Originally posted by: coaster831
You really need to give us more info to help give a good recommendation. First, give us your whole budget for this recording project, as well as how many tracks you want to be able to record at once- the things that are going to affect your recordings the most are, in this order:
budget -
<$1000, like I said, I'm not loaded
player/instrument -
A friend of mine and myself and hopefully a vocalist sometime in the near future. /
Korg EMX-1 and Korg ESX-1, Casio WK-1200 Keyboard, Novation X-Station 25 USB MIDI controller / synthesizer, Ibanez electric guitar, *uknown brand (have to check with friend)* 4-string bass
room/room treatment *very underlooked -
My basement, about 8ft (h) x 8ft (w) x 12ft (l) ft space ( may increase as I continue to move things around )/ Carpetted, wood panel walls, 1x1ft flat smooth ceiling tiles.
monitors (speakers) -
2.0 Bose Lo/Mid/Hi open boxes ( not sure what model, was a hand-me-down gift from grandparents but are still very nice ) that I run through a Sony amp ( old, looking to get a new one )
microphone
mic preamp -
N/A at the moment, I'm unaware of what is good as of yet
soundcard/interface
Deciding, reason for thread / PCI
There are dozens of soundcards to choose from ranging from $50 to several thousand dollars. The M-Audio is a good entry level choice- it's playback quality is fine for an entry level setup (that is to say, it's noticeably better than consumer gaming cards). If you're really worried about the A/D/A conversion, the Emu 1212M is a step up for $200 (the Lynx 22 mentioned above is great as well, closer to $600)- but, like I said, you really need to address the other factors above in addition to the soundcard. Good luck!
PS- The M-Audio does not have professional grade converters- no professional studio is using M-Audio stuff. They are a good prosumer level and cost efficient choice though (I used to own a Delta 66 for many years, which has the same converters as the audiophile- it served me quite well).