28 Aug
2003
28 Aug
'03
5:24 a.m.
Mannr(a)uwaterloo.ca wrote:
I am considering getting a USB audio interface.
My goal is to capture audio for making CDs. I will capture from line level,
eg., from minidisc or phonograph, and from microphone inputs, eg., for
recording live shows to a laptop. It should be completely USB powered for
maximum flexibility. Digital I/O would be great, but is not required.
I am not looking for professional quality. But I would like something pretty
good, eg., at the level of consumer minidisc recorders. That is what I am
using to record now. I don't need any mixing capability. Plain capture
at 44.1kHz/16bit and optionally 48.0kHz would be fine.
I've seen lots of gear, eg., Edirol, M-audio, etc. But I have several
questions:
- What is the A/D quality of some of the retail units?
Retail units:
Edirol UA-1A, UA-3D (edirol.com),
MAudio Transit (m-audio.com),
Soundblaster Extigy, Soundblaster MP3+
Higher quality?
Tascam U-122, Edirol UA-20?, MAudio MicPre,
Professional level (>500USD)
SoundDevices USBPre
(http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpremaster.htm)
The Soundblasters are consumer/gaming devices. I wouldn't trust them
to have good ADCs.
The other units you mentioned are high quality. I'd guess all of them
are at least as good as your "consumer mididisc recorder".
- Is the Mic preamp any good?
Yes.
Ie., as good or better than the one in my consumer
minidisc?
Probably. It's hard to make a comparison when you don't tell what unit
you have, or how good it is. :-)
(and not all of the above units do have a mic preamp)
- What is the "native" capture mode of these
units?
16bits is OK, but I have heard reports that some, like the Soundblaster,
capture at 48 or 96kHz and resample for 44.1kHz. I am looking
for true sampling at 44.1kHz.
Only the Creative units resample AFAIK.
- How can I control record level on these units?
Depends on the unit.
(The UA-1A doesn't have any controls, neither hardware nor software.
The other usually do have controls.)
UA-3D Y I/O, Y I/O, YN I/O, N
?(1) 16 Consumer
(1) claims 32/44.1/48k. Is this 48k native sample rate?
The website says this is for the digitial I/O, and doesn't mention the
ADC rate. (I guess the ADC can do the same natively; try asking
Edirol.)
Edirol UA-5 9VDC I/O, Y I/O, YY none
44/48/96(2) 16/24 ???
(2) "real time sample rate conversion", is this 96k native sample rate?
This too applies to the digital input only. The website says the ADC
can do 44.1.
The M-Audio Transit and MobilePre aren't yet supported by ALSA, and I
don't know about the USBPre.
I would recommend one of the Edirols, but you have to choose what
features you want.
HTH
Clemens