Audio interface

[Bigmowthp]

So Im going off to college, and Im getting fairly decent laptop, but I still would like to produce music. As it stands, even on my desktop, I still experience crackling and popping. I believe this is because I need a soundcard.

To get an External soundcard that I could use with my laptop, would that require getting something known as an audio interface, like this?

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo.html

If so, Im willing to spend 300-350 dollars on a firewire device. So could someone please let me know first of all if im even talking about the right products here, and what would be the best product in the price range to help me use FL Studio on my laptop?

Thanks so much guys!!

[Nutritious]

That's odd that you're getting crackling/popping. Personally, I used FL Studio with my laptop's integrated sound card for a couple years with no issues. Are you planning on doing a lot of recording or interfacing with other hardware? Or just want it for the sound properties itself? I'm not sure it would be worth it for just the latter unless you were having major problems.

[Ronyn]

I've made the mistake of buying an external audio interface kinda like you for college, and then finding out later when I got into a production situation that my external audio device didn't meet my needs. You need to factor in if using Mac or PC, what will be your DAW, what will be your input/output needs. Also, are you getting the clicking and popping from raw audio recordings, exporting from your DAW, or just playback from any sound file? I'll assume you've troubleshot it completely and a new interface would fix it, but if you're not sure, be sure.

[Bigmowthp]

thanks guys.

Well, the thing is the playback. Once I start working on any project that has lots of instances of sytrus, lot of effects, and lots of automation, I cant even properly hear my track, it slows down almost to a stop.

I imagine this problem on the laptop would be even worse. Im getting a dual core processor for the laptop so this might help, but ive heard a soundcard would help the lagging.

Im probably just going to be using software: FL 7 or 8 with lots of effects and VSTs during playback, ideally. What do you think is the smart decision?

[dannthr]

A soundcard with DSP capabilities so you can off-load audio processing from your CPU is a consideration, but that's the only way I can see a soundcard helping in the situation you describe.

You need more processing power, that's what's slowing you down.

Now, if you are getting popping/crackling with one track.... you might want a soundcard with ASIO level signal processing and/or tweak your soundcard settings.

[Ronyn]

So far definitely processor (dual core should do it) and memory (CPU more important, but if your system tries to start using paged memory for audio, you'll grind to a crawl) would be most important more than your interface, although a good driver running with your external interface helps some yes, it's all about latency and efficiency, I don't know about that interface too well, I'd check reviews or listen if anyone else here has suggestions. Since the new laptop probably would make a big difference, you might consider just the laptop first, then the interface if still not cutting it (dannthr is dead on, ASIO drivers have lowest latency)

Are you recording? That interface has only 2 max inputs, and I don't see how it switches mic to line level so you might need up to two DI boxes on hand depending on your needs to get the levels right. The plus side is it should be very compatible with just about all DAWs.

[Langriman]

Man I asked this question about USB interfaces a few months ago and I got no useful responses... screw y'all!

Anyway, for a long time I was planning to get the M-Audio MobilePre USB, but a musician friend-of-a-friend pointed me to the Tascam US 122L, and I decided to go with that instead. The reasons included:

recommendation from professional

the bundled software appeared to be better

24bit/96kHz

MIDI connections

bigger headphone jacks

You could get this stuff from an M-Audio product, but for the products I looked at it seemed like I'd have to pay an extra $100 to get the same features. Among the possible downsides of Tascam products I heard about were poor customer service and no SDK (although it appears M-Audio no longer offers an SDK with their products, last I checked).

I've only used my US 122L a few times so far for both recording and playback, but I'm pleased with it.

HEADS UP: I also have a laptop with sound problems. It is a Dell Lattitude D830 I got a year ago that I wanted to be a music machine. It had snaps and pops from the very first day. I sent it back to Dell and got a replacement and it still had the same problem, but I kept it because otherwise it is great and I figured that the USB interface I planned to get someday would bypass the crappy sound card. Fast forward to a month ago when I finally got my USB interface and the problem is still there. I've noticed that the cursor sometimes spontaneously jumps around, so my best hypothesis is that somewhere inside the computer there is a faulty circuit that produces bogus signals to/from IO devices. The rate at which the pops occur is only about once a minute and I've learned to live with it, but that something to think about if you are determined to solve your sound problems by doing sound IO through another route.

[Bigmowthp]

So I guess I was kind of looking at the wrong products to fix my problem.

James George: Im probly getting a laptop with a dual core 2.4 GHz processor, and 4 GB memory. Should this solve my problem then?

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[audio fidelity]

that should be a pretty decent system - one of the biggest factors in artifacts like that in a daw is your system buffer - you should try increasing the amount to see if that fixes your problem

[Bigmowthp]

Alright ill try the buffer settings, and just wait and see what happens when I get my laptop as well.

Thanks guys:-D

[Ronyn]

So I guess I was kind of looking at the wrong products to fix my problem.

James George: Im probly getting a laptop with a dual core 2.4 GHz processor, and 4 GB memory. Should this solve my problem then?

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Try to go for 3 GB and see if the money you save can get you more on the CPU (not that 2.4 isn't good, but you don't need over 3 GB). Also, make sure they sell you a 7200 rpm hard drive.

I also have a laptop with sound problems. It is a Dell Lattitude D830 I got a year ago that I wanted to be a music machine. It had snaps and pops from the very first day. I sent it back to Dell and got a replacement and it still had the same problem, but I kept it because otherwise it is great and I figured that the USB interface I planned to get someday would bypass the crappy sound card. Fast forward to a month ago when I finally got my USB interface and the problem is still there. I've noticed that the cursor sometimes spontaneously jumps around, so my best hypothesis is that somewhere inside the computer there is a faulty circuit that produces bogus signals to/from IO devices. The rate at which the pops occur is only about once a minute and I've learned to live with it, but that something to think about if you are determined to solve your sound problems by doing sound IO through another route.

Your problem is that Latitudes are designed for businesses, not audio. Even worse, it's a D830. Not a total crap model, but it is vulnerable to the Nvidia GPU heat issue. If you have the discreet Nvidia graphics cards and haven't had the mobo replaced and you're under onsite warranty, call Dell and tell them you're getting lines on the screen all the time, even when they have you run preboot tests. They will send you a new mobo and "might" (never really know) fix/help your problem. If you warranty is depot, tell them the issue is intermittent, so they'll replace it anyway even if they don't see it.

[Langriman]

Your problem is that Latitudes are designed for businesses, not audio. Even worse, it's a D830. Not a total crap model, but it is vulnerable to the Nvidia GPU heat issue. If you have the discreet Nvidia graphics cards and haven't had the mobo replaced and you're under onsite warranty, call Dell and tell them you're getting lines on the screen all the time, even when they have you run preboot tests. They will send you a new mobo and "might" (never really know) fix/help your problem. If you warranty is depot, tell them the issue is intermittent, so they'll replace it anyway even if they don't see it.

I already got the computer replaced; the problem was still there.

Besides this problem, I don't see what's so bad about the D830... I looked at a lot of other laptops, and this looked like the best combination of price, features, and service record.

[Ronyn]

I already got the computer replaced; the problem was still there.

Besides this problem, I don't see what's so bad about the D830... I looked at a lot of other laptops, and this looked like the best combination of price, features, and service record.

I actually used to work Dell Latitude support, so my opinion is based off many users with problems, yours might be just fine. D830s are on the list of known graphics issues IF you have the chip I mentioned; replacing the mobo wouldn't have changed anything with audio unless you were lucky enough to get a better mobo. Otherwise, yeah you're probably fine. But again, it's only designed for business usage. The CPUs, memory speeds, hard drive speeds, bus speeds and architecture just can't meet the needs of the high performance audio. Yes, they have great support, but they have limits. If you want to do high performance audio (especially in real time) with a Dell, you'll want a precision workstation, their most expensive line.

[Nutritious]

Alright ill try the buffer settings, and just wait and see what happens when I get my laptop as well.

Thanks guys:-D

I take it you're using ASIO drivers while in FL? What is your current buffer setting? You can also change the mixer interpolation to Linear to free up some processing power while previewing (options > audio settings).