Gigaport HD

[EULA]

So lately, I've been reconsidering my options for a sound card (Audio 8 is a bit on the pricey side), and I'm really liking the Gigaport HD. It has everything I need (USB, analog outs, headphone out) and nothing I don't (inputs, SPDIF, MIDI). I have a few questions at this point:

1. Since it doesn't have any controls for adjusting volume levels, would I be able to do so via a USB controller connected to my laptop?

2. Being a USB 1.1 device, should I expect performance (latency) issues if I'm just pushing sound out from my laptop?

3. According to the product description, you can listen either to the combined eight channels, or just channels 1 and 2, depending on the headphone port you use. Can I configure Traktor to use channels 1 and 2 for previewing, and other channels for the master mix?

4. Related to the last question, if I end up using 4 channels (2 for previewing and 2 for the master), the sample rate is reduced to 48 KHz. Would this be acceptable in a club setting?

5. Overall, how appropriate would this sound card be in a club setting?

6. Finally, could someone briefly explain balanced audio in laymen's terms and whether or not it should be considered a dealbreaker?

Thanks!

[Afterhour Ali]

1. Since it doesn't have any controls for adjusting volume levels, would I be able to do so via a USB controller connected to my laptop?

yes, you will control the volumes via Traktor

2. Being a USB 1.1 device, should I expect performance (latency) issues if I'm just pushing sound out from my laptop?

I have an ESI U46 DJ, which is a lot older than the Gigaport.
Besides of some driver issues, I can get the latency to around 4ms which is good.

3. According to the product description, you can listen either to the combined eight channels, or just channels 1 and 2, depending on the headphone port you use. Can I configure Traktor to use channels 1 and 2 for previewing, and other channels for the master mix?

Channels will be displayed seperately in Traktor so you can use 2 of the channels for previewing.
Wondering why they did that shit again.
The U46-DJ has a headphone out, but it is only able to preview all channels combines, so I have to use 2 regular output for monitoring :/

4. Related to the last question, if I end up using 4 channels (2 for previewing and 2 for the master), the sample rate is reduced to 48 KHz. Would this be acceptable in a club setting?

It will

5. Overall, how appropriate would this sound card be in a club setting?

You will have to find out. Depends on the ASIO driver.
The driver for the U46-DJ are crap, but at least it's running stable.
Never crashed for me so far *knocks on wood*

6. Finally, could someone briefly explain balanced audio in laymen's terms and whether or not it should be considered a dealbreaker?
Thanks!

Never heard that...Maybe http://www.balanced.com/faq/balanced.html can explain it.

[heathledger]

mm when i was looking to buy a new econmic card i considered this aswell. i changed my mind once i realized that you can't use all ins/out and maintain good audio quality. if the audio 8 is too pricey why not opt for a audio kontrol?

[Sc1C]

6. Finally, could someone briefly explain balanced audio in laymen's terms and whether or not it should be considered a dealbreaker?
Thanks!

Put simply, balanced cabling is used to cut out noise. You need balanced cable, and balanced inputs/outputs either end for this to work (so balanced output from soundcard, balanced cable, balanced input on mixer)

It works by carrying a +ve and a -ve signal at the same time (so uses a stereo connector), any interference it picks up on the way will affect both these signals in the same way so when they get to their destination and the signals are compared, the interference can be identified and removed.

It's not a deal breaker at all, and doesn't really get used much outside recording/project studios tbh... as an aside, a good way to prevent noise without balanced cabling is to ensure that any power cables cross audio cables at a 90 degree angle, never in parallel (that is, if they absolutely have to cross). Avoid running audio cables near those wall socket adapters you seem to get with almost every piece of gear now.

[EULA]

Another question:

I'm looking at some 2-output interfaces (UCA202, UA-1EX, iO|2, Alpha, Audiobox USB). There's no indication that they provide a dedicated output channel for the headphone port, but rather it's the same channel as the RCA outputs. Is my assumption correct? Are they useless for mixing and previewing on the same interface?

[EULA]

Another thought comes to mind:

Do I *really* need a sound card with at least two dedicated stereo channels? Why not get one with only one channel, and use my laptop's built-in sound card for headphone previewing?

[Afterhour Ali]

Another thought comes to mind:

Do I *really* need a sound card with at least two dedicated stereo channels? Why not get one with only one channel, and use my laptop's built-in sound card for headphone previewing?

You can't use 2 soundcards in one application without internally routing the audio-signal. Therefore you need an application like ASIO4ALL.
This adds latency or leads to instability.

Don't be too cheap or your mixing experience may suffer under it.

[Sc1C]

I'm looking at some 2-output interfaces (UCA202, UA-1EX, iO|2, Alpha, Audiobox USB). There's no indication that they provide a dedicated output channel for the headphone port, but rather it's the same channel as the RCA outputs. Is my assumption correct? Are they useless for mixing and previewing on the same interface?

I think I get what you're asking here...

I use a Numark DJ IO, this has 2 stereo outputs. If i remember right, the headphone output is a clone of stereo out 2. This means that I can run the master output of Traktor through stereo out 1 (and off to my amp) and the monitor output to stereo out 2 for the cue mix. This is for internal mixing within Traktor.

To use an external mixer, you would route Deck 1 to stereo out 1 and Deck 2 to stereo out 2 and plug these both into seperate channels on the mixer, you can cue as you normally would with the mixer (output 2 on the soundcard would just be a clone of deck 2)

Hopefully that's what you meant

[EULA]

You can't use 2 soundcards in one application without internally routing the audio-signal. Therefore you need an application like ASIO4ALL.
This adds latency or leads to instability.

Don't be too cheap or your mixing experience may suffer under it.

I'll take my chances with a $30 UCA202 for the time being. Also, since I'm on a Mac I don't plan on using ASIO at all. I hope OS X will be more than capable of handling two sound cards at once. I'll report back with results once everything is set up.

I think I get what you're asking here...

I use a Numark DJ IO, this has 2 stereo outputs. If i remember right, the headphone output is a clone of stereo out 2. This means that I can run the master output of Traktor through stereo out 1 (and off to my amp) and the monitor output to stereo out 2 for the cue mix. This is for internal mixing within Traktor.

To use an external mixer, you would route Deck 1 to stereo out 1 and Deck 2 to stereo out 2 and plug these both into seperate channels on the mixer, you can cue as you normally would with the mixer (output 2 on the soundcard would just be a clone of deck 2)

Hopefully that's what you meant

Yes, I was talking about cloned headphone outputs. I don't have any plans to use an external mixer though.

*****

A new question (sorry): would a 16-bit interface be too weak? Should I stick with only 24-bit?

[jilk22]

Soo I'm new to sound cards, i previously just used two midi controllers to control Traktor but i want to move to a real mixer soo that's what you use sound cards for right? I don't have enough money for a mixer with a USB out so i am gonna go with the Behringer DDM 4000. The audio 8 looks good but its really expensive, can I use the Gigaport HD to do the same job? I have a MIDI to USB convertor for the MIDI controls over Traktor, so i just need the mixer part hooked up.