Re: [ARSCLIST] Digital sound cards

[David Lewiston <david.lewiston@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Jay

> Has anybody have any experiences they would like to share regarding the
digital sound card, audiophile 2496?

> We are looking for reasonably inexpensive digital sound card with S/PDIF
input and this one was suggested to us.

Do you simply want to import already-digitised audio into the computer, or
do you need a card with A/D and D/A converters? If you need converters price
is very much a factor. The best for digitising is the Lynx 2 series (around
$1k). A close second are the Marian and RME cards (around $600). If you
settle for a card at a lower price point, you may well find yourself unhappy
with the quality after using it for some time. The other part of the quality
equation: Audio editing software that has a high-quality processing engine.
Used together, such a combination produces remarkably pleasing sound. I use
Samplitude Pro for this reason. Fancy speakers? Nice if you have the budget.
Otherwise, you'll be amazed at the quality of sound delivered by a decent
pair of headphones. I'm still using Koss 4AA, ancient, clunky and heavy,
less than $100, but very clean.

Salutations, David L