Soundcard

[Muzik 4 Machines]

I am on the market for a 16 inputs card (minimum) and 4/6/8/16 outs (the outs are less important as long as I have 4

I spotted the Presonus Series3 Rack Mixer 16 (1300) and the Zoom L20R (999) (or the Full Mixer version at 1299) both of them with DSP EQ and compression, the zoom has 6 stereo "bus" for minitors/aux sends, but the presonus offers plugins to change comp/EQ tones

I am undecided, I will not buy an RME or an AU, I do not want to re-mortgage my house
So let's put down $ 1400 (canadian, probably 42 US$ with the crazy exchange)

do you have other suggestions (Ideally 16 mic preamps, but I can survive with 16 line in If I keep my Mackie, but it takes up space and my goal is to reduce a little


The computer will be a mini m1 mac (or m2 if I do not end up finding an M1 with 16GB/1TB) may be my late 2012 MBP too ( that I will upgrade at 10.14 (I think it's its max))

[Muzik 4 Machines]

damn i have an account here for 20 years!! (and i was a lurker for 5 before that, wow, i'm old now

[BertKoor]

I feel the pain...

Some time ago I was in the market to replace my Maya1010, but on a budget the choice of interfaces with ADAT is very limited. So I settled for a 4x4 usb interface instead, and cross fingers I don't need to record a full band any time soon.

damn i have an account here for 20 years!! (and i was a lurker for 5 before that, wow, i'm old now

The fact you still call it a soundcard gave it away

[Muzik 4 Machines]

how are we supposed to call it now? i use my traveler MKI since like 2005 so i'm totally out of the loop

my options so far to get 16inputs
behringer XR18
zoom L20(r)
Presonus Series 3 studio live rack 16

they all have at least 2 send fx, dynamics and eq on all inputs
the zoom is also a standalone SD recorder with 6 monitor mixes
the presonus records the master only, but have some sort of plugin system to change the type of dynamic/EQ
the behringer has all that plus it's 4 fx blocks you can assign as inserts too (amp sim in particular) or have 4 sends

i spent the last 3 days comparing block diagrams and specs, i really like the standalone digital mixer part, meaning i can just sit at the kit and put my headphones on like i do now with my mackie 1604

[BertKoor]

Back in those days already a soundcard was consumer / gamer gear (something alike a SoundBlaster AWE64) while an audio interface was for home recording with better quality and low latency ASIO drivers.

ChatGpt spends some more words on it, regurgitating the thousands of times this has been explained already online:

A sound card and an audio interface both deal with managing audio, but they have different purposes and functionalities.

Sound Card:
A sound card is a component of a computer that processes and manages audio input and output. It's typically built into the motherboard of a computer and is responsible for producing sound for speakers, headphones, or recording audio from microphones. Sound cards are primarily designed for general consumer use, providing basic audio functionalities like playing music, system sounds, and basic recording capabilities.

Audio Interface:
An audio interface, on the other hand, is an external device that connects to a computer to improve audio quality, provide more input/output options, and offer advanced features for recording and producing audio. It's commonly used by musicians, audio engineers, and content creators who need higher-quality sound, lower latency, and more control over audio inputs and outputs than what a standard sound card can offer. Audio interfaces often have multiple inputs for microphones, instruments, and other audio sources, as well as various output options for speakers and headphones. They also typically offer better analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion, allowing for higher fidelity audio recordings.

In summary, while a sound card is a built-in component of a computer designed for basic audio functions, an audio interface is an external device focused on professional audio recording, offering higher quality, more inputs/outputs, and better control over audio processing.

But we understand what you mean nevertheless

[Muzik 4 Machines]

in my days, a soundcard was also professionnal, most of the time with a breakout box but it was still a soundcard (even my first pro tools had a "soundcard" where you plugged the racks

anyway, any help to choose?


𝐙𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝟐𝟎/𝐋𝟐𝟎𝐑
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝟏𝟔𝐑 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐈𝐈
𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫/𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐗𝐑𝟏𝟖/𝐌𝐑𝟏𝟖

-each one has 16 mic in (primordial), compression and EQ on each channel and
-They are all full mixers and USB interface

-The zoom has 6 mix of monitors independent stereo or mono,

-The Behringer and the PRESONUS 6 Assignable Outs

-presonus and zoom each have 2 internal fx buses, the behringer it has 4 internal fx slots, can be 4 sends, 4 inserts or a mix of 2

The Presonus offers "plugins" for its Dynamic and EQ section

The reason why I turn to consoles + sound cards instead of going with a clarett or rme or even uad is that it is practical to just put to put the headphones and play drum instead to have to turn on a computer, software, configure a session, etc.

it has been 18 years that I use the same card but I have to change the computer and motu have decided to not support legacy on apple silicon

[T-CM11]

The reason why I turn to consoles + sound cards instead of going with a clarett or rme or even uad is that it is practical to just put to put the headphones and play drum instead to have to turn on a computer, software, configure a session, etc.

(Some) (USB/FW/TB) audio interfaces without 'mixing interface' can work standalone too. e.g. RME.

[Muzik 4 Machines]

went with the XR18, it does all i want and more