USB soundcard for measurements and stereo listening

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celef

celef

Member
Joined 2012
#1
can you rec'd a usb soundcard that can be used for both measurements and stereo listening

i want something that sounds and performs good but is not hi-end, i do not want to spend a lot of money = less is best

for measurements i want to use it for speaker measurements, electric impedance and acoustic responses

i would like a usb soundcard similar to behringer uca202 but with higher quality
 
#6
Thanks for that but something even more expensive than a simple focusrite isn't really what I'm interested in.

My question is geared more towards what is the minimum that one can successfully get away with. I guess if I was going to spend over $100 just for the purpose of measuring driver impedance (and TS parameters as well) I would simply buy the DATS package by Dayton that is designed specifically for that task.

I am actually looking into the focusrite Solo right now mostly because of the other things it can do as well, but I'm also wondering if one of the simple USB soundcards with both a mic and headphone jacks would be sufficient to do the job?

Anyone? Or perhaps I should take this over to the loudspeaker forum where I usually post.
 
#7
For a long time I used M-Audio cards, which did just fine. But now they they have been adsorbed by Avid, there are no new drivers for my old devices.
Currently I still use the old M-Audio and also a Behringer UMC204HD. The Beheinger balanced output has a large amount of H2 if the output level is set above 60%. That's the analog output stage, not the DAC. Typical of Behringer outputs. At work I've used Focusrite external cards both USB and FireWIre with excellent results. PreSonus has not been good to me.
 
#9
Thanks for those guys.

I haven't built anything new in several years and before that I was just using the input/output from the standard soundcard in my old desktop computer with an impedance jig. Now I'm trying to find a solution for a laptop.

I just came across the M-Audio M-Track Solo this morning which is pretty attractive for the price. But I think I'm going to incorporate it into a little stand type thingy for the laptop and top mounted knobs aren't quite as user friendly.

More out of curiosity, I'm still wondering if those cheaper little external soundcards will get the job done too.
 
#11
I suspect the little M-Audio will do well. Some older models I have with only one XLR did not have phantom power, which was a pain in the butt. But this one does, which is great. You'll want that for your measurement mic.
 
#13
OK, a lot of people like the USB mics and they should make life easy. I just don't care for using two different soundcards because of timing issues. And also I use the soundcard for recording with condenser mics, but that's a different matter.

@Charles Darwin The EVO looks cool, but does it have auto gain only? Would that work OK for a program like REW?
 
#14
jReave said:
from personal experience?
Click to expand...
20 years ago I did a lot of audio work (concert recording to post-production). I had (among several) a good brand-name card, and a no-name $20 USB dongle. The dongle had flaws, 16-bit only in dreams, but the music didn't suffer and even with only 14 good bits a reading resolves to one part in 16,000, which is far better than any of the analog meters I was using for impedance and T/S work.

I do not know what a 2002 "$20 dongle" is today, seems to be $0.69(?) plus $7 shipping. Cheap digital is accurate; I put my spare money in decent vernier calipers. (The "good" one I bought, the plastic warped badly after 3 years. The bad metal one is as sloppy as ever. The Starrett micrometer stays in the box for emergencies.)
 
#16
You can get the old TASCAM USB boxes cheap enough on ebay. The drivers still work under W10. They dont spec as good as the Focusrite stuff, but unless you're testing an amplifier with herculean distortion performance, most anything you test will be way above even that equipment.

I went ahead and bought a FR Solo, just to have a bit better Test Equipment on hand. Remember to do speaker FR measurements with REW indoors, one channel needs to be used for sync purposes. Which means the USB interface needs to be stereo output, stereo input. Unsure if the Solo is stereo input, with its single XLR / TRS input connectors. I believe it's stereo output...
 
#17
Pano said:
@Charles Darwin The EVO looks cool, but does it have auto gain only? Would that work OK for a program like REW?
Click to expand...
No, the big knob changes function depending on the mode you're in. In replay it is volume and in record it is gain. The LEDs surrounding it change accordingly ie when you change volume they show output level, about a second or so after you stop adjusting they become PPM and in record gain when adjusting and input level when not.
 
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#18
#20
I've been using the Tascam US-1x2HR for measurements and it's doing its job very good,
here's the selftest:
 

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