OT: Soundcard rec/play Qs

groovedude wrote on 11/8/2004, 3:20 PM
I'm planning on getting a new sound card but don't understand a few things.

If I get a card such as the one below, as I understand, if I want to play back or record a track that is a certain resolution, say 44.1 then I need to set the box to the matching resolution, in this case 44.1.

(when I say box, I mean the external sound card/device)

1. But what happens when you try to playback a file using any ol' app, let's say a low quality mp3 in IE that is a lower resolution than the lowest box setting, in this case 44.1? Will it not sound on playback through the box?

2. Not that 192 kHz is terribly important to me, but, looking at the stats below under "Frequency Response" it doesn't list 192 kHz, so does this mean it will only record 192 kHz from an anolog source, but its really just upsampling 96 kHz to 192 kHz?

Thanks for your patience.

Edirol FA-101

Number of Audio Record/Playback Channels
(Up to 96kHz) Full Duplex
Record: 10 Channels
Playback: 10 Channels

<192kHz> Full Duplex
Record: 6 Channels
Playback: 6 Channels


Signal Processing
PC Interface: 24-bit
AD/DA Conversion: 24-bit (Linear)

Sampling Frequency

Digital Output: 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz
Digital Input: 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz
AD/DA Conversion: 44.1/48.88.2/96/192 kHz

Frequency Response
96.0 kHz : 20 Hz to 40 kHz (+0/-2 dB)
88.2 kHz : 20 Hz to 40 kHz (+0/-2 dB)
48.0 kHz : 20 Hz to 22 kHz (+0/-2 dB)
44.1 kHz : 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+0/-2 dB)


http://www.edirol.com/products/info/fa101.html

Comments

Nat wrote on 11/8/2004, 9:36 PM
Usually soundards will do samplerate conversion on the fly. The sample rate of my soundcard will adjust itself automatically depending on the sample rate of the media that is played. Vegas will also resample audio on the fly. 192khz is a waste of space in my opinion, I personnaly record all my stuff at 44.1 and I'm pretty happy. Higher sample rates can be useful for certain recordings, but 96k is more than enough...
Spot|DSE wrote on 11/8/2004, 10:08 PM
Groovedude,
Don't worry about all that stuff. A quality sound card from M-Audio or Echo (my personal fave) will manage everything for you, including sample rates of up to 192K. (This is VERY rarely used in our world, but on occasion...) Sample rate will switch with what you have selected in Vegas. I recommend recording at 16bit, 48K, which is the same sample rate as DV is.
Avoid USB cards, PCI is always best, Firewire coming in second. Get something with as many live input channels as you need, but at least 6 outputs for doing surround mixes.