Hi! My first post here.
Just disappointed with the Sigma Tel audio card on my Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop.
I can get playback from Audacity from Headphones Out after recording a track in Line In, but not at any other time.
When I’m playing my Motif plugged into the Line In, with my headphones in the Headphones Out, there is only distorted sound coming out of the laptop speakers, but zilch in my headphones! There is only sound from the computer’s internal sounds and the playback of already recorded tracks in my headphones, but NOT through the laptop speakers! Weird.
Can someone help me solve this problem?
Or, should I get a UCA202?
The UCA202 should be assignable for Audacity audio In and Out, right?
THANKS!
I use a UCA202 with a PC (not laptop) and it’s great - sound quality is very good and I can use it for audio in and out.
This interface is primarily aimed at connecting a mixing desk to your computer via USB, and for me it works very well, but there are some limitations with it if you are not using it with a mixing desk:
Latency is a little greater than with a PCI soundcard, and the input is at a fixed level (line level) so it is important that the source that you are recording has an output volume control. Also, on a PC it is not possible to monitor the input other than selecting “Software Playthrough” which has a significant amount of delay. Monitoring of the input should be done directly from the mixing desk, or using an alternative output device (such as the PC onboard audio device). There is no problem monitoring tracks that have already been recorded while recording new tracks. If multi-tracking with a mixing desk and the UCA202, the output may be fed back into the mixing desk for monitoring, but it is very important that it is only routed to the monitor mix and not the recording mix as that would cause the new track to record a mix of all the tracks plus the new audio instead of just the new audio.
Some laptops can cause a lot of electrical interference, particularly when they are plugged into a mains charger, therefore I recommend that, if possible, you try one with your laptop before you buy one.
Ah, ok!
Sorry about hijacking the earlier post.
Have you tried just plugging a guitar into the PC soundcard and just playing through it with headphones in the Headphones port?
Works, right? Doesn’t for my laptop, somehow. Sound comes through the speakers instead.
However, all other audio comes fine through the headphones.
Totally agree about the Software Playthrough. WAY too much delay.
My other option would be to just use the laptop for Cubase, and use a Yamaha MW USB mixer for I/O, monitoring, etc instead of using the built-in sound card. Those are pricey compared to a UCA202, but at least it comes with Cubase, and can facilitate multi-track recording.