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Apageloman
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 Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 5:38 am Post subject: Here we go!! |
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Ok Goang,
Enough of me messing around, I am getting myself set up todayhere's what I'll be running
Behringer xm 8500 (pop-filtered)
Behringer UB 802
Soundblaster live 24 USB Interface
Audacity
Windows Xp
Anything I've Missed?
Any thoughts on settings?
Any rants I should know about?
Your thoughts are, as always, Appreciated
Pat Reiber |
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Philip Banks
Je Ne Sais Quoi
Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 11049
Location: Portgordon, Scotland
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 5:56 am Post subject: |
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| I would not use a Soundblaster sound card as they really aren't ideal. M-Audio delta is good. Other than that you're starting from a fairly good place. Are you an authorised Behringer dealer? |
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allensco
Flight Attendant
Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 823
Location: Alabama, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 5:59 am Post subject: |
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I'll echo Phillip on this one. All looks great except for the Soundblaster. You may get some noise with it. I know I did with mine. I went to an Echo Mia soundcard. No noise, except for my voice  |
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Apageloman
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 6:29 am Post subject: |
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Ok guys what is the price diifferential?
Is it advisable to try it at least before I declare it unworkable prior to return?
No not a behringer dealer, just working off a reccomendation made at being price concious really
pat |
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allensco
Flight Attendant
Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 823
Location: Alabama, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Apageloman wrote: | | Ok guys what is the price differential? |
Echo Mia=$129.99 US at Musician's Friend.
Some vo's here (I think) use the SB card with no problems. I would at least give it a try first. Like I said earlier, I had noise with my SB card, you may not. |
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brianforrester
Backstage Pass
Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 492
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| allensco wrote: |
Some vo's here (I think) use the SB card with no problems. I would at least give it a try first. Like I said earlier, I had noise with my SB card, you may not. |
It'll do the trick for you, but I'd be willing to bet that after you're more comfortable with your gear, you'll really want to upgrade the card... why not spend the extra $40 or $60 now and start off with a better product right off the bat... I've wasted waaaaay too much money trying to go for the innexpensive stuff, only to later realize that I should have spent a bit more and gotten the good stuff. Innevitably I ended up buying the good stuff later on and selling the old stuff on e-bay for quite a loss! It's a great way to learn about gear, but if you're anything like me, you don't have that kind of cash to experiment with!
Soundblaster cards are really designed for the gaming community, whereas the M-Audio and Echo-Mia cards are intended for recording.
Keep in mind... "Garbage in, Garbage out."
Good luck...
_________________
Brian Forrester Voice Overs
www.brianforrester.com
brian@brianforrester.com
778.668.5715 |
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Diane Maggipinto
Spreading Snark Worldwide
Joined: 03 Mar 2006
Posts: 6679
Location: saul lay seetee youtee
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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For clarification purposes (read: I dunno), can one hear any difference between the SB and, say, the Echo? I weighed the options but ended up just keeping the SB that came with my system. Curious as to what "noise" there might be as mentioned in one post? And you know, as soon as I finish writing this, my card will start acting up for the first time ever!
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sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!
www.d3voiceworks.com |
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brianforrester
Backstage Pass
Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 492
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Bettie,
It's not so much audible to the naked untrained ear unless you're really listening for it... it is however very noticable in waveforms... It's the kind of thing that would drive an engineer crazy if the audio was for a narration without any background music or other sfx... it also tends to be very exagerated when eq and compression are applied.
This is certainly not true of all SoundBlaster cards, but the issue tends to show up less often in studio grade cards, as they are designed with low level electonic noise in mind...
If it aint broke, then by all means don't change anything, however if you were going to be making a new purchase, I'd definately recomend going with studio grade.
Cheers,
_________________
Brian Forrester Voice Overs
www.brianforrester.com
brian@brianforrester.com
778.668.5715 |
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Bettie,
The main difference between consumer grade cards and "professional" cards are the I/O's.
Consumer = unbalanced I/O's and usually 1.8" mini-plugs.
"Professional" cards = balanced I/O's and either 1/4" or XLR connections.
I quote the term "professional", because some are not really pro-grade cards, they are just made to look that way and may contain better I/O's but not the best chip-set. Balanced I/O's tend to be quieter and usually means better pre-amps and AD/DA chips.
Several of the SB cards are actually fairly nice... a recent experience with Audigy II cards however reveals a fault that no one wishes on their worst VO enemy. I am NOT a fan of using USB sound cards, but if you must...
Your choice of equipment isn't bad at all, you will need to find just what IS noisy and what is not in YOUR system however. Outboard sound-cards are the best and that is what you have chosen - that is good. It allows you to isolate the the "card" from the noisy items on the PC.
If you are happy... then enjoy - and when you get a chance, think about another sound card. In about 80% of the cases involving VO - the SB will be just fine... and unless you are working in the realm of the other 20% - don't worry yourself too much.
Keep them 'golden tones' fresh and happy...
Frank F
Oh, for those who might wish to know - there is a new look to www.ispeek.org take a look and let us know what you think about iSpeek on our new Forum "iSpeek-Out". iSpeek "... it sounds this good..."
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com |
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allensco
Flight Attendant
Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 823
Location: Alabama, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Frank F wrote: | | Outboard sound-cards are the best and that is what you have chosen - that is good. It allows you to isolate the the "card" from the noisy items on the PC. |
Thank you Frank! That is something I failed to clarify in my earlier post. My SB was INTERNAL, not external as is the Audigy in question. My SB had a high pitched hum, almost a whistle, that was audible. It was not very loud, but it was there and I could hear it. Also, the Echo Mia is an internal PCI card, but has absolutely no noise that I have been able to detect. |
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JeffK
T-Shirt
Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 276
Location: Oz
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | I am NOT a fan of using USB sound cards, but if you must...
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Frank, do you mind elaborating? I am curious as to why you are not a fan of the USB sound card.
Thanks |
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 9:49 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Jeffk1 writes: Frank, do you mind elaborating? I am curious as to why you are not a fan of the USB sound card. |
My reasoning is very simple, One: Many USB cards are USB1.1 - thus not allowing for higher transfer speeds which can cause clicks and popping at even lower audio rates (16 bit 44.1k, higher audio level [loudness]); Two: USB 2.0 cards have the same problem with louder volume levels; Three: USB cards tend to require more 'resources' than Firewire cards; Four: Some, not all, but some USB cards are propietary and will not allow such things as use in another vendors program, cannot use ASIO from another Vendor, are incompatible with many high end softwares, etc.; Five: USB cards do not have the same multi-track capability as Firewire (IEEE 1394) cards, and many require Simplex operation to utilize more than say four inputs at once....
I could elaborate more, but that is my opinion - and "I'm stickin' to it"... Your opinions and experiences may vary, differeing opinions are best kept to yourself, milage may vary...
For VO work, a higher quality USB card can be acceptable under certain circumstances, i.e: make sure it is capable of 48 kHz (if not 96 kHz), at least capable of 24 bit audio, Full-Duplex - not Simplex, ASIO II compliant, non-proprietary, etc.
Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com |
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billelder
Guest
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Your opinions and experiences may vary, differeing opinions are best kept to yourself, milage may vary... |
That's why I don't give mine anymore!  |
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kgenus
Seriously Devoted
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 889
Location: Greater NYC Area
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 11:21 am Post subject: |
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| billelder wrote: | | Quote: | | Your opinions and experiences may vary, differeing opinions are best kept to yourself, milage may vary... |
That's why I don't give mine anymore! |
I hear you Bill ... you know how the joke goes, "there was a bear and rabbit......."
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Genus |
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JeffK
T-Shirt
Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 276
Location: Oz
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Your opinions and experiences may vary, differeing opinions are best kept to yourself, milage may vary...
That's why I don't give mine anymore! |
...but didn't your mothers tell you it is nice to share! |
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