[linux-audio-user] Newbie checks in

[Dan Harper]

Hey Jos,

On Tue, 2004-05-11 at 11:18, Jos Laake wrote:
> Ardour seems more robust than Audacity,
> yet Audacity seems easier to use.  Is this just my newbie sense leading
> me astray or is my intuition telling me something?


I haven't used Audacity much, but as far as I know, some differences
are:
 - Audacity is easier to use.
 - Ardour has more features that Audacity lacks:
   - Real-time plugins
   - Extensive work on getting performance for multiple audio tracks
     from hard drive.
   - Automation (gain, pan, plugins)
   - The best JACK support around
   - Buses (real handy, trust me)

> So how about this one? - Creative Labs SoundBlaster MP3+ USB Audio unit

USB devices may have whizz-bang features that ALSA does not support yet,
it can have issues with JACK or low latency operation (long story). 
There are also limitations on track count and quality (the USB bus will
not support 2 x 24bit/96kHz tracks full duplex).

Currently I use a SoundBlaster Live! Value, works fine for me, you can
listen to an example using this card at http://www.danharper.org this
track is about 10-12 tracks in Hydrogen/Ardour/JACK/JAMin.  Although I'm
getting an RME Hammerfall DSP in 2 or 3 days (hanging out!).  Some kind
of PCI card is  safest, best supported, decent quality, and more likely
to do low latency/realtime operation option around.

If you are thinking notebook compatibility (because of the USB), I've
spent a lot of time researching there, bad are USB (as above), USB2 (not
tested yet), FireWire (definitely not tested yet).  Best bet I found is
a Cardbus solution, the Hammerfall comes out on top (but you pay for
it).

Regards,
Dan

-- 
Dan Harper
http://danharper.org