[sdiy] MIDI + Ethernet

[Glen]

At 08:40 AM 7/9/04 , Paul Higgins wrote:

>On Friday, July 9, 2004, at 05:59 AM, Glen wrote:
>> Also, did you know the "Revolution 7.1" uses the same AD/DA and mixer 
>> chip
>> as your "Media 7.1" card?
>
>Wow, I didn't know that.  The s-DIY members really do their homework!  
>I guess I'm not totally surprised, though; there were any number of 
>video capture cards that used identical chipsets.  I bet that M-Audio's 
>more pro-oriented stuff uses better analog components, however.   They 
>definitely have better features/connectivity; after all, you (usually) 
>get what you pay for.

The M-Audio Delta series cards which plug into the PCI bus (which is
considered part of their "pro" line) also uses the same AD/DA/mixer chip.
The most basic audio performance specs for the Revolution and all the Delta
series cards is very similar. The biggest differences are the number of
input and output channels, the style of connectors, mic preamps on some
models, wordclock on a few models, MIDI on some models, etc. There is the
possibility that the Delta series might use better opamps or something, but
I doubt it.

Some of their USB and firwire connected external audio interfaces use a
different chipset. The specs for some of these is slightly better, but only
slightly. When dynamic range is already over 100dB, will improving it, by
let's say an extra 4 dB, make any really noticeable improvement?


>> If I were you, and I wanted a modern inexpensive audio card, but didn't
>> want to sacrifice MIDI connectivity, I would just add a separate MIDI
>> interface.
>
>Duhhhh...  I really felt like an idiot when I read your suggestion.  I 
>guess that's what happens when you work with the big, expensive 
>multi-cable MIDI interfaces all the time.  I never thought, "gee, I 
>should just go get a little USB MIDI interface".  I just automatically 
>think "MIDI interface = big, expensive rackmount box".

Look on the M-Audio site for USB MIDI adapters. You'll find models with one
MIDI port, up to 8 MIDI ports. You can also use more than one of these at a
time if you need more than 8 MIDI ports, or if you buy a certain interface
now and just want to add additional channels at a later date.

If you need to operate under Linux, I'm not sure how well their MIDI
interfaces work in Linux, so be sure to check that out before you buy
anything. There might be Linux drivers, but I don't know. It might even
work without any special drivers, but I really don't know.


later,
Glen