Re: [ARSCLIST] sound card--ALC 882 8-ch

["Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello, Michael,

From what I could find from a quick Google search, this appears to 
be a very common chipset that is used in a wide variety of computers 
from respectable manufacturers.

While I cannot categorically suggest that it would not be adequate, I 
could not easily find detailed specs on it, but I am led to believe 
that it doesn't have balanced inputs.

I have three mid-level (as in under $1000 each) 8- or 10-channel converters.

I have two RME Multifaces and one MOTU 828 MK II.

Both of these models are very satisfactory and sound very good. The 
nice thing about the MOTU is that it is a firewire interface so it is 
less likely to become obsolete as a PCI card.

Do you need 8 channels?

While not top-of-the-line, M-Audio www.m-audio.com

I think this box is pretty competent and might suit your needs. It 
offers 24/96 capability, but does not offer balanced inputs (which 
the ones I have do offer).

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/AudiophileUSB-focus.html

I have not used this product and M-Audio's reputation is mixed, but 
overall they seem to deliver good "bang for the buck"

This is $250, probably available for less.

Cheers,

Richard

At 04:14 PM 6/20/2006, you wrote:
> I hope this isn't too off topic.
>
> I'm about to purchase a windows platform for home and would like to
> hear opinions
> as to whether the sound card that comes with it, a Realtek ALC 882
> 8-ch,
> is sufficient for a hobbyist, or whether I should invest extra money in
> a different card.
>
> I'm a record collector, and I'd like to digitally copy recordings in my
> collection
> from ca. 1905-1955, and then do some basic clean-up work on the digital
> files.
>
> Any assistance appreciated.

Richard L. Hess                   email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada       (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.