Mixing-quality laptop soundcards

[Eagleboy]

I've been looking into possibilities for mixing with my laptop. My desktop is my audio-recording machine with the M-Audio Delta Omni Studio, but it would be nice to take my laptop somewhere besides my room at school, and mix on my headphones.

I see that E-MU has some options, but they're recording PCMCIA cards with breakout boxes. I also have found a card by Echo, called the Indigo I/O - with one 1/8" out for a high-quality headphone out.

I'm wondering if anybody has had any experience with any higher-end laptop soundcards, as I'm looking to buy soon (about to record a full-length CD in studio, and I want to mix outside of my room as I had said earlier).

My price range is around $200, which limits things a bit, I know - but it's what I have left after buying books, cameras and other art supplies.
Thanks!
-Tom

 

[molsen]

first of all, do not mix with headphones. their frequency response is all whacky because of the proximity to your ears. try to use mid-high end speakers more than 2 feet but no more than 4 feet away from you. you'll get a much better mix that way.

second, i use soundblaster extigy and i have zero noise and 96khz sampling rate which is pretty decent. if you have a firewire port, i would recommend getting an external unit that makes use of that. if not, USB 2.0 will be fine.

basically, look for a high s:n ratio and good quality connectors if you're just mixing with that card. if you absolutely must use headphones make sure to invest in some very nice ones.

as always with mixing, take alot of breaks to let your ears (and your mind) rest. listen to the mix on a variety of speakers and headphones...people listening to your music won't be hearing it on the same speakers as you. also, make sure any EQ or sound enhancements on the soundcard or computer are off before you begin mixing. strive for a flat, even sound, with no frequencies sticking out above others.

 

[boomstick666]

im a professional recording engineer so i can probablly help u w this.
ya i don recommend u mixing only w/ headphones. headphones r good for checking sound. like checking panning or noise. near field speakers r the best but it depends on ur room acoustic too. cuz u r actually listenning to the direct sound + ur rooms reflection. it greatly affects bass response. but anyway, for sound card, r u mostly doin audio or midi? for audio, as engineers stand point, ProTools r the best. for midi and audio, a lot of ppl uses logic. logic is more musician friendly than ProTools. so if u r dealin w lots of audio, digidesign m-box or digi 002 is recommended. it hooks up thru firewire. for midi and some audi, just get any USB or Firewire based sound card. (usually external hardware comes w it) little PCMCIA card is not recommended. since i havent heard any good product comes out on those format. + im sure it picks up computer noise also. and molsen said, take some breaks to let your ears rest. but u kno what, we do 15 hours straight mixing and stuff in professional level. cuz we don have the luxury of time and money even the major label records. but in fact, more than 12 hours of listening to music will ware ur ears and brains out especially u lose the ability to hear the high end. and i recomemd u mixing in very low volume. it helps ur ears + its good when u hear everything perfectly in low volume. = good mix.

 

[Crysalis]

I agree with boomstick... headphones are a no no and there aren't any good cards for laptops anyway.

You could do it to play around, but you definitely dont want to be mixing for final mix with laptop and headphones.

 

[Eagleboy]

My goal is to get a good clean first or second mix with the laptop and my Sennheiser HD515's. Final mixing is always done through my desktop machine and the variety of speakers that I have available to me. My desktop has a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro and an M-Audio Delta 66 Omni Studio. Denon amp, Pioneer, Klipsch, and Bose speakers. All editing done in Adobe Audition 1.5. No MIDI - just audio.

I've mixed before - but now that I have a laptop I want something so I can do initial mixes in one of my dorm's lounges or something. I'm not even going for absolute professional quality (If I wanted that, I have friends with professional studios that would do it low-cost with me). My laptop's current on-board sound is absolutely ****, and I definitely need a new card for it if I want to do any kind of mixing at all.

I've looked around and seen decent reviews for the Echo Indigo I/O, but from the sound of it you guys are recommending an external USB2 or Firewire soundcard?

 

[Crysalis]

I would say yes to USB/FW sound card.

If you want just an expansion card, then the Audigy 2 ZS does come in PCMCIA form. I think it's a few bucks more though.

 

[mac_mogul]

I would suggest M-Audio's Transit USB audio if you plan on using headphones.

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