![]() Go for a FireWire or USB interface instead, for "hot-swap" flexibility and for use with laptops. Technically these are not "soundcards," a term which really only applies to PCI card interfaces.īe careful to note the actual number of physical analog inputs/outputs that an interface has. Many manufacturers advertise "6 inputs" but some are digital (S/PDIF, ADAT optical). If you need more microphone preamps, get an interface with an ADAT input. Then you can add an external mic pre with an ADAT output, such as the Focusrite OctoPre (with ADAT Interface card) or the Presonus Digimax. For audio recording, plan for the price of additional hard drive storage and a viable backup method. When deciding on the best protocol to connect with, FireWire (400 MB/sec) is much faster than USB 1.1 (12 MB/sec), which can choke on just a few channels. FireWire 800 (800 MB/sec) was promising but did not last long in the marketplace. USB 2 (480 MB/sec) is much faster than USB 1, so don't bother with a USB 1 interface. Make sure that an interface is compatible with your OS, and check that your software will "see" the interface. ![]() All recent Macs have both FireWire (IEEE 1394) and USB some have USB 2. Add FireWire with a PCI card in your dektop or a cardbus (PCMCIA) card in your laptop, but be careful regarding card compatibility. No matter what you have, connect to your amplifier (stereo system, receiver, etc) with the right cable. Most consumer amplifiers use RCA input jacks. If your audio output jack is a small round jack (1/8" mini), get a 1/8"-to-RCA adapter cable like the Radio Shack 6' right-angle 42-2483, 3' gold 42-2550 or 6' gold 42-2551. Many models listed below use RCA or 1/4" jacks. If your amp is too far away (or if you don't have one), consider USB powered speakers, such as the Harman Kardon SoundSticks, which plug into your USB port and don't require an amplifier. Or try the non-USB SoundSticks 2 or other small non-USB speakers from Polk Audio or Bose. Get shielded speakers if you have a CRT monitor. For very high bandwidth tasks such as 32+ track audio or hi-res video recording, you might need to spread the data in/out and hard drive read/write load over two busses.Mac users, get Apple's Airport Express, and AirFoil to send any audio to it. This can be done by putting your audio I/O on FireWire and your hard drive on USB 2.0. ![]() ![]() Or, add a SECOND FireWire bus to a desktop computer with a PCI card. For example, I got 44+ 24bit tracks out of my 867 PowerBook by adding a FireWire card in the Cardbus slot. For an opinion on USB vrs FireWire, see this Sweetwater article (3/26/02).I got even more out of my G5 iMac by using the built-in FW and USB 2.0. Keep all your various computer volume settings (at the player application, your system sound output volume, etc) as high as they will go without clipping.If you are adding USB or FireWire to a PC by means of a card, make sure that the card is compatible with the audio interface.See MacInTouch for reports on using some USB interfaces with Mac OS 9.For a FireWire interface shootout see this 2003 Electronic Musician article. Then, control your listening volume from the LAST stage of the chain, such as your stereo amp. This will give you the best resolution from your digital-to-analog converters and the lowest noise. For more on recent Mac audio input/output jacks, see this article.Apple sells Apple Pro Speakers for their G4 machines.And if you can't afford an external interface, at least use this tip to bypass a PC's CDROM D/A converters. I don't think they're supported on later model G5 machines, so they don't have much of a future. They require an unusual audio connector that provides firewire-level power as well as ditigal sound output.Īs the G4s move into the twilight unsold speakers are being dumped on the market. ![]()
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