Windows Xp and SoundMAX Digital Audio

Sound card setup

Hi…I’ve had my Ntrack for a while now but haven’t put it to good use. So my question is how do I hook it up so that I can record good audio?

I have a Sony Viao, running XP, with a SoundMax digital audio. The computer says it’s 32 bit but I can’t find anything on the properties of the sound card at all. I’m not sure if it’s 16 bit or 24 bit.

I also have a Mackie CR1604 mixing board, Peavy XR600c Mixer/Amp, a Fostex X-30 4 track tape recorder, and a generic MIDI adapter. I have an old Shure microphone and a EV microphone for vocals and pick-up. And one Peavey stage monitor. And then a Roland and a Korg keyboard.

I only have the one small, line in on the back of my computer…so do I just use the line out of any of these devices with a Y adapter (either 1/4 or RCA) that goes down to the 1/8 inch size of the computer and record?

Sorry I forgot…any suggestions about how to best put this system together would be appreciated. I always seem to have problems with hiss…or crackle using my mixing board or the Fostex 4 track.

SoundMax is an inexpensive integrated sound solution. Depending on which specific AD chip you have and who manufactured your Sony’s motherboard, the features of your SoundMax will vary. It should be WDM-based, so see if you can use that driver in nTrack. As for the bit properties, I believe they are all at 16 bit at the moment (AD/DA conversion). I’d also advise updating its drivers at the most current, which should be found at Sony’s site, not SoundMax’s site, as integrated system drivers are usually based on the motherboard. Consult your manual, driver CD’s and/or Sony. If you think you are getting too much noise with SoundMax, then I’d advise acquiring a dedicated PCI soundcard, such as Audigy’s and Wave Audio’s, etc., as integrated audio are generally noisier than their addon cousins.

Thanks for the information about the SoundMAX. I do have fire wire connections. Is there a good, inexpensive fire wire sound card could I use with the Sony Viao?

No problem. Someone else will have to answer about Firewire, as I’ve never used it. I assume your Vaio is a desktop PC, not a laptop, i.e. internal PCI slots, which means you have the ability to add on cards.

Quote (Izziebettz @ Dec. 06 2004,23:19)
I only have the one small, line in on the back of my computer...so do I just use the line out of any of these devices with a Y adapter (either 1/4 or RCA) that goes down to the 1/8 inch size of the computer and record?

Oh yeah, yes, the line-out on your mixer should be compatible with the line-in of your SoundMax system. The line-in is most likely in stereo, so be sure to connect it that way. Confirm the stereo, by using a cable with a stereo plug on one end and split left and right connectors on the other end (which goes to your mixer's stereo or 2 mono line-outs).

hth

Izziebettz - For what it’s worth I have an integrated sound card,SoundMax, in my Dell Vectra and my recordings come out pretty well. I’ve found that muting the CDROM makes all the difference in the world. I run each track through CoolEdit’s noise reduction and there is virtually no noise afterwards. They come out very, very quite.

Give it a try. I think you’ll be happy with the results.

BTW, I have an extremely simple setup for my home studio. The only extra piece I use is an Alesis MidiVerb for preprocessing my vocals. I put most of my efforts into nTrack. The lack of fancy hardware hasn’t seemed to hurt me any. But that’s just my 2 cents worth. =)

-steale

Izziebettz,

Other alternatives would be a USB or PCMCIA sound card. I have never personally used either of the following cards , but maybe some other users here might have some comments. I know nothing about either of these 3 cards, just throwing them out:

http://www.dealtime.com/xPR-Mid…2936836

http://reviews.cnet.com/Creativ…upidmlp

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2zs_notebook/

Hey thanks you all. I will definitley print these answers out and give these suggestions a try. :D