212M via balanced outputs.
48khz, ASIO, 19ms latency.
9ms is also working great most of the time, but resource hungry tunes tend to get stutters here and there when latency is below 19ms.
btw: i’m just planning to attach a decent microphone to that card… but it seems like it’s not that easy, because those 1/4" inputs lack a pre-amp.
did any one succeed wiring a mic to that card and if so, what hardware did you use (what mic, what pre-amp, what cables (xlr to 1/4"?) ?)
M-audio Audiophile 2496.
Perfect for my needs at home.
Not too satisfied with the ASIO, not at all happy with the mic-solution but it does what it’s supposed to do and it does it well!
Soundblaster Audigy 2 (PCI) with the KX project drivers, which must be the
best drivers Ive seen for any card yet. -The DSP is completely open for
reprogramming in a graphic modular system so you can make chains of
effects (vocoder, 10-band EQ, reverb, frequency dividers + many more)
for each channel, with wiring and all. You can also program your own
effects. And these have extremely low latency, as they run on the
cards internal DSP.
These drivers are the best thing about this otherwise inexpensive card.
5 ms latency @ 48khz works good up to 60% CPU usage then it rapidly
starts to crackle/pop.
some creative (live player pro or something) with the kx-drivers, works like a charm.
sagosen, do you use that hercules with virtual dj or something ? because I thought about buying me one … but I read mixed reviews (some declaring its dope and some saying its bullshit … not much help from that) and I actually dont need that built in audio interface … but as I see there is nothing like this without an audio-interface (there are other consoles from behringer and some other company I forgot). but would be nice to have your opinion on that one.
SB Live!
I will soon switch to something better. Still not sure what will it be. Most probably M-Audio Delta Audiophile or Echo Mia MIDI.
I use the audiophile firewire and love it. I also got a 2496 in my desktop. both have been great. but read into the firewire audiophile. there are some hot plug troubles, somthing to do with extrenal firewire hard drives. But it seems to only affect some. Ive had no trouble use it live and in the studio. been great for me.
Looza:
To sum it up in pros and cons:
pro_
All-in-one-package with easy, locig access to the buttons you need. All buttons pre-defined. Good sound-quality, exellent for the BEGINNER or the one with no other equipment. Works as MIDI-controller in any other software. Responsive big glowing buttons. Nudge-wheel. Not expensive. Bundled with Virtual DJ 1.09. Perfect for laptop-dj’s who want to travel light!
con_
Feels plastic fantastic. The mic don’t show up on any devices. With the latest Virtual DJ (2.06) you can use any MIDI-slider to control the volume/pitch etc. You can easily use the keyboard to nudge. Need to use the mouse/keyboard to select songs efficently anyway. The buttons on the device are SET, if the software expands with another very useful slider/button you could need, tough; use keyboard. Same if you want to seriously use looping.
All in all, if you have a good soundcard with surround output (front speaker-out for speakers, back-out for monitoring), a MIDI-controller with 11+ knobs/faders and don’t really need the soundcard you should go for the latest Virtual DJ software in stead. It’s 129$ (in other words, less of an investment) and you can stick to what hardware you already have. Unless you need “analogue” nudge or maximum portability.
Any help?
I hooked a mixer with a pre-amp up to my Emu 0404 (with XLR cables hooked up to the mixer). It works fine for me. I added the little mixer to my cheap bedroom non-studio a while ago just so I could hear my ESQ-1 (which doesn’t have a headphone jack) without routing it through other things, and it’s become one of the most useful things I own…
SB Audigy 2. Good card, good drivers, nice audio…
sagosen : wanted to send you a PN, but I am not allowed to do that … (wtf?)
I opened up another thread in the off-topic, so we dont clutter this thread here.
looza: personal messages do not work on this forum (bandwidth reasons).
You can still use the “MAIL” button.
I see, still I guess its okay to open that other thread, maybe that topic is of some general interest.
echo indigo i/o
best buy I ever did.
delta 44
Edirol FA-101 (Firewire) for me. about 10ms latency at normal settings and the thing runs without problems. i get slight crackles at about 75% processor usage which is tip top.
i have always used creative’s standard cards (by necessity becuz i’m poor) they perform sound card services and little else. before it was a soundblaster 64. now it’s a soundblaster live. i’m using mine with asio4all.
my laptop’s got conextant amc audio with asio4all. noisy as hell! 
i’ve gotten to use higher grade soundcards at studio’s and while working with other people, live i just end up having to tweak around with cables and grounding tricks until i can get the noise to go away.
- sigh * one day i’ll get a motu
