M-Audio Sound Card?

[The_One]

Hi Everyone,

I was pretty much set on buying whichever Creative card my budget could handle, and then I ran across the M-Audio Sound Card. Anybody ever heard of that one? They have a pretty good rep in the sound world. Great speakers... 8) I'll be buying a set of their PC speakers whichever card I use. Anyway, what do you guys think? Thanks! 😀

 

[astrallite]

http://firingsquad.com/hardware/upgrade_pc_audio/

M-Audio cards are more music oriented. No resampling to 48KHz.

 

[jaykemurd]

Out of pure curiosity, which M-Audio card were you looking at? I have the Delta 1010LT installed in my computer, for audio recording. M-Audio's cards seem to be better for music and audio sompling/editing.

 

[tmoneygetpaid]

Honestly, I don't know why people keep buying the latest soundblasters and pc sound cards. Well, yes I do, it's marketing.

"Audio recording" cards are cheap in comparison and have MORE fidelity and accuracy that those non-recordist cards do, and creative et al. just jack up the price because people are intimidated by audio setup and terminology. If you can handle tinkering with drivers every so often (for instance, to change the sample rates so you get all the audio fidelity in a game), you can save a ton and end up with some neat features you might even end up using-- like some rca or 1/4" or xlr ins so you could, for instance, digitize your lp collection, use any kind of mic for in-game voice instead of being stuck to an overpriced headset.

What astrallite said is not really accurate (no offense, friend). You can live switch the sample rates for input and output on just about every audio recording card using an in-windows driver config. program. So while, if your card is set to in/out at 44.1kHz, your game audio may sound crappy because your card can't resample, you can simply change the drivers to 48kHz. Just make sure that the card you're looking at supports 48kHz. Most now support all the way up to 96khz, and if you're running your card at default of 96khz, you're card will automatically resample to 48khz anyway.

Most recording cards even feature wdm drivers, which let applications share the drivers so you can run them as your default windows audio output device without any kind of error.

Anyway, I'd recommend getting an audiophile 2496 and some audio adapters from radioshack so you can plug 1/8" phono headphones into one of your pairs of rca outs when you need and leave the other pair for your monitors. The card has 24-bit, 96khz, 5.1 coaxial (all digital) out.

Have fun!

 

[astrallite]

What astrallite said is not really accurate (no offense, friend). You can live switch the sample rates for input and output on just about every audio recording card using an in-windows driver config. program. So while, if your card is set to in/out at 44.1kHz, your game audio may sound crappy because your card can't resample, you can simply change the drivers to 48kHz. Just make sure that the card you're looking at supports 48kHz. Most now support all the way up to 96khz, and if you're running your card at default of 96khz, you're card will automatically resample to 48khz anyway.

Have fun!

I think we are talking about different things; I should have clarified. I meant to say wave file *output* is resampled at 48KHz most PCI solutions (Creative) and onboard (Windows MIXER automatically also resamples to 48KHz). I agree creation mode is very flexible.

If you are talking about output, then I'm not really experienced with whatever apps you are using to set the sampling rate, but to my knowledge, alot of these resampling schemes are hardware based, so any sampling rate app will just add an extra resampling to the process--which probably (is) redundant.

 

[tmoneygetpaid]

I see what you're saying-- but the M-audio mixer, what I was calling the "driver setup program" isn't redundant because it replaces the windows mixer. I like it a lot better just because it allows a lot more control over all audio options-- more than just input/ output gain as on windows mixer.

Either way, with the m-audio, you'll probably have to do a little more tinkering, but it's not such a big deal with the really simple driver setup program that's included. Here's a screenshot of that driver setup program. It's really not intimidating and you probably won't even mess with it unless you're recording or outputting masters and stuff.

and the benefit of the m-audio is just more flexibility. If you want to upgrade to an all-digital, coax-based comp speaker setup, you have the option, etc., etc.

for most users, I think we could sum up by saying the only real difference between the two cards (the X-Fi and the Audiophile 2496), since they're now priced identically, would be a little more setup and more flexibility in input/ outputs vs. a little less flexibility and almost no setup required. But an X-Fi with comparable input/output will double the price, so there is major price inflation.

 

[chunkymonster]

The One...I've got an M-Audio Revolution 7.1 in my production machine and have found it to be the best audio card I've ever used...over other cards I've had from Turtle Beach, Hercules, and Creative...cheaper than the cheapest X-Fi and better sound...I highly recommend it...

 

[imperfectcircle25]

Creative=crap
M-audio=good

 

[antec20]

i have both the m-audio revolution 5.1 & the revolution 7.1. both work excellent for everything. if price is no object get the revolution 7.1.

creative does do processing on the circuit board whereas the m-audio doesn't

i don't notice any problems with games for example running doom3, ut2004, guild wars, etc. with either of the revolution sound cards.

revolution 5.1 is on a p4 2.8 prescott 1meg cache processor system with xp pro and 512megs ram. revolution 7.1 is on a p4 3.0c northwood with 1gig of ram with xp pro. keep in mind i play a lotta top end games with my revolution 7.1 with my 6800gt oc nvidia card and computer box setup. also, i'm into music playback, dvd movies, etc..

i've used many creative products most of my life thru audigy 2zs; even from the sb pro days. i've used turtle beach products and hercules products.

creative makes crappy drivers tho and m-audio doesn't. just my opinion.

 

[4Ryan6]

Honestly, I don't know why people keep buying the latest soundblasters and pc sound cards.

Because they sound fantastic thats why!

I also have an M-Audio 1010LT for my mobile DJ computer and for flat out stereo sound output its unrivaled, but for gaming it sucks, I didn't buy the card for gaming but tried it just the same, if the only thing you're going to do with your computer is record and playback music then something like M-Audio would be a perfect choice. But who really only does that with their computer?

The Soundblaster X-FI is an excellent soundcard along with the Audigy 2 ZS, I don't know anyone thats ventured into the M-Audios Revolution offerings, but spec wise it seems OK, if the stereo sound quality in that series matches the gaming possibilities then it also will be a great soundcard.

Turtle Beach also has some great soundcards but for my input Creatives latest offerings are tops, if gaming is included in your computer use, and DVD playback with surround say at least 5.1.

 

[gearbox]

Howdy y'all, first post here & I'm glad there's a fresh topic about M-Audio sound cards.

I'm considering purchasing an M-Audio Fast Track Pro for my next-gen comp (AMD 4400 X2 based), and hope to use it for recording music AND general purpose sound-card functions, including playing games like Unreal Tournament 2007. It is external & connects via USB.

Pics:

Product specs here: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro-main.html

The price & features seem great, so I'm wondering why cards like this get no mainstream attention --I can't find any useful reviews or input on it from unbiased sources.

I would much appreciate it if I could be educated further on possible cons (and pros) of this card versus the soundblaster-type cards that are commonly considered a no-brainer for high-end gaming & stuff.

Thanks for your input

 

[Heyyou27]

I wouldn't call Creative crap, but I also wouldn't avoid another brand of soundcard.

 

[4Ryan6]

Howdy y'all, first post here & I'm glad there's a fresh topic about M-Audio sound cards.

I'm considering purchasing an M-Audio Fast Track Pro for my next-gen comp (AMD 4400 X2 based), and hope to use it for recording music AND general purpose sound-card functions, including playing games like Unreal Tournament 2007. It is external & connects via USB.

Pics:

Product specs here: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro-main.html

The price & features seem great, so I'm wondering why cards like this get no mainstream attention --I can't find any useful reviews or input on it from unbiased sources.

I would much appreciate it if I could be educated further on possible cons (and pros) of this card versus the soundblaster-type cards that are commonly considered a no-brainer for high-end gaming & stuff.

Thanks for your input

This is an excellent recording and stereo playback sound solution, it will perform flawlessly for that never missing a beat, however this is not a gaming solution at all and its not advertised to be one, the only M-Audio products that fall in the gaming category are the Revolution 7.1 and 5.1 cards.

My M-Audio 1010LT is a computer hog, it doesn't like to share resources at all, it didn't like being used for DVD playback when surround was introduced into the picture, it didn't like me trying to use the machine for USB Digital Video/Audio Capture, but when used to playback straight true stereo through my mobile DJ software it is exceptional.

Its not an all around solution giving you recording and DVD surround playback and a high end gaming experience, for that you may consider the Creative X-FI upper end solutions, Platinum, Fatal 1ty, or the Elite Pro, then you'll have the recording and the gaming experience anytime you want to use it.

People in this thread saying the Creative products are crap are full of the same, if the Creative X-FI I own was crap I'd tell you so, but its one of the best soundcards I've ever owned, including the M-Audio 1010LT. Ryan

 

[uncle_ben]

^I second that.

X-Fi is best all-in-one card at the moment. There is no better card for gaming, but it is decent enough for mixing in Cubase a song recorded in studio, doing a speech edit in Soundforge or recording guitar and vocal guide tracks to use in studio later. Have one, did that, no hassle. Hardware dolby decoding with night watching mode makes this card great for home theater/gaming rig, too.
"Crap" argument is imbecilic to use in regard to X-Fi that's for sure.

Nonetheless if you need recording card with XLR balanced inputs get M-Audio (or ESI, or EMU, or MOTU)

 

[gearbox]

Thanks for the tippage Ya, I suppose I am looking for the best "all-around" solution for recording, playback, gaming and general purpose --of course the problem is more complex than I had anticipated.

The Elite Pro X-Fi appears to be the front runner here, but is admittedly less stellar for music-making than a dedicated recording card (not to mention prrrrrrricey). I'd rather have a decent recorder than something that works well with games. The Revolution 7.1 sounds like a great card for the money, but appears to also be weaker in the recording department.

So now I have a CRAZY idea, please let me know if it can or can't work out......
I could buy an M-Audio Revolution 7.1 ($117 CAN) as the general purpose card for my next comp (AMDx2 or Conroe-based), and purchase the M-Audio Fast Track Pro ($250, or Roland equivalent for $200) right now for recording with both my current & future rigs --could I just plug it into my comp when I want to record without it messing up the other card? I would conceivably wind up with 2 cards from th esame manufacturer for max $367 CAN that combined would outperform one Elite Pro X-Fi for about $100 less.

Does this at all make sense?

 

[ashley2605]

hey dear if i connect the altec lansing fx5051 on the m-audio revolution 7.1 sound card, can you tell me if the sound will be good? i want to buy a good sound card for music. please reply..thanks...

 

[MEgamer]

it will be good , but not that good.