Compatible USB sound cards

[stomperbob]

I'm looking to purchase a USB sound card for My Dell/Windows 7 64 bit/ASIO4ALL laptop.

I don't trust that the 1/8" audio output jack is going to last forever.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[TiUser]

"I don't trust that the 1/8" audio output jack is going to last forever."...

Don't think a USB socket/plug lasts forever - probably 1000 plug cycles until it starts to degrade, gets more loose or does not contact properly any longer. Well - Neutric makes screwable high end USB connectors - but I haven't seen any music gear using this.

Most pro keyboards even don't support balanced XLR output or at least +4dB professional signal level...

If possible I would plug in a PCI sound card like Emu or something higher end if your budget allows this. There are also PC-Card solutions for laptops - if your laptop has such a port.

I'm not a big fan of USB soundcards but if there is no other way I guess there is less difference in sound quality than in price with available offers - if you avoid the very cheap stuff like Behringer...

...just some thoughts...

[Sounds4Art]

Not true about Behringer... I've had a U-Control UCA222 for years and it still works great today. Paid around $35 back then, you can get them for even less today - Check eBay. The UCA202 is very similar, not sure if there is any difference with UCA222 except for the color...
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx
BTW, I've also had a BCR2000 midi controller for years, and no issue with this Behringer hardware either.

I've been thinking of the Alesis IO2 Express as a replacement to my UCA222, since it can record 24 bit audio. On top of that it has midi in and out connections. So you may want to look at these. They are affordable, and you can find some good deals on ebay as well... Last week a couple of them went for around $50 (including shipping).
http://www.alesis.com/io2express

S4A

[TiUser]

Behringer products are often a matter of controverse experiences.

I can only speak for my experiences and I can say Behringer "quality" is a very mixed bag. If you have luck and get a device from a good charge - fine, but if not you can have endless trouble as well.

Of course there is other crap around - so there is not just Behringer to criticize for budget design.

[stomperbob]

Well, fortunately I downloaded new drivers for my Turtle Beach Micro II sound card and now it's working. Before it would not play with ASIO4all. I notice some latency as compared to the 1/8" jack. I have ASIO4ALL set to 128, any lower and pops start sounding.

I think I'll try this for a bit. The Sweetwater rep recommended the Focusrite Scarlett II for $150.

[TiUser]

I have ASIO4ALL set to 128, any lower and pops start sounding.

Assuming you use 44.1kHz sampling rate understand what buffer sizes of 128 samples mean... the need to safely calculate a complete buffer approximately every 3ms - in time, as a binding contract to the OS so to say. Usually windows does not make timing contracts of any kind... but to my experience 128 samples buffer is a magic limit. maybe you can try 96, but 64 is very difficult to accompish.

Again this is not about system power and capability but Windows scheduling. I repeat this anytime as getting a faster cpu does not necessarily change anything in that arena. Scheduling in Windows is also a bit of a dark topic where things change slightly from Windows version to version, so only way I see to make sure what works practically and what not is trial & arror - sadly.

Keep also in mind that midi transmission can cause some additional ms latency on top of audio latency which can be important for us interested in playing live.

For me personally 256 samples buffer is the maximum I can tolerate and the more percussive sounds like piano already get quite uncomfortable to play. Asio4All allows to check out odd rates too - I found 192 sample a setting worth to check out - if your soundcard likes that.