Concerning the sound card thing, EricB nailed it. Theres nothing more to it.... really.. .there isn't. HA
With the audiophile issue, I would NEVER consider an DJ and audiophile. I would, however, consider an audiophile becoming a DJ. I'm not a "DJ h8ta"... don't get me wrong. DJ's are cool and I dont know if I could ever do some of the stuff they do.
Heres my take:
DJ-CHRIS said:
Most DJ's run around with 1K in turntables, 600-700$ Mixer, Thousands in music, 100+$ headphones and CD players will run at least 500$ each.
Alright... if you are trying to say that your equipment isn't cheap, then take a look at audiophile equipment. Take a quick tour of a recording studio. You said your mixer is $600-700. That would be the equivalent to the weekly PAYMENT of a studio "mixer". A recording studio's console normally runs around 75k-100k. Thats the cheap ones. Take a look at NEVE consoles. Do you know how many they sell a year? Two or three. They are handbuilt. They can cost up to 1 million dollars. Yes, MILLION. 6 zeros, not two. Not trying to be like "Hey look at us and our money". NO.... recording studio's LOSE money. If you can run a recording studio that makes money, then you are probably the first in the world. Studio's don't make the money... the record company does and pays the studio a miniscule portion of their income. I'm currently working in a studio that the electrical bill alone is three or four thousand dollars a month. In two months, a studio has a DJ beat just with the bills alone. I hope that paints a
small picture of what a recording engineer does. Oh... if something breaks... theres no returns/refunds nor do you "buy a new one". If you are an engineer, you know your gear INSIDE and out. You should have electronics knowledge so that you can take that blown transistor out and resolder it back into the circuit board. Theres no such thing as buying a new one... you dont have the money... you paid half a million dollars for ONE piece of your studio... let alone the rest. Not putting down DJ's, but there is quite a difference in knowledge here. I am by far not even close to being that good... YET. I'm constantly studying and finding new ways of doing things. I'm still learning. If an engineer says he knows it all, he knows nothing.
EricB hit on the nose again with the PhD thing. Yes they may know the technical, but do they know practical. One of the most famous "blunders" in tech vs practical is an X-Y mic setup. This setup calls for two matching mics (overhead condensors) 180º apart with one facing left and the other to the right. Now, the people with the PhD will get out the protractor and get them to line up to 180º. The practical engineer won't care! If it sounds good, then keep it. That is what miking is about. Try it out... if it sounds cool, use it! Is anyone going to know that the overhead drum mics on tracks 8-9 on reel 2 time 24:30:45 are 180º apart to maximize the use of the polar patterns in the microphones? NO... WHO CARES.
About the loudness with DJ vs audiophile. DJ's normally use their system as a PA. Audiophiles are in a small dead silent room with foam insulator on the wall in the perfect pattern. The room is silent. You don't need 1,000 watts. In fact, 500 is more than enough. If you need more, then you are doing something way out of line. You obviously aren't maximizing head room on each track to its fullest potential during recording and you are also not paying attention to details. You just wanna jam to some loud music. If your a DJ, awesome if you got 2,000 watts... thats great. If your an engineer and you've got 2,000 watts, your a moron who shouldn't even step foot in a control room.
I could go on and on and on, but I really need to get some sleep.
Again, i'm NOT against DJ's. They are awesome! Although, they should NEVER... EVER be matched with an audiophile/engineer.
I might post more later... GOOD NIGHT!