[PlanetCCRMA] Requesting help choosing audio card

[Mark Knecht]

On 4/15/05, Frode Petersen <fropeter@online.no> wrote:
> Mark Knecht wrote:
> --SNIP--
> >    I think it will be hard to tell you what's 'best'. How many
> > channels do you need? (Input, output at the same time) Do you have
> > loads of external equipment or a single mic? There's a lot to think
> > about when you start gettign into this.
> > Cheers,
> > Mark
> 
> More newbie ponderings regarding this:
> One thing that is a bit unclear to me regarding needs, is what exactly
> outputs are used for. If you want to use different softsynths through
> ,say Rosegarden, and maybe some audio tracks simultaneously, but only
> need to produce a stereo mix, or even create a CD directly, do you need
> more than a pair of outputs? What would the benefits of added outputs be?
> 
> Best regards,
> Frode

Hiya,
   Outputs are only of use going out to other pieces of audio
hardware. For instance, let's say you want reverb added to your mix
and you have an external reverb unit. You would use a pain of outputs
(sends in the lingo) to go to that reverb and a pair of inputs
(returns in the lingo) to receive the reverb mix back and mix it in
with the dry signal. (Watch out in the future for 'inserts' -
tip-ring-sleave - TRS - connections that do both send AND receive. Not
likely a problem on sound cards but good to know about...)

   Another use of outputs could be to go between computers. Maybe you
want to run some reverb program on another PC. (What I do mostly) In
this case the send on one PC goes to the input on another and vise
versa to get the signal back again to the first PC.

   As for soft synths you should not need to use sends and returns for
that as they are inside, not outside, or your machine. As long as they
are Jack enabled then you'll jsut connect them with qjackctl or at the
command line.

   The most obvious use for outputs is certainly to go to your
monitors. Whether you need more outputs or inputs depends on your
setup.

Have fun,
Mark