Do i buy the 1010 or 1010lt? final decision....?

[kev]

Heya guys. I guess ive narrowed it down to these 2 cards now, just gotta pull the trigger .

Im only experimenting with recording at the moment, and dont really know what the heck im doing yet, but i know one thing, my integrated sound is pants. So my question to you is would it be better at this stage to buy the 1010 or the 1010lt? I just want to get as good a guitar sound as possible, and possibly use a midi keyboard to play synths in cubase and program drums.

I don't want to regret buying a lt if the 1010 is seriously better and i will wish in 2 months time i bought it? any thoughts, opinions/views would be appreciated loads here if you've got the time. I know someone once said (chadxe was it) that the input is much better on the 1010 and you dont get any hum or interference because unlike the lt its ports arnt connected direct to the pci card itself? Curious about the latency on the 1010lt, and I was just a little worried that the only inputs on the 1010 are jack sockets and two midis, and the lt apparently has a preamp so i can plug my sm57 straight into it, and two mic sockets.

Hopefully you can come to a decision for me

Cheers,

Kev

 

[black sugar]

Do you really need that many inputs if you're going to program the drums? If you're just recording guitar you'd be fine with an M-Audio Audiophile 2496.

I think you've been misinformed about the pre-amp part. Neither the 1010 or 1010lt have any preamps. The 1010lt has a pair of XLR balanced ins, but you can't just plug a 57 into them.

If you get a either of the 1010's or the 2496 you'll need a cheap mixer (for the pres) no matter what if you don't already have one, so be sure to factor that in as well.

I'd recommend the Soundcraft Compact4 in the cheap mixer category.

 

[kev]

hey, thanks for replyin man! It says this tho:



2 built-in mic preamps

??

 

[Noumenon]

Yes it has two mic pres.

But do you still need that many inputs?
If you're not planning on recording something like drums the audiophile 2496 is a GREAT card.

 

[Blessed]

I've got an audiophile 24/96 and it's been awsome for me for the two years I've had it.

It's fine for recording 2 tracks of audio at the same time (i.e. Guitar & bass or Guitar & Vocals).

If you think you may expand into recording drumkits & individually mic'ing each drum anytime in the near future, go with the 1010.
If your happy with just using sequences/sampled drums, go with the 24/96.

 

[kev]

Guys, the big plus for me is the xlr inputs. Could i clarify, if i plug the sm57 straight into a 1010lt, will it work?

 

[Blessed]

Yes, but I believe you'll have to mess around with the Soundcard's monitor window to alter input levels which may be a pain in the arse compared to simply having a mixer or mic-pre to twist a knob on.

 

[chadsxe]

We keep missing each other on yahoo messenger......anyways the difference between the 1010lt and the 1010 is much more then you guys are saying....the main plus for the 1010 is that the connections are balanced.....this lowers the noise floor a lot....say for example on the 1010lt you have recorded via a mic or outboard synth (anything that is not ITB) a bunch of tracks (20 or so).....the low level noise of every individual track builds up and is amplified when everyone of the tracks is summed....also, with the 1010lt the converters are inside you actual computer via PCI.....the ups the chances of machine noise getting passed through the hundreds upon hundreds little electrical circuits......all this noise also adds to the noise floor....Now I will admit when I had my 1010LT I thought it was amazing.....it did a great job and you can get out almost what you put into it.....well about a year later I was bored and said F-it I am going to go get a 1010......when I did my first project with it and compared it side by side with something I did on the 1010LT I noticed a big difference.....a lot of the blanketed sound was lifted and things were much clearer.....Now with that said your preamps are going to have to do a lot with this.....the pre's on the 1010lt are serviceable for scratch tracking but like you said if your trying to "get the best sound you can" then they are not going to cut it......to me good starting point for you is to by a card with outboard converters and balanced I/O's....then buy a entry level pre that is highly respected like the DMP3.....if you did it this way I have a feeling you will not regret your purchase and still have a pre that you will use years from now......