Thanks, this sounds interesting so I'll take a look at that. On 18/02/2008, at 5:02 PM, Kelly Pierce wrote:
> Dane, > > A couple of years ago, I wanted to obtain excellent audio at a > reasonable > price. After sifting through years worth of messages on this list > and that > of blind tech, the consensus from the enlightened and informed was the > Audiophile 2496 sound card from M-Audio. The card includes the > Delta audio > interface. My aim was to increase the sound quality of the music I > listen > to using my computer and to also feed voice recordings from the > community > recorded with a minidisc recorder into it. My research and decision > was > confirmed by a conversation I had with Tom McCann, proprietor of > Dancing > dots. tom created a really nice web page, sorting out the sound > card issue > for blind musicians. It can be found at: > > http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/soundcards.htm > > When I bought the Audiophile 2496 a couple of years ago, it was the > sound > card installed in his superduper audio recording workstation. I > bought two > sound cards from tom and his Dancing Dots business, whose price was > competitive with vendors on the Internet. > > My techie who I originally found on Craigslist came by one weekend and > installed the sound cards on two computers as well as the Delta audio > interface. He also adjusted JAWS so it used the computer's onboard > sound > card on one of the machines. > > The sound quality is excellent with a greater depth and clarity than > what I > thought possible from a computer sound card. It is especially > bright and > clear when playing audio in 24 bit mode in Winamp. the card is quiet, > producing no background noise at regular sound levels. I decided > not to go > with the Creative cards, including the Audigy, after reading many > end user > experiences of mediocre quality and a relatively high noise floor > compared > to the Audiophile 2496. I had used the SoundBlaster card with my DOS > machines in the 1990s and with my first Windows machine this > decade. End > users spoke about a good, but not truly great sound from Audigy > cards and > there were a fair number of reports of enough quantization noise > that it > posed a real irritation for some. I did not find these reports from > Audiophile 2496 end users though. While I was comfortable with > Creative > products, I wanted a device to take me to the next level in audio > quality > from a computer's on board sound card or a SoundBlaster. I came to > realize > that an Audigy would not fully take me to this new place of high > quality > audio that I had never been before. > > The drawback to this card and most of the M-Audio cards is that they > are > intended to be used with either a mixer or microphone pre- > amplifier. There > is no microphone input on this and most M-audio cards. Also, all the > complaints on all the online forums about the documentation and > learning > curve of the Delta audio interface are absolutely true and > accurate. the > interface is complex and the documentation is skimpy and poorly > worded. I > read through the manual about five times before fully understanding > it. In > my day job, I read through lengthy and complicated policy and program > documents all the time so a software manual is hardly a challenging > undertaking. Yet, I was on my fifth reading when I did a sentence by > sentence analysis of the manual when I finally got it, which was about > after two or three days of staying focused on this device. I knew I > could > call tom of Dancing dots with some questions but I first had to know > enough > to formulate a question! > > the trickiest part was configuring the card for recording. both the > card > and the mixing sections in the Delta interface needed to be configured > properly for audio input from the card's line in jacks to be recorded > properly. In the end, I now easily obtain broadcast quality > recordings > with many complements. > > For those like me who work in a corporate environment or large > government > agency here in the United States, being able to use a Mac with voice > Over > is a near impossibility. rather than learn two operating systems, I > use > Microsoft Windows exclusively as do hundreds of millions of others > throughout the world. This serves me well with quality audio output > and > very good audio recording and editing options. > > Kelly > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Dane Trethowan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "PC Audio Discussion List" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> > Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:55 AM > Subject: Sound devices for the PC > > > Hi everyone! > Ok (as surprising as this may sound to a lot of people) I'm a novice > with the PC technology (or trashbox as I prefer to call it <smile.) > these days so I'd appreciate some input from other list members here. > I've spoken about my DAT and I intend to get the digital converter > that someone on this list kindly gave me the name of, I found it still > in stock in some of the shops here so I've placed an order. > The discussion has also prompted me to look at a new sound device for > the Trashbox, I've used (up until now) SB Live cards, the Realtek ac97 > built-in sound device on the Mother Board of the Trashbox and the Imic > sound devices, all have performed to my expectations but now however, > well I'm stepping into unfamiliar teritory as I want to purchase a > sound card with digital i/o capabilities but on the other hand I want > it to be as accessible with speech as is practical, I'm told that many > of the new sound devices on the market have volume controls which > differ from the standard windows volume controls, is this correct? > I briefly looked at the catalogue displayed by my local computer store > on the net http://www.istore.com.au and looked at the Creative brand, > there's no shortage of sound devices there it would seem but which one > to buy? Should I in fact steer clear of Creative completely and go for > something else? > Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. > As a footnote to this, my Trashbox is approaching its fifth birthday > so I'm wanting something which will be compatible with my current > Trashbox and will be compatible with a new Trashbox which I plan to > purchase in about 6 months all being well. Of course! if the device > should be compatible with the Mac then that's a bonus but that's > something that I don't class as a priority. > Thanks In Advance > > ****************************** > Dane Trethowan > From Melton Victoria Australia > Phone +613 9747 3975 > Voiceover Tech Support +613 8732 9237 > Fax +613 9743 7954 > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > msn: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > skype: callto:grtdane12 > ******************************* > > > > > > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************** Dane Trethowan From Melton Victoria Australia Phone +613 9747 3975 Voiceover Tech Support +613 8732 9237 Fax +613 9743 7954 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] msn: [EMAIL PROTECTED] skype: callto:grtdane12 ******************************* Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
