Audacity Forum

<<<Maybe should'a opted for a Mac, but Consumer Reports called THIS the best machine on the market for the money.>>>

The two platforms are just really different. They should rate the best PC and the best Mac. I think I've actually seen that done. The thing that throws Consumer Reports for a loop is the cost of Macs which everybody admits is high -- too high for direct comparison. Buy this PC right now and get 85% of your work done at half the cost. You have to watch the comparisons very carefully.

I bought the top rate washing machine which cleans perfectly and very efficiently. However it doesn't fit in the laundry room, so I'm typing this in the garden.

How much is it worth to you right now to get a computer that does what you want instead of what the computer wants?

http://www.highcriteria.com/

Koz

completejohn wrote:Maybe should'a opted for a Mac,

Macs can't record "Stereo Mix" either, unless you install additional software, or use a "loopback" connector. Using additional software or a loopback connector are also options on Windows 7.

For the price of a decent iMac you could probably buy two Toshibas - one with Windows 7 for work, and one with XP or Linux for recording (plus enough change to buy a really nice external sound card and printer).

The problem with recording what your computer is playing ("Stereo Mix" or "What U Hear") is most probably that the Windows 7 drivers do not support that feature for the computers sound card. If you add an external USB sound card then it is quite likely that Windows 7 will not support Stereo Mix for that either, but if you get an external sound card that has "Line Level" inputs and outputs, then it is very easy to use a "loopback" connector.

A loopback connector is simply an audio lead that you use to connect the line level audio out from the sound card to the line level audio in of the sound card.
If the sound card also has a headphone socket, then you can listen to what you are recording via headphones. You may even be able to use a loopback connector with your existing sound card, but that requires your sound card to have a "Line-in" socket. Some laptops have a combined microphone/line-in socket, but others have only a microphone socket. (A microphone socket is not suitable). I use a Behringer UCA 202 USB sound card (about $25) and a standard phono/phono hi-fi interconnect lead, which gives good quality "Stereo Mix" recording on Windows (or more usually I use the UCA 202 with Ubuntu Linux which supports Stereo Mix without the need for a loopback connector).

For recording sounds from the Internet, there is yet another possibility. There are several add-ons available for Firefox web browser that will allow you to download audio/video directly from many web-sites without it going through the sound card at all. For example Easy YouTube Video Downloader https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10137/

If you think that any of these possible solutions sound suitable, but you would like further information, just ask.

<<<Using additional software or a loopback connector are also options on Windows 7.>>>

Unless you're on a laptop then it's a good deal more of a problem.

<<<For the price of a decent iMac you could probably buy two Toshibas>>>

The Mini was $600.

Koz

mei is selling refurb xppro pcs for $130
cheapest stripped netbook is $250
cheaptest notebook about $500

add ram and another bigger HD and the xp pro machine will run you
little more than a netbook
and
you can afford to dedicate it to music/recording
with no internet no need for antivirus
set all the options for best audio performance

my win98se machine is faster than my current xp (used with www)
cause it has nothing to slow it down as a standalone unit
imagine how much faster an xppro class machine would run without all the stuff that is in there to make it slower so intel can sell bigger cpus

stevethefiddle wrote:

completejohn wrote:Maybe should'a opted for a Mac,

...
For the price of a decent iMac you could probably buy two Toshibas - one with Windows 7 for work, and one with XP or Linux for recording (plus enough change to buy a really nice external sound card and printer).
....

MEI microcenter is selling refurb xppros for $130
add ram and big hd and still less than one laptop

so for the cost of one imac you can get 4 real pcs

kozikowski wrote:<<<Using additional software or a loopback connector are also options on Windows 7.>>>

Unless you're on a laptop then it's a good deal more of a problem.

Not really. The software option (Total Recorder / Virtual Audio Cable / ...) is just the same.
For the hardware option (loopback connector) there is the slight inconvenience on laptop PCs that you are likely to need an external USB sound card.

My passing comment regarding the cost of Macs was not intended to be more than a passing comment to indicate that there are pros and cons.

always tradeoffs
cost quality ease of use
yada yada