Please suggest an External soundcard for speaker measurements

percy · 26th October 2006, 02:28 PM

I need an external soundcard dedicated for speaker measurement duty(with Speaker Workshop).
Can be USB or Firewire or Ethernet or whatever - no particular preference here.
What are people using successfully ? Any particular ones to stay away from ?
Thanks.

Rudolf · 26th October 2006, 03:07 PM

From my limited knowledge:

M-audio Transit gets frequent recommendations for a low cost USB external with good quality. It´s got ASIO drivers too.

You should avoid the Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External USB, which definitely is not up to the task (my personal experience).

Rudolf

soongsc · 26th October 2006, 03:12 PM

M-audio transit is good for up to 48KHz full duplex. It's stable and quite good though if the frequency response is high enough for you.

Some people have used the FireWire 410.

Do PCMCIA cards count?

percy · 26th October 2006, 03:36 PM

yes pcmcia is certainly an option since this is for a laptop anyway.

I was eyeing the Audigy 2 NX. Wonder how well that would work.

soongsc · 26th October 2006, 03:46 PM

The Audigy 2 ZS notebook is listed at the Praxis site. I've been using it with SoundEasy, and the impulse does not stay rock steady. I haven't tried it with Speaker Workshop, but I could give it a try next time I make some runs. Maybe the problem is running in the 96KHz mode which is 24bit only.

Another option is the Echo Indigo i/o. But the outer part is thick an may not be able to get fully plugged in. One reason I have not tried it.

Bear in mind that cards running at 96KHz normally only allows you to run it in 24bit mode. So I don't know how Speaker Workshop will respond to this. Otherwise, the TRANSIT is really the most price/performance efficient in 16bit 48KHz mod.

Vespasian · 26th October 2006, 04:28 PM

I'm using M-audio Transit with my cheapo Toshiba laptop and finally getting some positive results with Speaker Workshop (noobie).

Cheers, Ed

-CGL- · 26th October 2006, 04:36 PM

Digigram VXPocket. Been using it for years now.

giulio · 26th October 2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

yes pcmcia is certainly an option since this is for a laptop anyway.

I was eyeing the Audigy 2 NX. Wonder how well that would work.

I have one. It is noisy and it shows up in the measurements and not consistently, which is even worse! I have been using it with ETF, Speaker Worshop has too steep a learning curve for me.

I have switched to the Creative SoundBlaster MP3 USB (16bit , 48K) which is what ETF acoustics suggests. No more problems.

Take a look at their website for a view on soundcard requirements for speaker measurement http://www.acoustisoft.com/NewUser.html

Best
Giulio

mercator · 26th October 2006, 06:06 PM

+1 on the MAudio Transit.
I have been (slowly) learning to use speakerworkshop with it connected to my laptop and it seems to work well.

percy · 26th October 2006, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by giulio

I have one. It is noisy and it shows up in the measurements and not consistently, which is even worse!

Did you mean the new Audigy 2 "NX" ?

Speaker Workshop seems to be working very well for me so far. No problems there.

26th October 2006, 02:28 PM	#1
percy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: MN	Please suggest an External soundcard for speaker measurements I need an external soundcard dedicated for speaker measurement duty(with Speaker Workshop). Can be USB or Firewire or Ethernet or whatever - no particular preference here. What are people using successfully ? Any particular ones to stay away from ? Thanks.

26th October 2006, 03:07 PM	#2
Rudolf diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Germany	From my limited knowledge: M-audio Transit gets frequent recommendations for a low cost USB external with good quality. It´s got ASIO drivers too. You should avoid the Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External USB, which definitely is not up to the task (my personal experience). Rudolf __________________ www.dipolplus.de

26th October 2006, 03:12 PM	#3
soongsc diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Taiwan	M-audio transit is good for up to 48KHz full duplex. It's stable and quite good though if the frequency response is high enough for you. Some people have used the FireWire 410. Do PCMCIA cards count? __________________ Hear the real thing!

26th October 2006, 03:46 PM	#5
soongsc diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Taiwan	The Audigy 2 ZS notebook is listed at the Praxis site. I've been using it with SoundEasy, and the impulse does not stay rock steady. I haven't tried it with Speaker Workshop, but I could give it a try next time I make some runs. Maybe the problem is running in the 96KHz mode which is 24bit only. Another option is the Echo Indigo i/o. But the outer part is thick an may not be able to get fully plugged in. One reason I have not tried it. Bear in mind that cards running at 96KHz normally only allows you to run it in 24bit mode. So I don't know how Speaker Workshop will respond to this. Otherwise, the TRANSIT is really the most price/performance efficient in 16bit 48KHz mod. __________________ Hear the real thing!

26th October 2006, 04:28 PM	#6
Vespasian diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2006	M-audio Transit I'm using M-audio Transit with my cheapo Toshiba laptop and finally getting some positive results with Speaker Workshop (noobie). Cheers, Ed


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26th October 2006, 03:36 PM	#4
percy diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: MN	yes pcmcia is certainly an option since this is for a laptop anyway. I was eyeing the Audigy 2 NX. Wonder how well that would work.

26th October 2006, 04:36 PM	#7
-CGL- diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Finland	PCMCIA SoundCard Digigram VXPocket. Been using it for years now.

26th October 2006, 06:06 PM	#9
mercator diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Calgary	+1 on the MAudio Transit. I have been (slowly) learning to use speakerworkshop with it connected to my laptop and it seems to work well. __________________ Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

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