Any recommended PCIe audio card?

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angelsguitar
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Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

Hi.

I'm considering doing a mayor upgrade to my computer. Until now, I was using an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and was quite happy with it. However, most of the modern motherboards seem to come with PCIe only; few come with PCI ports. So maybe it is a good time to upgrade to a PCIe audio card

I was wondering if any of you could recommend a good Linux compatible PCIe audio card, similar or better than the Audiophile 2496. Or, should I go with a USB audio interface instead?

Thanks in advance.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by male »

I ran into a similar situation and decided to go with a USB 2.0 device (Scarlett 2i4). It has some advantages--I can use it with a laptop if I have to and it's connected to my workstation by a 9' USB cable... The disadvantage is that USB audio is highly unlikely to ever get you as low a total latency as a PCI card (although the ~6.8ms total latency that is possible via USB is not terrible). Also, the USB audio support in the last several linux kernel versions has been broken.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by lazyklimm »

Emu 0404 PCIe works, but AFAIR driver doesn't support frequencies higher than 48000 and 24 bit is not duplex.

Anyway, you still can find modern motherboards with pci slots.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I really need 24 bit duplex, so the Emu 0404 would not be an option for me. Thanks anyway.

Sadly, seems that PCIe sound card support on Linux is still a little behind :( Maybe I'll have to look at those motherboards that still have PCI slots.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by lazyklimm »

angelsguitar wrote:Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I really need 24 bit duplex, so the Emu 0404 would not be an option for me. Thanks anyway.

Sadly, seems that PCIe sound card support on Linux is still a little behind :( Maybe I'll have to look at those motherboards that still have PCI slots.

you can try Asus Xonar card, looks like it is supported by the last alsa versions, but anyway, I'd buy PCI motherboard instead.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by steevc »

I'm thinking of updating my 6 year old system at some point, but would like to keep using my M-Audio Delta 66. I've heard that some Intel boards have issues with PCI support that may affect audio. Perhaps someone knows which chipsets are better for those looking to upgrade. In my case the upgrade would be to allow for a faster CPU and more memory. Things like graphics are not so important as long as I can run a couple of monitors at a reasonable resolution.

BTW I started a wiki page for the 0404 PCIe. I've not been keeping up with interface developments lately, but last time I looked I hadn't seen mention of other PCIe cards working on Linux.

http://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/e-mu_0404_pcie

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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by lazyklimm »

steevc wrote:I'm thinking of updating my 6 year old system at some point, but would like to keep using my M-Audio Delta 66. I've heard that some Intel boards have issues with PCI support that may affect audio. Perhaps someone knows which chipsets are better for those looking to upgrade. In my case the upgrade would be to allow for a faster CPU and more memory. Things like graphics are not so important as long as I can run a couple of monitors at a reasonable resolution.

BTW I started a wiki page for the 0404 PCIe. I've not been keeping up with interface developments lately, but last time I looked I hadn't seen mention of other PCIe cards working on Linux.

http://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/e-mu_0404_pcie
Nice idea! You can find some info here: http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index. ... le-emu10k1
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by eikakot »

ESI Juli@ XTe http://www.esi-audio.com/products/juliaxte/ its pretty good and you can get it very cheap. fully supported by alsa
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by Thad E Ginathom »

Was going to mention/ask about the Juli@, available in PCI and PCIe versions. Wonderfully, the product page actually says "Linux compatible (ALSA)". I love it when they do that :)

My complaint about PC audio interfaces: simple 2-in-2-out is so hard to find. Well, here is one ---and I am told it sounds good too.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

eikakot wrote:ESI Juli@ XTe http://www.esi-audio.com/products/juliaxte/ its pretty good and you can get it very cheap. fully supported by alsa
Sounds interesting. But where can I get it in the USA?
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by Thad E Ginathom »

I'd be surprised if there were any difficulty at all in USA, and, if I were you I'd start at my local musician's/studio-stuff shop. Failing that, go this ESI Distributor's page and click "buy now" for a list of sources.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

Thad E Ginathom wrote:I'd be surprised if there were any difficulty at all in USA, and, if I were you I'd start at my local musician's/studio-stuff shop. Failing that, go this ESI Distributor's page and click "buy now" for a list of sources.
Thanks for the info. I live in Puerto Rico but have not seen ESI products locally. However, I see I can order it online from several USA retailers.

I believe I've found what I was looking for. Thanks all for sharing the information.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

I noticed there's no mention of it on ALSA Project (it only mentions the Juli@, but not the XTe model).

Anyone of you actually have the card running on Linux? Could you share your experience? I know the manufacturer says it's Linux compatible, but it would be great if someone can actually confirm this by experience.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

Well, I just ordered a new Juli@ XTe at JRR Shop. Got a $10 discount on my order and free shipping (pretty sweet :D ).

Once I receive and install it, I'll update on my experience with it. Thanks for the recommendations.
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Re: Any recommended PCIe audio card?

Post by angelsguitar »

Sorry for the delay, but here's my update.

As it turns our, JRR Shop didn't have the card in stock. They did a special order for it, and kept me waiting a couple of months for the card. I finally decided to cancel the order due to the delay.

However, I found out that B&H now carries this model:

ESI Juli@ XTe on B&H

So I went ahead and placed the order (i was lucky they had it in stock the moment I placed the order; seems they run out of stock quickly). In a week or so the card arrived. Finally!

I've been using this card for several weeks. The installation was flawless and very easy. I'm using Ubuntu 12.04, and the card was detected without problems. I'm really liking this card and would recommend it to anyone looking for a PCIe audio card upgrade that plays nicely with Linux.
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