Message 3/9
Date: 16-Jul-98 @ 11:15 PM -
RE: WHICH SOUND CARD
-Really, if you want to get incredible midi sound easily, better than an AWE 64, I suggest you to think about the possibility of gettin' an AWE 32. The real difference between AWE32 and 64 for users and home musicians is the 32 voices added by software to the AWE 64. In the other way, if you want to storage big samples or big SBK's in the card memory, the AWE64 RAM costs too much in comparision to the 30 pin memory (you can get 8MB for about ONLY 45$). Has somebody noticed about the "SPDif out" pin in the AWE 32 card?. Think twice about buying an AWE64.
-For the DSP maybe the best at price-quality is the MAxi Sound Home Studio 2. It has 8 channel DSP with Rev, Echo, Chorus and Semi-parametric 4 band ecualizer in the master output. Maybe the effects are not proffesional, but I don't know anybody who brings you more for about 230$. The memory is 4MB in the card and easily upgradeable with 72 pin memory of 4, 8 or 16MB. This card is 64 TRUE voices by hardware. The bad is that you've got to use the software "quartz audio master" supplied with the card to get all the posibilities of 8 channel DSP (upgradeable to 16), because this software is not very intuitive (I dream every night with a Maxi Sound Plug-In Direct-x for Cubase, SF, Samplitude...). The best software for multy track recording is Samplitude. If you have a powerful PC, look at the new PCI cards..
NOTE: AWE 32 and MS64 HS2 together with 8MB them both are a true studio recordind.
sorry for the too long explanation