Looking to buy a good, CHEAP recording interface card for home recording

[Akronaes]

I have been kind of dabbling in home recording for about a year now, but I want to get a little bit more serious about it.. since I am now starting college for music production.

Basically, what I want to ask is, what is a good, CHEAP (sub-200 dollars USD) recording interface card. I own a copy of Sonar, and it has been great, but the sound quality of using a cheap mic + my soundblaster card isn't exactly great, heh.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated

Edit: Hey, maybe I should actually read the forum first before posting -> http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47192

 

[Exsanguis]

Terratec makes some excellent ones for relatively low prices. I dont know what your needs in terms of recording are, but the EWX 24/96 is great and cheap.

 

[Erik]

You should very much check out the m-Audio Audiophile 2496 and/or Delta 410. I've heard nothing but good things about them and am considering picking up the Audiophile soon myself.

 

[Strigoi]

Echo Mia or EgoSys Waveterminal.

 

[TheDarkProject]

Remember that you're mainly limited by the weakest link. If you have a cheap mic and a Soundblaster I'm guessing your microphone should be the first thing to get replaced, not the card. I seriously doubt that the Soundblaster introduces more noise into the signal than a cheap mic would.

 

[voicesinthefan]

Well, from personal experience, I would recommend Aardvark products. I use the DirectPro Q10 model. It has 8 xlr/quarter-inch inputs, and more outputs than I'll ever need. I haven't ever used Echo products, but from speaking with guys that do home recording, it seems that their sound quality is inferior to that of the Aardvark systems. I know you said $200... but if your aim is to record an entire band eventually, you won't get nearly enough inputs for that price. I paid $800 for my setup. Note that it includes 8 mic preamps, so you don't have to go out and buy them yourself. Anyway, I know Aardvark makes cheaper units, they just use all 1/4" inputs instead of xlr. If you can deal w/ using adapters, I think that setup would be the best bet for the money. For general miking use (vox, guitar, drums) I use a shure sm57. It seems to be the standard for people who want quality but don't have lots of cash. Hope that helps.

 

[Akronaes]

Remember that you're mainly limited by the weakest link. If you have a cheap mic and a Soundblaster I'm guessing your microphone should be the first thing to get replaced, not the card. I seriously doubt that the Soundblaster introduces more noise into the signal than a cheap mic would.

I have tried doing direct line-in, and although it eliminates a large chunk of the noise, I unfortunately lose the nice sound that my peavey puts out...

Works good for little demos and recording general idea stuff, though.