Sound Blaster Laptop Soundcard

[firebird]

Has anyone used the Creative Sound Blaster notebook soundcards which can be put in the cardbus slot of a laptop?

here's the one i'm referring to

http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=204&product=10769&nav=0

they're real cheap ($99) and you can get them at circuit city or best buy. I know they aren't specifically for recording, they're just kind of a general sound enhancer. But, as far as quality goes, can anyone recommend this product?

I'm switching from pc to a toshiba laptop and need a soundcard for recording. I don't think I need one for multi-tracking (which if i understand correctly, is used to record two serparate tracks simulaneously - like for a band) since I'm pretty much a one track at a time guy on my own.

I'm open, too, to firewire products (maybe m-audio), but something cheap (under 200). I'm thinking of just testing the Creative card out, since I can probably return it no problem.

Could those using laptops for recording, give me there input?

Thanks.

Andrew

[auxillary Jack]

I dunno about those cardbus cards, but another option may be Creative's USB soundcards. I think they make an Audigy USB version. I have an Audigy Platinum (internal PCI card) on my PC, I would imagine its the same EMU engine. I use mine for alot of layering tracks, recording one at a time. The soundfont system is pretty cool too. Ive had great results with it, although I've never directly compared it to other soundcards specifically made for home studio recording.

[idealflaw]

personally this thing looks great!
i use laptops and of course the internal soundcard has no stereo input, so that kills any possiblity of making due.
i use 2-4 different soundcards, depending on the situation.

LExicon Omega for full on recording.
Sound Blaster Extigy (older usb soundcard w/5.1 audio)
PODXT -for guitar
and some weird pluggie thing by EDIROL.

Anyway, i like sb stuff... cheap, easy to find & lots of experience.
others might not be so kind.

i'd rather have this than a usb because you just throw it in the laptop bag with everything else; easy...

[nobody]

Cardbus is faster than USB, so the cardbus cards will perform better than a USB card.

The Creative cards are good, it will do 24/96 for a decent price. If you're not doing multitrack the Creative should be fine.

[firebird]

awesome guys, thanks for all your response.

i'm a little cautious about using usb, just because i've read some bad things. I think i'd go with firewire if I end up using external, since it seems to be the closest thing to internal speed.

The downside to the cardbus option is that there are no external balances... but that's why I plug through a mixer, which has always worked fine with my pc. So I think I'm going to try the notebook card out, since I can return it, it seems worth a shot for 99 bones.

I'll let you guys know how it works out!

[nobody]

Originally posted by firebird
[B]awesome guys, thanks for all your response.

i'm a little cautious about using usb, just because i've read some bad things. I think i'd go with firewire if I end up using external, since it seems to be the closest thing to internal speed.

USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 are pretty much the same speed. Firewire has a little better throughput for large data transfers, but that has nothing to do with an audio interface. There's nothing inherently bad about USB. I've been using a USB interface for awhile now with now problems and really good latency.

[firebird]

well it's good to hear some personal opinion about usb. I think i based my opinion on something i read on the tweak recording site.

[firebird]

wulp, i bought it, and it's exactly what I was looking for. my main objective was to have clear recordings, which, when several clean tracks are put together don't distort, like cheap soundcards do.

The package comes with a lot of good applications, which I haven't had enough time to mess around with yet, but look awesome. It has a good eq, similar to the one for iTunes.

So far I've recorded acoustic, vocals, and drums all with my friend's Audio Technica 3060 condenser mic through a behringer mixer then into the new card, the quality thus far being far beyond my expectations for a $100 sound card.

Can't wait to make some serious recordings with this thing now!

All I need now is a good condenser mic. Behringer B2 or Studio Projects B1?...