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haring

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 6, 2011
33
0
Hi!

I am looking for the best affordable sound card for Macbook Pro..?

My budget is $150. It would be great if the card would record audio...

Thanks!
 
Hi!

I am looking for the best affordable sound card for Macbook Pro..?

My budget is $150. It would be great if the card would record audio...

Thanks!

A soundcard for a MacBook Pro? What do you want that isn't provided? Or do you mean Mac Pro? And again, it has builtin already.
 
I am sorry. I wasn't clear. I need a high quality sound card similar to Sound Blaster sound cards available for PCs...
 
Are you getting it more for digital or analog output? (I assume digital but just checking as you may be powering tube amps which until a few years ago didn't accept digital ins.
 
"I wasn't clear. I need a high quality sound card similar to Sound Blaster sound cards available for PCs."

You're still not "being clear".

Macs have sound processing built in (hence, no "sound card").

What is it, EXACTLY, that you wish to connect to the Mac?
 
I guess he wants something like Asus Xonar or Sound Blaster. Nothing on the mac. Just get an audio interface of some sort. I have NI Audio 8 DJ but that is out of your range. I use it for both DJing and gaming and the PC.
 
I would like to connect my Mac to my Onkyo amplifier. I would like to have Hi-Fi quality.
 
Does your Onkyo amplifier accept digital SPDIF input? I have my mac mini attached to my Onkyo receiver, which has two optical SPDIF inputs, which is in turn hooked up to my 7.1 surround sound system. All Apple computers have a digital out port (which is part of the traditional headphone jack). All you need to do is get a mini-TOSLink to TOSLink adapter cable, which can be had on the cheap at monoprice.com or other places. Then, your computer can send the digital output to the receiver, which decodes it and sends the signal to your speakers.

Of course, if your amplifier doesn't support digital inputs, I would suggest getting a USB or FireWire breakout box card, as has been suggested. You can then attach your analogue connectors from the breakout box to the amplifier and then have your sound.
 
I say something like the M-Audio Fast Track should do the trick. Any basic USB audio interface. Take a look at Sweetwater.com and search for usb audio interface.
 
Read the link in my signature
Whats wrong with 24bit sound thru optical?

To build on that, I don't think that we can go beyond 24-bit, as SACD and DVD Audio are 24, standard CDs are 16, and most amplifiers and players only have a max 24-bit decoding capability. Also, the dynamic range of 144db is really above what most electronics permit, and around 18-20-bit is the most. Almost no programs give true 24 bit output of MP3s either, so the sound card is only part of this. Overall, 24-bit is the standard of professional recording studies to my understanding, but you will obviously need thousands of dollars of equipment as well. The above may be somewhat off as I have been out of the audio world for a while, but that is how I last remember it being.
 
Thanks guys!
I will try one of the options. I will keep you updated!
 
SACD isn't 24-bit, it's 1-bit DSD - completely different from PCM audio.

You are correct, my apologies. SACD has a similar dynamic range of DVD Audio and I confused them as I have never used SACD myself.
 
If you have a creative audigy nx it works right out of the box for macs (new ones at least). It has digital in and out and lots of connectivity options too.
 
What did you do to resolve this Haring?

I have a similar problem. Did you ever get a usb external sound card? Which Oe? Did it work out? I need to buy one///am having problems with EMU Creative external
 
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