Laptop MP3 Playback need a good USB Sound Card

[KeysMan]

My new laptop has absolutely terrible sound from the headphone output to a powered speaker, so I'm looking into various options for external USB sound cards. I'd prefer to have balanced outputs for noise reduction purposes. The Peavey USB-P is an interesting option, and the Numark DJ IO or M8 look like they may be good options. Does anyone have additional recommendation or experience with a USB sound card?

[Anderton]

 

My new laptop has absolutely terrible sound from the headphone output to a powered speaker, so I'm looking into various options for external USB sound cards.

 

 

Definitely a wise move!

 

 

I'd prefer to have balanced outputs for noise reduction purposes.

Given the high levels coming out of a typical mixer and the relatively short cable lengths, that will probably not be much of an issue. However, most interface outputs these are days are balanced, whether they're XLR or 1/4".

 

 

The Peavey USB-P is an interesting option, and the Numark DJ IO or M8 look like they may be good options. Does anyone have additional recommendation or experience with a USB sound card?

Check out the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. Actually there are a ton of great interfaces out there, and most would do the job for you. But this one is relatively inexpensive, and has four outs so you can set up a separate cue mix. If you're going to get an interface, you might as well make sure you have the option to run a cue mix for cuing up tracks as well as main outs to the crowd.

 

I reviewed it in the October 2010 issue of EQ magazine, and here was my summary:

 

What's hot: The mic pres, and overall dynamic range. These are not “character” preamps but clean, sweet, transparent pres that do justice to whatever mic—or instrument—you plug in. The jacks are Neutrik combi jacks, and each input has instrument/mic and pad in/out switches. There’s a phantom power front panel switch for both ins (I’d prefer separate switches per input, though). Other front panel features include a mix control to monitor the inputs (i.e., zero-latency monitoring) or playback from your DAW, a monitor control for the outs, and a headphone out with a headphone amp that seems a cut above average.

 

On the back, you’ll find stereo 1/4” balanced/+4dBu jacks, as well as—DJs, take note—RCA phono jacks for the two sets of stereo pair outs (which is why this is considered a 2-in/4-out interface). With a front-panel switch for monitoring outs 1/2 or 3/4, DJs can cue up easily, or send separate signals to two sides of a DJ mixer.

 

More surprisingly, there are 5-pin MIDI in and out DIN connectors. I’ve dinged some audio interfaces in various reviews for not including MIDI, requiring you to get a separate interface for hardware MIDI controllers with 5-pin DIN outs; that’s not an issue here.

 

Normally, bundled software won’t tip you one way or the other in terms of a purchasing decision, especially because with some pieces of gear, the emphasis is on quantity over quality. However, the Focusrite plug-ins are very good and regardless of how many plugs you have, bring something different to the party. I’m also a big fan of the Novation Bass Station, and the loops and samples are useful. Given that Focusrite includes DJs as a potential target market, offering Live makes sense, although of course Live is about much more than DJs.

I’ve heard that this is Focusrite’s best-selling interface, which doesn’t surprise me—paying $100 each for these two preamps would be significant value even if you don’t take the rest of the physical interface into account. The case is all-metal, which is important for mobile use. (However, I’d love to see someone offer panels that could screw into the existing holes on the side of the case, and protrude forward to provide protection for the knobs in case the interface gets dropped.)

 

The Saffire 6 USB covers a pretty wide range of users, from laptop DJs to those doing quality stereo live recordings. It’s even useful for solo musicians in a desktop context who don’t need multiple ins. Granted, it has limitations (e.g., 48kHz sample rate max), but those limitations were chosen to keep the price down while keeping the quality up on the most important elements . . . you can’t argue with that.