I need an internal PC sound card with high-quality analog output. I’d love it to be 3-pin XLR but I can’t seem to find that at a decent price point and/or without a whole lot of other stuff I don’t need (¼" phono (TRS) would be my next choice). The audio will be running directly to a Mackie dXb mixer before going anywhere else.
Right now we’re running out through a stock mini-phono jack that needs to be jiggled around and/or halfway unplugged to get it right, but because I was the first to ask about getting a better solution, I’m stuck with researching it.
I’m a little sketchy on some technical terms and details of all this, so bear with me and maybe even fight my ignorance.
Thanks.
Just get a Sound Blaster X-Fi. By far the best sound card out there and reasonably priced for what you get, IMO.
I have a Creamware Luna card but they don’t make it any more. It looks like it’s been replaced by the Scope, which is more expensive. I got the Luna primarily for it’s low latency specs for playing soft synths.
I think M-Audio makes good inexpensive cards. Maybe something like the Audiophile 2496 might be up your alley. You ought to look at USB and firewire interfaces while you’re at it. I have a Saffire firewire audio interface for my laptop that I’ve been happy with. It’s probably overkill if you’re just looking for stereo in/out.
One thing you can do seek out a user forum for whatever software you’re using and they’ll probably have some recommendations.