# Current Soundcard Options?



## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

I'm putting together all the gear I need to run REW on a WIN 7 laptop and am down to selecting a soundcard. A quick check on EBay shows a couple of possibilities at $60 +.

Are there options that are less expensive that work with WIN 7? What cards should I avoid?

I've got an ECM8000 mic, RS SPL meter, Behringer mixer, and mic stand. I still need a couple of cables to connect it all together and the sound card to complete the setup.

Thanks,

Brad


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## SAC (Dec 3, 2009)

An Art Dual USB Pre for ~$69 new will work fine, and it eliminates the need for a mixer as it already has balanced XLR/TRS fittings and phantom power.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

For any sound card you should look up reviews to see if it will “play nice” with your operating system.  This post will tell you what to look for in a review.

Regards,
Wayne


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. Would the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro work? I'm not sure about the inputs as it has a single line in/mic mini plug input. Will this work? How is it different from the mic input on my laptop? This card looks to be a good deal if it will work as it is available for under $50 right now.

The other choice from Creative is the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD for about $70 with line in/phono in RCA's.

I don't have a need for an external sound card other than REW so I don't want to spend a ton of $$.

Other solutions/recommendations are encouraged.

Brad


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Any sound card with a line in and a line out that is compatible with your operating system will work.

Regards,
Wayne


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

Thanks Wayne.


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## aackthpt (Jan 24, 2011)

BluesSailor said:


> Would the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro work? I'm not sure about the inputs as it has a single line in/mic mini plug input. Will this work? How is it different from the mic input on my laptop? This card looks to be a good deal if it will work as it is available for under $50 right now.
> 
> The other choice from Creative is the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD for about $70 with line in/phono in RCA's.


The problem you will have is that the mic input on those cards won't work with the Behringer microphone without using other equipment. Wayne's suggestion:


> Any sound card with a line in and a line out that is compatible with your operating system will work.


is true (on the input side) if you want to use an SPL meter or Audyssey microphone because they do not have a balanced (XLR) connection and do not need phantom power.

You will be hard pressed to find something that works with the Behringer microphone and provides you with full functionality for REW (2 channels) for less than the ART unit mentioned. I use an M-Audio MobilePre USB (older model) which I scored on eBay refurbished for $40. If you can find that, go for it - works fine with win7 and even better with the new ASIO driver version of REW.

Any 2-channel interface with phantom power and at least one XLR mic input will do the job. If you're unsure about a specific model, please post it.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

John,

BluesSailor noted in the opening post that he already has a Behringer mixer (which presumably has phantom power) as well as the ECM mic. So all he needs is a basic soundcard with line ins and outs, for a connection scheme like this:










Regards,
Wayne


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## aackthpt (Jan 24, 2011)

Oops. You're right, Wayne, I missed the part about the mixer.

At that rate any old soundcard will work (pref. with line out), Behringer UCA2xx is a popular option of late but I've even seen mention of a dealextreme.com option. It's about $30 iirc, less than other options I think I've seen mentioned. I believe there's also a thread specifically on setting it up with win7.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Yeah... since you already have the mixer and don't want to spend very much, look at the UCA202 for $27 at Amazon. It has favorable reviews for the most part. Most of the time we only see the negative issues here when someone has a problem... and I think most of those have been with a Mac.


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

I ended up with the ART Duel unit recommended by SAC. The mixer I have is borrowed so the option of not needing it will be better in the long run, As I understand it, I needed the mixer for the phantom power and the XLR input. The ART Duel does that so I'm good all around. I ended up getting a good deal through Musicians Friend for $48, free shipping. Be here tomorrow.

Thanks to all for your input. I'm sure I'll be back once I get it all fired up and need some help getting REW to behave.

Brad


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

That is a pretty good deal. It seems that several stores have dropped their prices to $49 on this unit. Cheap enough that I snagged one myself via Amazon, who uses Musicians Friend. I see it at B&H Photo for $49 as well.


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## aackthpt (Jan 24, 2011)

Sonnie said:


> That is a pretty good deal. It seems that several stores have dropped their prices to $49 on this unit. Cheap enough that I snagged one myself via Amazon, who uses Musicians Friend. I see it at B&H Photo for $49 as well.


That's pretty fantastic. Given the small form factor and rugged case I may have to switch to this for my measuring rig. I'd been thinking of trying to get some more MobilePre units to use as great-sounding external sound cards, but if this is readily available at that price it might just be the choice!


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

Question:

The description on this unit says that it has both an XLR and 1/4" input. Looking at the pictures of the unit, all I see is the XLR input.

Can someone who has this unit in hand clear up this issue? No big deal either way, it will just clear my direction as far as what connection cables I'll need, eg. RCA on a RS SPL meter to the ART Duel.

Thanks,

Brad


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## aackthpt (Jan 24, 2011)

BluesSailor said:


> Question:
> The description on this unit says that it has both an XLR and 1/4" input. Looking at the pictures of the unit, all I see is the XLR input.


I don't have one in hand but I know the answer. It has combination connectors, they will take either XLR or 1/4" TS. Compare:

Regular XLR vs. ART Dual Pre

The extra hole in the middle is for the 1/4" TS connector. That confused me a lot when I first began looking at interface/preamps too!


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

Thanks for the quick answer. Not being real familiar with the XLR connector, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. This is turning out to be a great purchase and will be fun to put through it's paces when it arrives. I'm getting drawn deeper into this whole Sub, set-up game. I hope that it goes smoothly and painlessly (yeah right!)

Brad


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

You need ¼" on the back for the output.


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## BluesSailor (Oct 9, 2011)

> You need ¼" on the back for the output.



Yep, I saw that. My unit arrived today courtesy of Big Brown.

Blues


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## aackthpt (Jan 24, 2011)

For others...

Here are your buying options.

Musicians Friend often has nice discounts. Try this and if you get an account at fatwallet you can get 3% off all the time. I've heard of people stacking discount codes with taking advantage of their lowest price policy for some crazy deals on other items.


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## longshorejl (Dec 15, 2011)

My current shopping cart in order to begin using REW with my laptop is as follows:
ECM8000 mic
Behringer 302USB mixer
XLR male to XLR female Microphone Cable - 15 feet 


Will I be able to run REW with this setup? I plan to run the software on my laptop and feed my Onkyo receiver via rca connectors from the 302USB


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

> Will I be able to run REW with this setup?


> You'd be the very first HTS poster here to report back about his attempts to run REW with that 302-USB .

> Therefore ;

> Don't Know ! :huh: 

> Should work ! onder:

> Buy it, try it & make sure the retailer has a good return policy if it doesn't work out . lddude:

:sn:


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## longshorejl (Dec 15, 2011)

Assuming the 302-usb does work... Is that the right combination of items to order? I guess what I'm getting at is this thing would be both the sound card and mixer in my scenario, correct?

Thanks,
Jim


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Correct.

Regards,
Wayne


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## longshorejl (Dec 15, 2011)

Just placed order for the following:
XLR male to XLR female Microphone Cable - 15 feet
Dayton Audio EMM-6 Electret Measurement Microphone 
Behringer 302USB Premium 5 Input Mixer With Xenyx 

I'll let you know if it works...
I used the sticky to look for products to run REW. The problem I ran into was it just seemed too dated. When I see 2008 that just seems too long ago to still be the best solution. My 2 cents


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

We are working on updating our recommendations... and you can help by listing what you bought here. :T


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