Advice on an external soundcard?

Hey i am wanting to buy a new or second hand external sound card i can plug into my P4 laptop and desktop pc's for recording off turntables...

What should i be looking for spec wise?
Anyone got any brands i should look for ?
Anyone got one they need to sell me?

I'm not a huge expert in things sound related, but go for a 24bit or higher card.

Why do you want an external?

if it just recording from turntables that you want to do?

have you seen the signal to noise ratios for onboard sound cards Bob?

Nope i wouldnt have a clue about soundcards.

I am into an external one so i can shift it between 2 pc's i have as well as the onboard card has noize from a fan i think that is close to it...
It is only for recording mixing of turntables though..

Does the same go for PCI cards?

<gross generalisation>
onboard sound cards are of lower quality than their PCI cousins and tend to have higher noise:signal ratios
</gross generalisation>

of course it does depend on the individual product.....

If you want advice from people who are expert in this area, take a look at http://head-fi.org . Post your question in the source (LINK) forum there.

In general, the m-audio range of cards like the audiophile USB or firewire will do the job quite well. The newer range of EMU cards apparently do even better, and they're internal. The upside is these cards will all give you great quality sound playback too.

We use an Extigy - external version of audigy, its does what we need it to. Cheaper option than the real pro things like mbox. If you want to buy it new let me know what you can get it for and I have good sources that may be able to do it cheaper.

Audigy doesn't have a good reputation. I think you can do better for the price. btw ordering from the states is a pretty cheap way to get higher end audio gear, you just have to look around for a place that charges reasonable postage.

Do any of these external soundcards work on both PCs and Macs??

All external usb/firewire audio card that i'm aware of work on both mac and PC. Make sure you check before you buy one though

Would i be able to switch it between my desktop and laptop? Both P4's similar gears... Jah would be into a price off you as i dont really have much of a PC hookup wanna flick me an email? Gimpy have my addy..
Thats if you have a spare min anyway dude.

http://www.floridamusicco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=USBAUDIOPHILE

US$165 plus shipping.

better than anything made by creative, and i'm fairly sure it's cheaper too.

cheers mate ill have a geez...

dude, check with me before you purchase anything, cos i might be able to sort you out a better price..


my personal pick would be the m-audio audiophile USB, if you can afford it.

I got a usb microphone for my ibook called an imic. Works on pc as well. When recording from decks, signal noise is neglible.

Have a look at the other forum I pointed out too, they're a specialist forum, and might be able to help out. They have a 2nd hand area too, where members buy/sell stuff, where i've gotten some good deals.

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=72956