Soundcards

As ever, Creative Labs' latest PC soundcard promises a lot of features for £200. But does it deliver the kind of performance that musicians need?

Price barriers continue to tumble in the soundcard market, as ESI Pro introduce an interface offering four analogue inputs and eight outputs, plus digital I/O, two mic preamps and 192kHz playback, for under £200.

ST Audio's recording interface provides multi-channel, multi-client audio I/O, as well as MIDI In and Out and full 24-bit/96kHz capability, for a highly affordable £230.

Despite the obvious attractions of portable recording systems based around laptop computers, high-quality compatible audio hardware is scarce. That looks set to change, however, now that Echo Audio have adapted their popular Mona and Layla 24 interfaces for laptop use.

No expense has been spared in the design of Lynx Studio Technology's latest soundcard, which adds 192kHz capability to remarkable sound quality, bringing it into real competition with high-end, stand-alone converter boxes.

TC's DSP-powered effects board has been upgraded, and now includes a much more impressive plug-in bundle.

RME's DIGI range of soundcards offers comprehensive cross-platform support, high audio quality and lots of extras, such as digital format conversion.

The ultimate soundcard for high-end musicians? Creative Labs' Soundblaster products may have dominated the consumer soundcard market, but can they take the next step up with its successor?

A new wave of dedicated DSP cards is helping computer musicians boost their plug-in power. The latest to appear is Universal Audio's UAD1, which offers recreations of vintage compressors as well as a high-quality reverb.

Martin Walker offers some practical advice on choosing soundcards that will work in modern PCs without falling foul of chipset or driver compatibility problems.

Martin Walker tests an inexpensive, high-quality soundcard which uses virtual outputs to allow multiple PC applications to share its hardware outputs.

Many musicians with computer-based studios don't need lots of inputs and outputs, but that doesn't mean they're happy to put up with poor audio quality and design compromises of consumer soundcards. However a new type of affordable, high-quality soundcard is now emerging to meet this need. Martin Walker puts two or the leading candidates to the test.

A new selection of soundcards from Germany promises excellent audio quality at extremely competitive prices, with a selection of I/O options to suit most buyers. Martin Walker tries out the first model in the Marian range.

I own an Emu Audio Production Studio PCI soundcard system, which I use with my 600MHz Pentium III PC. I used to own a...

Despite the ever-increasing number of PC recording cards on the market, there's one particular niche that has remained unaddressed, for years. Martin Walker tries out a product that, at last, fills the gap.

SEKD pioneered the development of 24-bit/96kHz soundcards for PCs, and their lead has been followed up enthusiastically by other manufacturers. Does the new Sienna have the features to take them back to the top of the pile? Martin Walker finds out.

Laptop computers have tended to be difficult to use for music, one of the main problems being their limited or non-existant audio I/O. Vo Fletcher tries out a product which eliminates this shortcoming.

Martin Walker answers some of the most common queries about setting up and using your soundcard, and achieving the best audio quality.

Attaching several different applications to a single MIDI or Audio device can be very useful — once you've worked out how to do it! Martin Walker guides you through the procedure and points out the varied uses of the multi-client approach.

Terratec's EWS64 XL caused a stir in the world of soundcards last your by offering a built-in 64-note polyphonic sampler. The new XXL now adds the internal organs of Waldorf's classic Microwave XT synth. Martin Walker decides whether these impressive parts make a convincing whole.

Guillemot's MAXI Studio ISIS PCI soundcard system for the PC seems to offer a lot of bang for the buck. John Walden dives in to find out what all the flap is about.