all checks, including Dr. Norton's Checkit Diagnostics insist that the card is working properly and it does, except no recording abilities, even with Windows I'm puzzled by rave reviews for this card, as it can't play MIDI and VST/Soundforge sounds exactly the same as with my ancient SBlaster, which I've now reinstalled I think I'll re-sell the Audiophile but do I first accuse the guy of selling me a dud????...... -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
"Gill Smith" <> wrote in message news:... > all checks, including Dr. Norton's Checkit Diagnostics insist that the > card is working properly > > and it does, except no recording abilities, even with Windows > > I'm puzzled by rave reviews for this card, as it can't play MIDI > > and VST/Soundforge sounds exactly the same as with my ancient SBlaster, > which I've now reinstalled > > I think I'll re-sell the Audiophile but do I first accuse the guy of > selling me a dud????...... No. The Audiophile is a decent prosumer entry-level sound recording card and the SoundBlaster is a gaming-oriented card. It sounds like it wasn't what you expected. As far as "sounds the same" - how can you tell? What is your monitoring set up?
On Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:54:03 -0000, "Gill Smith" <> wrote: >all checks, including Dr. Norton's Checkit Diagnostics insist that the card >is working properly > >and it does, except no recording abilities, even with Windows > >I'm puzzled by rave reviews for this card, as it can't play MIDI > >and VST/Soundforge sounds exactly the same as with my ancient SBlaster, >which I've now reinstalled > >I think I'll re-sell the Audiophile but do I first accuse the guy of selling >me a dud????...... If it really won't record, maybe you've got a dud. But I bet it will, if you feed some audio in Have you got round to telling us what version of Cubase you own? Maybe there are virtual instruments available - which the Audiophile will handle much better than the SB. If you were led to believe that the Audiophile had onboard sounds, you might have grounds for returning it. CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Laurence Payne" <> wrote in message news:... > On Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:54:03 -0000, "Gill Smith" > <> wrote: > >>all checks, including Dr. Norton's Checkit Diagnostics insist that the >>card >>is working properly >> >>and it does, except no recording abilities, even with Windows >> >>I'm puzzled by rave reviews for this card, as it can't play MIDI >> >>and VST/Soundforge sounds exactly the same as with my ancient SBlaster, >>which I've now reinstalled >> >>I think I'll re-sell the Audiophile but do I first accuse the guy of >>selling >>me a dud????...... > > If it really won't record, maybe you've got a dud. But I bet it will, > if you feed some audio in tried that too, still nothing as I said, even Windows doesn't recognise any recording abilities (i.e. the microphone test) > Have you got round to telling us what version of Cubase you own? Maybe > there are virtual instruments available - which the Audiophile will > handle much better than the SB. SX3 but I don't want to start buying any sware for Audiophile, seeing its existing shortcomings -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
On 2010-02-19, Gill Smith <> wrote: <snip>> >> Have you got round to telling us what version of Cubase you own? Maybe >> there are virtual instruments available - which the Audiophile will >> handle much better than the SB. > > SX3 > > but I don't want to start buying any sware for Audiophile, seeing its > existing shortcomings > You *did* install the m-audio driver, right? Does the m-audio software/driver set have a control panel to display card status? -- ----------------------------------------------- The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!
On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:16:59 -0000, "Gill Smith" <> wrote: >> Have you got round to telling us what version of Cubase you own? Maybe >> there are virtual instruments available - which the Audiophile will >> handle much better than the SB. > >SX3 > >but I don't want to start buying any sware for Audiophile, seeing its >existing shortcomings OK. Well, if you made extensive use of the SB's onboard MIDI synth and those sounds met your requirements, there seems little reason to change from it. CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:16:59 -0000, "Gill Smith" <> wrote: >as I said, even Windows doesn't recognise any recording abilities (i.e. the >microphone test) What microphone? There's no microphone input on the Audiophile. What you have is a low-cost, good quality sound card that does a simple job very well. It gets audio in and out of a computer. The connections are designed for Line level signals. If you want to use a microphone you'll need an external preamp or mixer. The sort of cheap microphone that plugs into a SB has no place in this sort of setup. CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"XODDI" <> wrote in message news:... > > "Gill Smith" <> wrote in message > news:... >> all checks, including Dr. Norton's Checkit Diagnostics insist that the >> card is working properly >> >> and it does, except no recording abilities, even with Windows >> >> I'm puzzled by rave reviews for this card, as it can't play MIDI >> >> and VST/Soundforge sounds exactly the same as with my ancient SBlaster, >> which I've now reinstalled >> >> I think I'll re-sell the Audiophile but do I first accuse the guy of >> selling me a dud????...... > > No. The Audiophile is a decent prosumer entry-level sound recording card but that's the problem: it doesn't record the card should register an audio input when connected to a microphone, no matter how crummy -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
"John Bleichert" <> wrote in message news:... > On 2010-02-19, Gill Smith <> wrote: > <snip>> >>> Have you got round to telling us what version of Cubase you own? Maybe >>> there are virtual instruments available - which the Audiophile will >>> handle much better than the SB. >> >> SX3 >> >> but I don't want to start buying any sware for Audiophile, seeing its >> existing shortcomings >> > > You *did* install the m-audio driver, right? Does the m-audio > software/driver set have a control panel to display card status? it plays everything, even records MIDI and Windows and Checkit say that the device is working properly -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
"Laurence Payne" <> wrote in message news:... > On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:16:59 -0000, "Gill Smith" > <> wrote: > >>as I said, even Windows doesn't recognise any recording abilities (i.e. >>the >>microphone test) > > What microphone? There's no microphone input on the Audiophile. > > What you have is a low-cost, good quality sound card that does a > simple job very well. It gets audio in and out of a computer. The > connections are designed for Line level signals. If you want to use a > microphone you'll need an external preamp or mixer. The sort of cheap > microphone that plugs into a SB has no place in this sort of setup. but no matter how crummy, its audio output surely has to be recognised by Audiophile's audio input -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:22:23 -0000, "Gill Smith" <> wrote: >> What you have is a low-cost, good quality sound card that does a >> simple job very well. It gets audio in and out of a computer. The >> connections are designed for Line level signals. If you want to use a >> microphone you'll need an external preamp or mixer. The sort of cheap >> microphone that plugs into a SB has no place in this sort of setup. > >but no matter how crummy, its audio output surely has to be recognised by >Audiophile's audio input Have a look about a quarter of the way down this page http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/microphone_powering.html The cheap microphones that work with SoundBlasters use a 3-contact mini-jack plug. Tip is signal, sleeve is ground. But ring is for 5v, delivered by the SB to power the microphone. If this voltage is not supplied (and whatever adapters you put between the mic and the Audiophile's Line In, you won't get it) the mic won't deliver any sound. If you can find a dynamic mic (which requires no power) or an eletret condenser mic with its own battery, you might get SOME response if you shout loudly, though the Line In is designed for signals of a considerably higher level. The best way to test your card would be to take Line Out (maybe called Tape Out or Aux Out) from a hi-fi amplifier as your source. The fact that this signal is typically supplied on a pair of phono sockets, matching the input sockets of your Audiophile, are a strong clue that they might match You can turn two ways now. Back to the SB and its onboard MIDI synth. Or on to a much wider range of MIDI-controlled sounds, better quality microphones... If you want to record "live" you'll need to add a mixer or preamp plus a microphone. Both remarkably cheap these days. If you want to expand into software synthesis and sampling, probably your best move would be to upgrade to the full version of Cubase 5 which includes several "instruments". Any reasonably new computer will cope. But it might be an idea to post the spec. here, in case yours isn't up to it. You don't HAVE to go onward and upward There's plenty of good music can still be made on the SB. CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
>http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/ Just listened to "Winterlude" on your web page. Nice ideas, but I think you WOULD enjoy using more subtle sounds than those provided on the SB. "Southern Waters" - well, you sing much the way I do. Luckily there's an instrument playing so we know what the tune is CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
On 2010-02-20, Gill Smith <> wrote: > "John Bleichert" <> wrote in message <snip> >> You *did* install the m-audio driver, right? Does the m-audio >> software/driver set have a control panel to display card status? > > it plays everything, even records MIDI > > and Windows and Checkit say that the device is working properly You do realize you didn't answer my question, right? I don't give a f*ck what any non-m-audio utility says about it, and neither would m-audio if you wisely asked them for support.. "It's working fine as some silly sound card" is not equal to "it's working fine as a 2496". Also LP's points about line-level mics vs. that crap you buy for speaking into Skyp are critical. -- ----------------------------------------------- The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!
On 2010-02-20, John Bleichert <> wrote: > On 2010-02-20, Gill Smith <> wrote: >> "John Bleichert" <> wrote in message ><snip> >>> You *did* install the m-audio driver, right? Does the m-audio >>> software/driver set have a control panel to display card status? >> >> it plays everything, even records MIDI >> >> and Windows and Checkit say that the device is working properly > > You do realize you didn't answer my question, right? I don't give a > f*ck what any non-m-audio utility says about it, and neither would > m-audio if you wisely asked them for support.. "It's working fine as > some silly sound card" is not equal to "it's working fine as a 2496". > > Also LP's points about line-level mics vs. that crap you buy for > speaking into Skyp are critical. > > Oops - hit send to early - good luck sorting it out, harware probs suck. Remember that the 2496 is more than a standard sound card so w/o the manufacturer's drivers you may not get all of it. JB -- ----------------------------------------------- The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!
"Laurence Payne" <> wrote in message news:... > On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:22:23 -0000, "Gill Smith" > <> wrote: > >>> What you have is a low-cost, good quality sound card that does a >>> simple job very well. It gets audio in and out of a computer. The >>> connections are designed for Line level signals. If you want to use a >>> microphone you'll need an external preamp or mixer. The sort of cheap >>> microphone that plugs into a SB has no place in this sort of setup. >> >>but no matter how crummy, its audio output surely has to be recognised by >>Audiophile's audio input > > Have a look about a quarter of the way down this page > http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/microphone_powering.html > > The cheap microphones that work with SoundBlasters use a 3-contact > mini-jack plug. Tip is signal, sleeve is ground. But ring is for 5v, > delivered by the SB to power the microphone. If this voltage is not > supplied (and whatever adapters you put between the mic and the > Audiophile's Line In, you won't get it) the mic won't deliver any > sound. > > If you can find a dynamic mic (which requires no power) or an eletret > condenser mic with its own battery, you might get SOME response if you > shout loudly, though the Line In is designed for signals of a > considerably higher level. > > The best way to test your card would be to take Line Out (maybe called > Tape Out or Aux Out) from a hi-fi amplifier as your source. The fact > that this signal is typically supplied on a pair of phono sockets, > matching the input sockets of your Audiophile, are a strong clue that > they might match > > You can turn two ways now. Back to the SB and its onboard MIDI synth. > Or on to a much wider range of MIDI-controlled sounds, better quality > microphones... If you want to record "live" you'll need to add a > mixer or preamp plus a microphone. Both remarkably cheap these days. > If you want to expand into software synthesis and sampling, probably > your best move would be to upgrade to the full version of Cubase 5 > which includes several "instruments". > > Any reasonably new computer will cope. But it might be an idea to > post the spec. here, in case yours isn't up to it. > > You don't HAVE to go onward and upward There's plenty of good > music can still be made on the SB. > > CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm whoa, you've been doing more work than me! I'll have to re-install the Audiophile card, prolly Tuesday and see what I can see the spec below is extracted from the Belarc programme many thanks for your help I'll remember you when I make it big in the music biz...................................................................................... Operating System System Model Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600) Processor a Main Circuit Board b 2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 64 kilobyte primary memory cache 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache 64-bit ready Not hyper-threaded Board: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. K8V-MX Rev 1.05 Bus Clock: 200 megahertz BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 1006.003. 07/09/2004 Drives Memory Modules c,d 80.02 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity 47.02 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space SONY DVD RW DW-D22A [CD-ROM drive] WDC WD800BB-55JKC0 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) -- drive 0, s/n WD-WCAMDA442913, rev 05.01C05, SMART Status: Healthy 448 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory Slot 'DIMM0' has 256 MB Slot 'DIMM1' has 256 MB Local Drive Volumes c: (NTFS on drive 0) 80.02 GB 47.02 GB free Network Drives None detected Users (mouse over user name for details) Printers Lexmark 510 Series on USB001 Controllers Display Standard floppy disk controller Primary IDE Channel [Controller] Secondary IDE Channel [Controller] VIA Bus Master IDE Controller None detected Bus Adapters Multimedia VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller (4x) VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI (WDM) Game Port for Creative Virus Protection [Back to Top] new Group Policies avast! antivirus 4.8.1335 [VPS 090810-0] Version 4.8.1335 Virus Definitions Version Up To Date Realtime File Scanning On None discovered Communications Other Devices SoftV92 Data Fax Modem Networking Dns Server: 192.168.1.1 VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller USB Human Interface Device Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard HID-compliant mouse USB Root Hub (5x)
"Laurence Payne" <> wrote in message news:... > >>http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/ > > Just listened to "Winterlude" on your web page. Nice ideas, but I > think you WOULD enjoy using more subtle sounds than those provided on > the SB. that track is due for major musical surgery - indeed if I hadn't been so busy recently, it would already be history! > "Southern Waters" - well, you sing much the way I do. Luckily there's > an instrument playing so we know what the tune is and that is what all this is about: I must get a singer and for that I need a card that does justice to a half-decent singer and mic -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
"John Bleichert" <> wrote in message news:... > On 2010-02-20, John Bleichert <> wrote: >> On 2010-02-20, Gill Smith <> wrote: >>> "John Bleichert" <> wrote in message >><snip> >>>> You *did* install the m-audio driver, right? Does the m-audio >>>> software/driver set have a control panel to display card status? >>> >>> it plays everything, even records MIDI >>> >>> and Windows and Checkit say that the device is working properly >> >> You do realize you didn't answer my question, right? I don't give a >> f*ck what any non-m-audio utility says about it, and neither would >> m-audio if you wisely asked them for support.. "It's working fine as >> some silly sound card" is not equal to "it's working fine as a 2496". >> >> Also LP's points about line-level mics vs. that crap you buy for >> speaking into Skyp are critical. >> >> > > Oops - hit send to early - good luck sorting it out, harware probs > suck. Remember that the 2496 is more than a standard sound card so w/o > the manufacturer's drivers you may not get all of it. that's why I spent over the odds buying card PLUS original disks interesting to note that the (generic) drivers SB supplies have changed AGAIN, so they're now Roland MPU-40 (or something!) anyway, they no longer support any MIDI spec, not even a much degraded one) - luckily I was able to locate the original drivers -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:04:10 -0000, "Gill Smith" <> wrote: >> Oops - hit send to early - good luck sorting it out, harware probs >> suck. Remember that the 2496 is more than a standard sound card so w/o >> the manufacturer's drivers you may not get all of it. > >that's why I spent over the odds buying card PLUS original disks But don't use whatever's on the CD. There's bound to be a later driver at: http://www.maudio.co.uk/index.php?do=support&tab=driver CubaseFAQ page: http://www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Laurence Payne" <> wrote in message news:... > On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:04:10 -0000, "Gill Smith" > <> wrote: > >>> Oops - hit send to early - good luck sorting it out, harware probs >>> suck. Remember that the 2496 is more than a standard sound card so w/o >>> the manufacturer's drivers you may not get all of it. >> >>that's why I spent over the odds buying card PLUS original disks > > But don't use whatever's on the CD. There's bound to be a later > driver at: > http://www.maudio.co.uk/index.php?do=support&tab=driver I kid you not, I already tried their later drivers - and they didn't install properly! I'll have another go Tuesday and see if MAudio fixed the problem........ -- http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/
Gill Smith: > Laurence Payne wrote: >> But don't use whatever's on the CD. There's bound to be a later >> driver at: >> http://www.maudio.co.uk/index.php?do=support&tab=driver > > I kid you not, I already tried their later drivers - and they didn't > install properly! > > I'll have another go Tuesday and see if MAudio fixed the > problem........ On my PC, I haven´t encountered installation problems with the Delta drivers - several versions since 2005 on several instances of WinXP and Win7. The audio part of my Delta 2496 works just fine with line-level in and out. As Laurence wrote: if you want/need to record a mic with it, you need a mic preamp (either stand-alone or in a mixer) to raise the mic level to line level, which is what the card´s input "expects". Small preamps/mixers start at about 50 EUR/$ - there are even cheaper ones. Anyway, M-Audio does offer older driver versions for download as well! Just find the checkbox next to "Show older releases" and there you go... ;-) It´s hidden well, but it´s there! Phil
