MAudio 2496 soundcard

[csj]

I'm putting together a new desktop...finally retiring my PII 233mhz with win95.

Aron mentioned this as being an excellent card to go with. Is this pretty much the consensus? $149 shipped from zzounds.

I don't need a whole lot of bells and whistles. Just something basic to dump pedal and amp clips into with a little better quality than my soundblaster.

Also, I'd like to get away from my Cakewalk software...any recommendations? Again, something simple, general and idiot proof.

[Johan]

yes, they sound great, and are easy to install. they have two analog and two digital input chanels and the same goes for the outputs, together with midi in/out.
when I bought mine a little over a year ago, it came with a bundle "Logic" it was a "light"-version with only 16 analog chanels and no plugins, but still more than enough to get started at home...
now that Logic doesnt go with PC anymore, a guess the come with something simular from someone else...Cubase maby?...

but yes..great buy..

Johan

[downweverything]

yes much better than a suckblaster...Nuendo is one of the best audio programs I have come across (replaced my copy of ProTools) but it gets quite expensive if you are planning to buy.

[Bluesgeetar]

Yes M-Audio is great if all your wanting to do is dump clips into the PC.  But make damn sure you keep them drivers updated as if you do some research on recording forums you'll see that M-Audio is a somewhat dodgy product.  Oh yes much better than shitblaster!!!!  Hopefully Emu will help Creative like Emagic helped Apple.  Emu had a really nice studio recording package in the late 90s but I think the steep price kept it off most peoples list.   Keep in mind that anyone who buys Creative SB cards for instrument recording is somewhat daft!  The just ain't made for that!  And then people wonder why it is shit.  It is super for what it is a card for the teeny bopper to play music on and toy around in.  We musicians are very conceited in the fact that we think everyone needs to and is buying the equipment we need.  M-Audio all the way for better than SB recording!  Can't be beat for $149 bucks.  You really don't need Nuendo either!  Jesus don't let people with G.A.S. turn you into someone with G.A.S..  Cubase SX is all you need.  
Here is the trick!  Sign up for some class at the local college say learn a little spanish! Keep your reciept go to one of the online dealers and buy Cubase SX at academic pricing!!!  I paid $349 for my Cubase SX and it exactly the same as the retail version with support and uprade pricing and everything, no difference at all.  They just cut students a break that's all.   :shock:

[csj]

Thank you guys... I really appreciate it. It looks like that's going to be the one. I'll wait a few more days before I order it so if anyone else can add anything that would be nice.
Thanks,
Clay

[moosapotamus]

To build on Bluesgeetar's comments... I think the three most important things to consider when buying a soundcard are drivers, drivers and drivers.

The 2496 has a good reputation, but I would recommend Echo drivers over and above any others. I have been using an Echo MiaMIDI (I think they are still under $200) with Sonar3 and it's been fantastic. Rock-solid. Zero hickups. Latency below 3mS. Highly recommended! Yeah, you get MIDI and SPDIF I/O too, which sounds like more than you need. But (IMVHO), driver stability and performance is what it's all about if you want to have no worries.

BTW, why dump Cakewalk? If you have a registered copy, you can get upgrade pricing on Sonar. They do the educational discount thing, too. Plus, most of the other alternative packages out there have a bit of a learning curve to deal with. I've tried a bunch of them (Cubase, Nuendo, ProTools, etc...) and just got tired of reading manuals and online help. If you know how to use Cakewalk, you already know how to use Sonar.

~ Charlie

[csj]

Thanks Charlie.  I think my desire for new recording software just might be driven by my typical "the grass is greener..." mentality. I've got Home Studio 9 right now and like I said I was using it with a dinosaur computer and win95 and I wasn't too sure if I could run it on XP. I just bought this emachines laptop that I'm typing on right now. It's got a mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor and what a world of difference. I decided that since I was in the mood to throw my money away on things I really didn't need I may as well upgrade my destop and while I was at it I'd get a better sound card and maybe the new software too. If you think the Cakewalk is good enough for what I need to do then I'll upgrade it and see what results I can get with that. The biggest concern for me is just ease of use. The quality doesn't have to be pro or even close to it really. Just something to bang out demos.
So it's between the Echo and the MAudio.
Why do you suppose the reviews at zzounds are so unfavorable toward the Echo?

[moosapotamus]

If you don't need to do multi-tracking, you might want to consider something like Sound Forge. Or, if you are on a budget, I would highly recommend n-Track Studio. It's easy to use and does almost anything that Cakewalk/Sonar can do, with a few tricks up it's sleeve that those guys don't have.

You might want to take review at a site like zzounds with a grain of salt. I think most of those reviews are actually pretty good. But, aside from the guy who unfortunately got a defective unit, the rest of the complaints read to me like set-up/software problems, not soundcard problems. For example, not knowing how to set-up MIDI I/O in your software is no reason to blame your soundcard.

Honestly, tho, between the 2496 and the MiaMIDI, you probably can't go wrong. But, if you're looking for more info, try checking out some of the forums for the various recording software platforms. FASOFT (n-Track Studio) has one of the best, very passionate and knowledable group of folks over there ( http://ntrack.com/ntrackforum/index.html ). The Sonar group is pretty good, too ( http://www.cakewalk.com/forum/tt.asp?forumid=5 ).

~ Charlie

[aron]

The m-audio 2496 is very good. Buffer sizes down to 64 samples with reliability (depending on your computer).

I have had ZERO problems with mine and my friends love it. I use mine with 128 samples buffer size on my P4. I can't ask for more for the price.

As for Sonar, I have tried it over and over. I think the "dual-track" concept for software synths is terrible. The lack of software synth click is another deal-buster and in fact, I wrote up a whole long list of problems and came to the conclusion it's not a replacement for Logic Audio on the PC. So I still use Logic Audio on the PC despite it being cancelled. I would love to find another high-end sequencer on the PC that's fast and easy to use.[/i]

[moosapotamus]

Yeah, for soft-synths, the dual track (audio/MIDI) thing in Sonar is... well, I'm just used to it. So, it's not a big deal for me. As for the lack of a click track or metronome, lots of folks seem to like complaining about it. But, I just use the pattern brush feature in the piano roll view to quickly create a scratch timing track. To me, it seems way better than a basic metronome too, because you can usually find a pattern that suits the tune you're recording much better than a basic click track would.

~ Charlie

[csj]

I ordered the MAudio...thanks for all the info and opinions.
I'll start with Sonar and see what I can do with it.
Thanks for the help.

Clay

[aron]

Yeah, for soft-synths, the dual track (audio/MIDI) thing in Sonar is... well, I'm just used to it. So, it's not a big deal for me. As for the lack of a click track or metronome, lots of folks seem to like complaining about it. But, I just use the pattern brush feature in the piano roll view to quickly create a scratch timing track. To me, it seems way better than a basic metronome too, because you can usually find a pattern that suits the tune you're recording much better than a basic click track would.

~ Charlie

Well, I have always said that I'd like to see an "expert" use Sonar because I have had so many things on it slow me down that I must just be using it incorrectly.

I will ask my friend to try the pattern brush and see what he says.

[aron]

>Yes M-Audio is great if all your wanting to do is dump clips into the PC.

I don't know what to say about this comment.

>But make damn sure you keep them drivers updated as if you do some research on recording forums you'll see that M-Audio is a somewhat dodgy product.

Which product? All of them? I've updated my drivers, but have had no problems with any of the releases. I think it depends on the computer and OS you install it on like anything else.

> We musicians are very conceited in the fact that we think everyone needs to and is buying the equipment we need. M-Audio all the way for better than SB recording! Can't be beat for $149 bucks. You really don't need Nuendo either! Jesus don't let people with G.A.S. turn you into someone with G.A.S.. Cubase SX is all you need.

Why is Cubase SX all you need? I took a good look at all the major sequencers that were out and ended choosing Logic Audio based on my needs. Is it inconceivable to think that other people will have different needs from a software package?

There are many issues with Cubase that made me choose Logic Audio over Cubase. I'm not telling everyone to go out and only use Logic Audio because it suits my needs. Again, I believe that people should use what works for them.

[downweverything]

indeed.  thank you aron.  stole my words.

[WGTP]

Any chance a new version will come out just after I receive mine in the mail?

[downweverything]

buying software is kinda like washing your car (it always seems to rain right after you do so), the new version always seems to come out right after you buy the old...  usually the software company lets you update for free or really cheap if you bought the old version right before a new version comes out.  i emphasize usually.

[MarkB]

Rest assured, there will NOT be a new version of Logic for the PC anytime soon.   :shock:

I was a Cakewalk user for YEARS (from the DOS days) - and eventually switched to Cubase because Cakewalk kinda choked on it's audio handling early on, and VST was much better for doing both MIDI and Audio.   Now that I'm used to it, that's what I use.  It does what I need it to do, I can use it easily and quickly.. so for ME, it's the right tool.   Is it better/worse than Logic or Sonar?  No.  Just like my PRS is no better/worse than a Les Paul, but it fits me better.

I have my setup pretty streamlined now - I have a small-footprint digital mixer that also nicely acts as a control surface for the mixer in Cubase.  The M-Audio gives me exceptionally low latency (very important for VST instruments and real-time FX) and good audio quality.. as well as digital in/out to my mixer.   Again, it does what I need it to do.  If I had problems with it, it'd be out the door, but so far - it's been solid.

Best advice?  Find people in your area who have the gear you're interested in - and try it.
"-)

[aron]

Best advice? Find people in your area who have the gear you're interested in - and try it.
"-)

Very similar is find out what your friends use and use that. Then you can help each other.

[danelectro]

ive used a 2496 for a while now for recording. it works great. its actually more picky about hardware, specifically motherboard chipsets, than software.

be sure to read up and search a few forums to make sure your chipset will work. its mostly the AMD cpu VIA chipsets that are the trouble

[Mark Abbott]

I have been using a Delta 66 and a Midiman 4X4. I found the M Audio stuff to be rock solid. I haven't updated the drivers in years and still no problems.

My brother uses the rig too for recording stuff with the band he's in, they have released stuff and no one complains about the quality.

My 0.02c.

Yours Sincerely

Mark Abbott.