[LAU] USB audio interface support?

[Ng Oon-Ee]

On Thu, 2009-11-26 at 12:19 +0100, fons at kokkinizita.net wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 07:00:27PM +0800, Ng Oon-Ee wrote:
> 
> > Hi fons, you're 'fons' in jack-devel, aren't you? Thanks =)
> 
> AFAIK there's only one fons in jack-devel, and that is 
> indeed this one :-)
> 
> > I gather, then, that I should be seeking information comparing the ADCs
> > of the cards I listed, probably from side-by-side reviews. Prices are
> > competitive with each other (from 139 USD to 190 USD) and within my
> > budget, barely. Thanks for the help, again.
> 
> For noise levels when using the mic inputs the AD converters
> won't matter much, the preamp dominates the performance (unless
> it's a very bad one). The converters could have an effect on
> sound quality, but most types used today are quite good.
> 
> I guess that the measured performance of my UA-5 is quite
> typical for this range of products. If any one would be
> really much better, the manufacturer would boast about
> it and provide an EIN figure.
> 
> Ciao,

Ah, so talking about boasting about it, Presonus has an Audiobox USB
unit which boasts (to quote their website) "preamps that out perform any
USB-based interface hands down." None of the other manufacturers, as far
as I could see, even mentioned pre-amps except to say "yes, we have
them".

Is this just hubris? Does Presonus really have a good name for quality
pre-amps at 'all budget levels'? Should I be worried that this device
doesn't seem mentioned in the alsa wiki at all?