Karaoke Forums

External sound cards

Today, while in CompUSA I was looking for an external sound card since the laptop I'm using for recording now only has a mic in creating a problem with signal levels.

I found the Sound Blaster 5.1 external but opted not to purcahse because I don't really need 5.1 from my laptop and the connections were all 1/8" TRS and only had SPDIF out over coax.  All in all it's find if you want surround sound on your laptop but not so good for recording.  Cost $49.99.

I did some checking around and found an ADS Tech Instant Music external sound card that was also $49.99 but this offers RCA in, RCA out, as well as SPDIF in, SPDIF out over fiber.  It comes with an RCA cable w/ a ground connection to hook to your external sound source and works wonderfully for recording.  I tried playback as well through my mixer and everything couldn't be better.

I know that Matt is using the MP3 version of soundblaster, and there is the Auxigy external setups out there, but for the price this works wonderfully and might just be the solution someone is looking for.

If you have any feedback on any other external soundcards that can be used with a laptop let me know.  I'd prefer to hear about USB or Firewire based devices as opposed to PCMCIA or PC Card devices since my laptop doesn't have wireless built in and only one PC Card slot.

Hope all is well with everyone and hopefully this information helps someone looking for an external sound card.