Tag: Sound cards

Lets review external sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+, which can work with 8 independent channels or with 7.1 channels surround sound and supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; power, USB connection activity and all 8 channels activity indicators; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones with gold-plated contacts ( one of them plays mixed sound of all 8 channels, the other one plays only sound of 1st and 2nd channels – it can be used as monitor output ). Its back panel has 8 analogue RCA outputs with gold-plated contacts.

For sound card drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with support of ASIO 2.0, WDM and MME interfaces, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers and supports Core Audio interfaces; via these interfaces it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live and others. It is supplied with Image-Line Deckadance LE software, used by DJs. Its sizes are 120 ( width ) x 70 ( depth ) x 20 ( height ) mm, its body is made from aluminum. Package contains : ESI GIGAPORT HD+ sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. This card is designed for playback of many independent sound channels ( for example, on concerts ) and for 7.1 channels surround sound playback; if sound card will be bought for this purpose, then this device will handle these tasks very well; if there is need in more functional studio audio interface, then it is better to buy device with such functionality of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI itself or other manufacturers.

Lets review external sound card Infrasonic Amon, designed for studio work. It supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) microphone input without phantom power +48 V plugging in ability, its amplification level control knob and clip indicator; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) instrumental Hi-Z input, its amplification control knob and clip indicator; USB connection indicator, TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones and volume control of sound card’s outputs. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it; MIDI input and output; and linear RCA inputs and outputs.

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.3 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0, MME, DirectSound and Core Audio interfaces, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. It performs analogue to digital conversion with : 102 dB signal to noise ration, 102 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; digital to analogue conversion : signal/noise 108 dB, 108 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; wherein channels isolation is 100 dB. Card’s body is made from aluminum. Package contains : Infrasonic Amon sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. From one side : this is a good sound card, which can perform its work and has MIDI connectors; from the other : its sampling rate is not the biggest, it has no balanced inputs and outputs and digital inputs and outputs and it does not support phantom power plugging in to microphone input. So, this card can be recommended for purchase only if it costs much less than more functional cards of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI and other manufacturers, if it costs at comparable to them level, then it is better to buy device of one of these manufacturers.

Lets meet with external sound card Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD, it is designed for 7.1 channel sound playback and supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision. Its front side has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it, and digital optical TOS link input and output. Its back panel has : gold-plated RCA connectors for front channels and nickel-plated 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for side, rear and subwoofer/center channels. Its side panel has 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for linear input, microphone and headphones. On its top volume control knob is placed.

It plays sound with signal to noise ratio 108 dB and THD ( Total Harmonics Distortion ) -90 dB; and records it with signal/noise ratio -85 dB and THD 106 dB. Card can be used for sound recording, there are even drivers released for it with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support for integration with modern DAWs, but it is not its main use, because its microphone input does not have phantom power +48 V and it has no instrumental Hi-Z inputs; mainly it is designed for multichannel sound playback. It has drivers for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer; also additional software and plugins can be downloaded for it. Package contains : Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD sound card itself, USB cable, 2 optical digital TOS link cables, RCA – 1/8″ mini-jack adapter ( with connector ), the same adapter with socket and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good sound card for multichannel sound playback, if it will be used for this purpose, then there is ability to choose between this device, similar devices and AV receiver; but if it will be used for professional studio work, then it is better to buy according device of Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and other manufacturers.

Lets meet today with external professional studio sound card Focusrite Scarlett 2i4; it can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; to its microphone inputs Focusrite preamplifiers are connected. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in linear, microphone and instrumental Hi-Z modes, their amplification levels control knobs with backlight, linear/instrumental switches, and PAD switch with backlight; phantom power +48 V switch for these inputs with backlight and MIDI and USB connections indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, their Direct Monitor function switch, headphones signal sources switch, stereo/mono switch for Direct Monitor and volume control of main sound card outputs. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; 4 linear unbalanced RCA outputs; and 2 linear balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Noise level of its microphone inputs is -120 dB; linear -90 dB with 100 dB signal/noise ratio; and instrumental -87 dB. Dynamic range of analogue to digital conversions is 105 dB and digital to analogue is 104 dB. Card’s body is made from scarlet anodized aluminum; its sizes are 210 ( width ) x 140 ( depth ) x 48 ( height ) mm, and mass is 890 g. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software ( DAW Ableton Live Lite 8, Focusrite Scarlett plugins package, software Novation Bass Station and Loopmasters sounds samples package ) and user’s guide. It is good professional sound card, it is weaker than Steinberg and Behringer devices in sampling rate respect, but it has balanced outputs and MIDI connectors; so, sound card of this manufacturer and others for purchase should be chosen, based on specific task, for which it is bought, and prices of available devices.

Lets review external sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE, which is designed for recording and playback of already completed audio signal. It supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; MUSES 8920 operational amplifiers are built into it, they can be replaced with others, if needed, and WIMA film capacitors in its analogue part; it supports 123 dB dynamic range of digital to analogue conversion. Its frontal panel has : switch button and power indicator; 2 TRS 1/4″ jack headphones outputs with activity indicator; chosen sampling rate indicators; digital input switch ( USB/SPDIF ), source switch ( analogue/digital ), outputs switch ( headphones/linear outputs ) and outputs volume control. Its back panel has : 2 linear unbalanced RCA-outputs and 2 linear unbalanced RCA inputs; power adapter input ( for SPDIF connection ); optical digital input; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; and digital optical and coaxial inputs.

Drivers are released for it for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X ( they can be downloaded via Internet from manufacturer’s website ). Package contains : AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE sound card itself, 2 RCA cables, USB cable and user’s guide. It is good sound card, that is mainly designed for playback of audio signal from digital and analogue sources; it can be used for sounds recording, but it is not its main use. If audio interface will be bought only for high-quality sound playback, then there is ability to choose between this interface or AV receiver, taking into account functionality, built-in hardware, price and power consumption; but if it will be used for wider spectrum of audio tasks, then it is better to buy device with wider functions and connectors amount, for example of these manufacturers : Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and others.

Lets review external sound card M-Audio M-Track Plus II, which is designed for professional studio work. Its frontal panel has : combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in microphone, linear and instrumental Hi-Z modes ( first 2 can work in balanced mode, instrumental is unbalanced ), there is ability to switch +48 V phantom power for them; amplification level control knobs, linear/instrumental modes switches and level indicators with clip indication for these inputs; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones with volume control knob and Direct Monitor function switch; phantom power switch with backlight indication and volume control knob for main sound card outputs. Its rear panel has : Kensington Lock slot; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; and main analogue balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.

Card can work with sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision; its body is made of metal; and its connectors have following characteristics : microphone inputs ( dynamic range 104 dB, signal to noise ratio 104 dB, perceived frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -53 dB sensitivity ), linear inputs ( perceived frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -43 dB sensitivity ), instrumental inputs ( frequencies range 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -47 dB sensitivity ) and main card’s outputs ( frequencies 20 Hz – 20 kHz and dynamic range and signal/noise 102 dB ). Sound card is bundled with DAWs Ableton Live Lite and Cubase LE Waves plugins package ( AudioTrack, Eddie Kramer Effect Channel and TrueVerb ). Its sizes are 238.76 ( width ) x 52.58 ( height ) x 123.19 ( depth ) mm and mass is 1.04 kg. For it drivers are released for Windows 7, 8 and 10, in Mac OS X 10.7.5 and newer it works without additional drivers, and supports ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces, accordingly, via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Package contains : M-Audio M-Track Plus II, USB cable, optical disk with drivers ( software can be downloaded via Internet from manufacturer’s site ) and user’s guide. It is good sound card with professional functions, in some respects Steinberg and Behringer cards are better, than it, for example, in 192 kHz sampling frequency, in some respects it is better, than them : balanced inputs and outputs. So, when card is being chosen, there is need to look on specific task, for which it is being bought, and on prices of devices.

Lets review external professional sound card Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD. It is designed for studio work and has everything, that is needed for this. Its frontal panel has : combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs for microphone, instrumental Hi-Z or linear work modes ( +48 V phantom power can be switched for them ); amplification level controls, instrumental/linear and Pad switches and clip indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, their volume control, Direct Monitor switch, stereo and mono switch, main outputs volume control, card work modes selector and input, output, power and phantom power indicators. Its back panel has : USB Type B port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; Kensington Lock slot and phantom power switch; 4 RCA outputs; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs; and 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inserts.

Inputs of Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD have following characteristics : frequency response is 10 Hz – 50 kHz ( 0 / -3 dB ); impedance of microphone inputs is 3 kOhms, of instrumental Hi-Z – 1 MOhm; maximal level of input signal of microphone connectors is -4 dB, of linear is 20 dB and instrumental is -3 dB. Outputs have following characteristics : frequency response 10 Hz – 43 kHz ( 0 / 3 dB ); maximal volume level of signal is 3 dB; dynamic range is 110 dB ( A-weighted ). Inserts specifications are : 100 Ohms Send and 10 kOhms Return impedance; maximal input signal level is 3 dB. All connectors of audio interface are unbalanced.

MIDAS preamplifiers are connected to card’s inputs; it can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and with 24 bits per sample precision ( it also supports 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 and 176.4 kHz frequencies ); card’s body is made from metal and it is eligible to 3-year manufacturer warranty. Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD is bundled with codes for DAW Tracktion 4 and different effects and plug-ins downloading. All functions of DAW are located on 1 screen : for sounds recording, tracks editing and mixing; from advanced functions it supports dynamic automation, unlimited tracks amount for work, MIDI signal recording and connection of VST/AU plugins of instruments and effects.

For it drivers for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer are released, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers, with support of ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces. Via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio and others. Device sizes are 46.45 x 185 x 130 mm and mass is 0.6 kg; it is powered only from USB port without additional power adapter input; maximum it draws 2.5 W of energy.

Package contains : Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD sound card itself, USB cable, optical disk with drivers, 3-years warranty card and user’s guide. After purchase there is ability to register it on Behringer site for applications and plugins downloading and support receiving in case of device breakings; if nearby from you there is no authorized service-center, then you can directly call manufacturer for audio interface repair or replacement. There is ability to connect to Behringer U-PHORIA UMC204HD microphone and analogue instrument or linear signal, MIDI device and work with them in DAW, which opens wide possibilities for studio music creation and its playback on small concerts and lessons on master-classes. Audio interface’s price is around 80 USD.

As usual : sound cards of Steinberg and Behringer have no competitors and, if professional studio sound card is needed, then there is need to look on devices of these manufacturers. However among other audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio, Alesis and other companies there are also good devices, which worth attention, when required interface is being chosen.

Behringer – is a company, which was founded in Germany in 1989 year, currently its offices are located in many countries of the world and it is a multinational corporation; main production facilities of Behringer are located in China. Currently it is one of the leading world manufacturers of audio interfaces, microphones, loudspeakers, instruments and other sound devices.

Lets review external studio audio interface Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, that is designed for semi-professional work. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) connectors, which can be switched between linear and Hi-Z modes, switches themselves and amplification level control knobs with back-light; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones, their volume control, Direct Monitor switch, volume control of main outputs of sound card, USB connection indicator and phantom power +48 V switch for its inputs. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot, USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer, and 2 linear balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.

Card can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits precision; analogue to digital and digital to analogue dynamic ranges are 105 and 104 dB, accordingly; noise level of microphone input is -127 dB, linear input is -104 dB and instrumental is -87 dB. It is bundled with DAW Ableton Live Lite and Focusrite plugins package, its body is made of anodized aluminum. For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer with ASIO 2.0 interface support and Mac OS X with Core Audio interface support, with which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good sound card with semi-professional functions, but for the same price there is ability to buy much better Steinberg and Behringer devices, so, this sound card is recommended for purchase only with big discount.

Lets meet with external sound card ESI U24 XL, which is designed for recording, playback and transmitting of completed signal ( because it has no specialized microphone and instrumental Hi-Z inputs and MIDI connectors ). Its frontal panel has : analogue TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs and outputs for left and right channels with gold-plated contacts and their work indicators, one of outputs can be used for monitor headphones. Its rear panel has : coaxial digital RCA input and output with gold-plated contacts, USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer, and optical Toslink digital input and output.

Card supports 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits precision of digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversions. For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0 interface and for Mac OS X 10.4 and newer with support of Core Audio interface, via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Card sizes are 10 x 9 cm, package contains : ESI U24 XL external sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. It is good sound card for recording, playback and transmitting of already completed audio signal with optimal price; but if card will be used for wider spectrum of tasks, then it is better to buy device with wider amount of connectors and functions.

Lets meet with external audio interface Roland QUAD-CAPTURE, which has full spectrum of connectors and functions for use in small studio. It can process and transmit sound with sampling rates up to 192 kHz with 24 bits precision, internal processing is performed with 40 bits per sample precision; digital signal through specialized connectors is accepted and transmitted with sampling rates up to 96 kHz. Its frontal panel has : instrumental Hi-Z and microphone combined balanced XLR/TRS ( 6.3 mm jack ) inputs ( phantom power +48 V can be connected to microphone input, instrumental input can be switched into linear mode ); amplification control knobs for these inputs with automatic control switch and clip indicator; TRS ( 6.3 mm jack ) output for monitor headphones with Direct Monitor switch, playback volume control, card work mode switch and USB connection indicator. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it powers and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; coaxial digital RCA input and output; main balanced TRS ( 6.3 mm jack ) outputs; and following switches Ground Lift, phantom power and Hi-Z/linear mode of instrumental input.

Card’s noise level is -95 dB, dynamical range of analogue to digital conversion is 104 dB and of digital to analogue : 109 dB. For analogue inputs it uses quality VS Preamps, its power unit has low noise level, body is made of aluminum and it supports Direct-Box ( DI ) function for electro-magnetic interference protection on live concerts. Card supports Roland VS Streaming technology and ASIO 2.0 and WDM ( in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer ) and Core Audio ( in Mac OS X ) interfaces for tight integration with modern DAWs : Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio and others. Its sizes are 185 ( width ) x 134 ( depth ) x 44 ( height ) mm, and mass is 570 g. Package contains : Roland QUAD-CAPTURE external sound card itself, USB cable, optical disk with drivers and software and user’s guide. Roland CAPTURE sound cards in functionality and set hardware are superior to cards of Behringer and other manufacturers, and are on approximately the same level as Steinberg cards and, in reality, together with Steinberg cards has no competitors among these devices at these days. So, if there is need to buy external sound card, then cards of these manufacturers are first candidates for this task.