Audacity Forum

Now as for my sound card, it is Realtek High Definition Audio onboard. Will that sound card be alright?

Going on my experience of modern on-board sound cards, I would expect that as soon as you plug in some decent headphones, you will immediately discover how poor the sound card is, particularly the recording input, and particularly on laptops.

Any sound card that is designed for audio production is likely to be considerably better. Price wise, these range from the Behringer UCA 202 (line level in/out + headphone socket, USB audio interface ~$40) upward.

For internal (PCI sound cards, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 has a good reputation for excellent sound quality, though it is not really suitable for old low spec. machines (500MHz or below) Price ~$85.

For laptop computers, the only real option is to use an external sound card.

You will probably find this page useful: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... ng_Quality

stevethefiddle wrote:Going on my experience of modern on-board sound cards, I would expect that as soon as you plug in some decent headphones, you will immediately discover how poor the sound card is, particularly the recording input, and particularly on laptops.

Any sound card that is designed for audio production is likely to be considerably better. Price wise, these range from the Behringer UCA 202 (line level in/out + headphone socket, USB audio interface ~$40) upward.

For internal (PCI sound cards, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 has a good reputation for excellent sound quality, though it is not really suitable for old low spec. machines (500MHz or below) Price ~$85.

For laptop computers, the only real option is to use an external sound card.

You will probably find this page useful: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... ng_Quality

Unfortunately, it turns out that getting a new sound card is not an option for me (I have demanding parents who get very angry when I need new computer equipment. Therefore, the only thing I can get is these headphones, not new speakers or anything else). I have an HP Windows Vista Home Premium desktop computer with an AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ 2.60 GHz, 2 GB RAM, and 363 GB Hard Drive. Now since you said that the recording input would be poor once I plug in those headphones you mentioned, I would be better off making all my recordings first using my old speakers (which are ACTIVE DC-691P Hi-Fi Speaker System)? And then using these headphones in listening to and adjusting the volumes of these recordings? Now would that be good enough to achieve my goal of having all my recordings sounding nearly the same on other computers and at least having somewhat reasonable high quality production? Finally, you said that this sound card is poor. In what other ways is it poor (besides the recording input and sound quality)?

Astro-Xana wrote:In what other ways is it poor (besides the recording input and sound quality)?

Errr... what other ways are there? Poor sound quality would be my definition of a poor sound card.

Astro-Xana wrote:Unfortunately, it turns out that getting a new sound card is not an option for me (I have demanding parents who get very angry when I need new computer equipment.

How long would it take you to save up $30 US? http://www.google.com/products?q=uca202 Perhaps you could cut a deal with doing a few chores or something?

Now things are starting to look up to me--I have someone who is willing to help me out. It looks like I am able to afford a more expensive external sound card (and maybe perhaps expensive headphones). However, it must be a external sound card--I do not want an internal sound card for my desktop. Therefore, I have a few questions I would like to ask:

1.) What is the best external sound card (by M-Audio which I heard is a good manufacturer) for clear and accurate sound to buy for my desktop computer (anywhere between $60-$200)?

2.) Which would be better? The best M-Audio external sound card to buy for my desktop, or this external sound card right here (which is also a headphone amp): http://www.headphone.com/products/headp ... ithead.php

3.) Now you said that these headphones right here would be the best to buy for clear and accurate sound: http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_hd880.htm But just curious, wouldn't these headphones be better: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Prof ... B000AJIF4E

4.) Would any one of the sound cards asked in question #2 work well with my computer (in other words, can my computer even handle it)? Here is some more additional information about my desktop computer:

Model #: a6248x
Product #: GN707AA-ABA
Serial #: MXX73805KG
Software Build #: 74NAv3PrA1
Service ID #: 122-507
PCBRAND: Pavilion

1) it depends on what you need. For line level in/out the EDIROL UA-1EX is highly recommended - great sound quality and well featured (24/96, optical in, high quality A/D D/A converters, input level adjustment, headphone level adjustment).

If you need a microphone pre-amp, there are suitable models from ART, ESI, Line6, and Yamaha as well as M-Audio. Note that if you wish to use a condenser microphone you may need a pre-amp that has phantom power.

A common problem with USB interfaces is that you may find that when you switch your computer on, the sound card doesn't work (we have this problem with several M-Audio devices at work). To get it to work it is necessary to "safely remove hardware", switch it off, then switch it back on again and wait for it to initialise. It's not a huge big deal, but can be a bit of an irritation.

2) I've not come across that sound card.

3) The HD880 headphones are terrific value for money and compare very favourably with headphones costing several times more. I find them comfortable to wear and they are the type that fully enclose the ear which is generally good for studio use.

I've not tried those Sony headphones but I imagine they will be good, (considerably more expensive than the HD880).

Thomanns best selling studio headphones are the AKG K-271 MKII which get a good write-up here: http://www.electronicsme.com/product_re ... p?pid=3247

With headphones it is important that they are comfortable to wear and fit well. Ideally you should try and find some to try out before you buy, particularly if you are spending a lot of money on them.

Your computer hardware should easily be able to handle any of the sound cards mentioned and should perform pretty well. It is much higher specification than my machine. Personally I don't like Vista (Linux user).

Now I just have 2 more questions:

1.) Now I noticed the T.Bone HD990D and did a product comparison with the HD880:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/search.html?xs ... heckall=on

Therefore, in what way are the HD880 headphones better?

2.) I don't plan on using a mic or any other equipment--I just wish to use the external sound card for high quality sound/recordings using Audacity as well as other music software. So in that case, for a USB sound card, the EDIROL UA-1EX would be a good choice?

3.) This entire time, I have made all my recordings with Audacity using my onboard sound card. Therefore, are these all low quality sound waves since they were recorded with that sound card? And that I should make all these same exact recordings all over again with this external sound card (if I want high quality)?

The HD990 are "isolation headphones". They are designed to reduce outside noise, and so are excellent for drummers and DJ's in loud clubs, but the sound quality is nowhere near as good as the HD880 which are designed for studio monitoring.

Astro-Xana wrote:I just wish to use the external sound card for high quality sound/recordings using Audacit

High quality recording of what? The type of sound source that you are wanting to use is important in choosing the right sound card.

Astro-Xana wrote:3.) This entire time, I have made all my recordings with Audacity using my onboard sound card.

Recordings of what?
Do they sound poor quality? If so, do them again. If they sound good enough, keep them.

I download episodes of anime online (videos in avi, mkv, or rmvb format) and I record things from those videos using the record feature in Audacity (like portions of music, sound effects, etc. in those videos) and put those things together in creating remixes. Also, I download music files in flac format and record those files, and I also record things from Youtube videos as well. In addition, I plan on using other music making/mixing software as well. So would the EDIROL UA-1EX be a great choice for a USB external sound card?

Yes it should do very well. One of the regular forum contributors uses one and always reports glowing reviews of it.
Note that to record sounds playing on your computer using an external sound card requires that you use a "loop-back connector". This is simply an audio lead that connects the sound card outputs to the sound card inputs. You are still able to use the headphone socket on the sound card while the loop-back connector is connected.

(Disclaimer: I am not endorsing this or any other product. The views expressed in my posts are based on personal experience and information gained from reports by other people. I have not personally used an Edirol UA-1EX sound card. Your success may vary from views expressed here or elsewhere).