New Monitor speakers and sound card??

Charge · 22 Mar 2006 at 15:36

I am currently upgrading my pc as i make music and my old sempron just cant keep up. So im waiting for my opty, Mobo etc. to be delivered so now im looking towards a pair of active moniters and a good sound card that will also take some of the strain off the processor.
Any suggestions???

Oh Also Bass is important!

Voy06 · 22 Mar 2006 at 17:58

Fao: Charge

What is your price range for the speakers and sound card?

Charge · 22 Mar 2006 at 20:53

Around £150-£200 for each. So say £400 at the most

fireblade900 · 22 Mar 2006 at 21:04

For £400 you could buy an X-Fi, an amp and some decent speakers.

peteruk · 22 Mar 2006 at 23:30

My thread here sounds similar and may be of some use.

Codmate · 23 Mar 2006 at 10:10

Try the M-Audio LX4 for 2.1 monitoring.
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/3118

I would steer clear of Creative sound cards for music creation.
Try an M-Audio AudioPhile 2496 or M-Audio AudioPhile 192:
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/1142
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/4802

If you need more ins, the Delta range are very good.

Charge · 24 Mar 2006 at 01:04

Av i dun sum thing wrong then cos ive got an AudioPhile 2496 and my computer still cant take the strain :confused:

oh and plus ive already got an amp and good stereo speakers, i want true sound. cheers

TooNice · 24 Mar 2006 at 01:31

Don't neglect the EMU lines either. From the same site as posted above (is it okay to post that link?), the EMU 0404/1212 are pretty commonly used as reference cards too.

Of the Creative cards, the X-Fi Elite Pro isn't bad at all, except for the price. It would cut the money you have to spend by half. But it is nice if you do game on your PC. Otherwise, the EMU 1212 is roughly the same thing minus the latest gaming support. And one of the better PC sound card you can get.
(There is also the EMU 1820 above it)

Codmate · 24 Mar 2006 at 10:36

Charge said:
Av i dun sum thing wrong then cos ive got an AudioPhile 2496 and my computer still cant take the strain

oh and plus ive already got an amp and good stereo speakers, i want true sound. cheers

Try increasing the latency in the M-Audio driver control panel to around 512 and see how the machine copes then.

If it's OK, decrease it occasionally until you get problems again.

Also make sure you have nothing running in the background when you're recording. Antivirus, P2P, and other software will sometimes access the hard disks and RAM, getting in the way of your audio recording.

voodooflux · 24 Mar 2006 at 17:42

I've recently set myself up with the Creative X-Fi Elite Pro (on special this week) and a pair of M-Audio DX4 Active Monitors. That all comes to a touch under £300.

I'm very happy with the results - I use FLStudio with its associated generators, as well as Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2. I have the latency normally between 2 and 4 ms, with no problems.

The M-Audio LX4 package that Codmate mentioned would add more bass, and still bring you in well under £400.

cheers
v.f.

Charge · 25 Mar 2006 at 02:27

I have no latency problems, for example i use cubase sx3 and reason and many vst plugins and instruments, but when say my track is playing the bar that runs wen u play the track does not run smooth its all jumpy then i get pops and clicks through the speakers?
Or is that jus my cruddy old sempron feeling the strain?