Sound card question

nialljf

I have a Macbook -- 2.4 GHz processor, 2 cores, 2 GB memory, stock sound card. Is the sound card in the Zoom H4 better, and why? Also, does running an external sound card reduce CPU usage?

Thanks

Hayte

What does "stock soundcard" mean? Integrated/onboard?

There is cpu overhead with all soundcards but its minimal as long as the drivers are written well. If you plug in a PCI soundcard then interrupt handler requests are made through the PCI bus instead of the firewire or USB bus.

The cpu overhead doesn't even register next to the monster cpu load you get with software like uHE ACE and Super Impulse Reverb. Stuff like that can bring your computer to its knees if you crank all the settings and mix at huge sampling rates.

Onboard sound is fine as long as you don't need hardware interface connectivity. If you are 100% software production and monitor in stereo then onboard is fine as long as you can physically plug your soundcard outputs into your speaker inputs.

The main reasons to get a dedicated soundcard are:

1) Hardware connectivity. i.e. lots of analogue/digital i/o; autosensing i/o + built in preamps so you can plug microphones, guitars etc. straight into your soundcard and not have to worry about bridging impedance or having enough gain. The more connectivity you have, the more hardware you can have synced up and playing/recording live at the same time.

If you don't have any hardware you don't need a soundcard with lots of hardware connectivity. If you have a few bits of hardware, like a guitar a mic and a synthesizer keyboard then buy a soundcard that has enough i/o to plug everything in at the same time. Maybe a bit extra for when you buy more gear.

If you have tonnes of hardware then you will need tonnes of i/o and probably patchbays to manage cable spaghetti itus.

2) MIDI I/O. If you don't have any MIDI hardware you won't need this except for a MIDI controller/keyboard. I think there are many of these that can pass MIDI via USB though. I'm pretty sure Virus TI can for example.

If you have tonnes of MIDI hardware, you will probably want a MIDI interface like an ESI M8U XL, which is USB and driverless.

3) Proprietary drivers and support. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how well supported the hardware is. I have a TC Electronic soundcard and the driver support is virtually non existent these days so I still experience loss of WDM. I also get better results with ASIO4ALL (generic ASIO driver) than TC Near (proprietary driver).

4) House sync. Irrelevant to everyone except people running project studios and using tonnes of simultaneous i/o across multiple chassis or folks involved with film/television work.

Theres some waffle about expensive soundcards having better converters and sounding better but in my humble experience I think thats bunk. I've used Pro Tools rigs, Rosetta 200 and owned various onboards, a Delta 1010 and I currently own a TC Konnekt 48. I can't tell any differences that cannot be mistaken for placebo effect.

Even the worst onboard sound in 2011 is vastly better than any digital recorder used by the super pros in the early 1990s. Quality production is more about knowledge, using your tools appropriately and good recording and mixing technique.

If you don't have any production chops, then spending thousands of euro on a soundcard is not going to save you. I must also sheepishly admit that shoddy drivers aside, my TC soundcard gives me far more options than I am ever likely to use in my own home. I am considering downsizing to something cheaper and smaller, with better driver support, then blowing the savings on something more useful/fun in a rampaging demonstration of fiscal irresponsibility.

drumdrum

nialljf wrote: »

I have a Macbook -- 2.4 GHz processor, 2 cores, 2 GB memory, stock sound card. Is the sound card in the Zoom H4 better, and why? Also, does running an external sound card reduce CPU usage?

Thanks

If you are thinking of getting a Zoom H4n to double both as an external interface and as a portable recorder, DO NOT GET IT.
I own a Zoom H4n, and while I think it is great as a portable recorder device, it is absolutely useless as an interface card, mainly for the fact that I can't find a way to gain pad the incoming signal on the XLR inputs (I dont think that they exist TBH, but I stopped using it as an interface ages ago so maybe there is a way. I'm 90% sure that there isnt though....)

Basically that this means that you cannot adjust the input gain with using the XLR jacks which therefore often equates to your tracks clipping like crazy! Its a really stupid omission from Zoom and it kinda makes these inputs redundant on their own.

If your mic has a built in gain pad or there is some type of XLR cable with a gain switch on it, then I guess its useable, but if its just an interface card you are after then I recommend looking elsewhere.


That said, I think its a great device to bring to jams and to get quick recordings of ideas so that you don't forget them. I can't count how many times I recorded an idea on my H4n, only to forget it later and need to remind myself later of what I had played. THe built in mics are clean and clear and are generally very good to record jams with so that you don't forget new songs.

Portable recorder = good. Interface = bad.
TBH, if I were you I would look to get myself a budget interface card. Focusrite do a load of good ones and their Saffire Pro 24 DSP is a great little device for its money, which is about the same price as a Zoom H4n. There are loads of other great cards around this price so shop around. Also, you may be able to pick up a good deal on adverts.ie or ebay or something...