I am planning to buy an audio/midi interface for my Toshiba laptop. I have no idea what the market has to offer (all my past experiences have been with my PC through an Audiophile 2496 card). The only thing I know about laptop cards is that they have to fit in the PCMCIA slot, right?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
A.

I have done a little research and it seems that two good options are the Edirol UA-25



and the M-Audio Audiophile USB



...oh, and they do not connect to the PCMCIA slot...

Thanks, Donny, but I need an audio interface as well...

hey dreamer!
i am just in your shues!

i also used to have a AP2496 into my desktop system.
now, when i use a AMD Turion64x2 laptop, i need another audiocard.
for my needs, usb is good enough. but you might need firewire type. just make sure about these....
my choice is http://www.zzounds.com/item--LEXLAMBDA

...now i just have to find someone to bring it in romania!

I have had everything from Soundblasters to Echo pcmcia cards. This module sounds the best with midi playback and using a controller keyboard for individual solo voices. The drums are above average. It is USB and Midi, so a MidiSport type interface is needed for Midi playback from the laptop.

Sorry, I forgot the link.
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Ketron-SD2-S...2KETRONKIT.html

How do you hope to use the lap top and the audio interface? Is it for studio work or for live performances?

You could think about getting a controller keyboard and midi and audio interface like teh Novation xstation or Maudio. they are USB

I intend to use the laptop at home; I really don't need another sound module (like suggested by Bernie 9) because I have plenty of sound sources to choose from. Right now I have:
- a Tyros 2
- a Roland G-70
- a Ketron Midjay
- a Roland Fantom XR with four SRX cards
- a Yamaha Motif ES rack
- a couple of samplers (Akai S2800 and Ensoniq ASR 10r) with plenty of sounds
- a Roland A-37 (76 notes master keyboard, which I intend to use together with the laptop)

So, in essence, all I need is an audio and midi interface, to enable my laptop to communicate with all of the above instruments and also with my digital recorder (Yamaha AW2616).
I think that the two models by Audiophile and Edirol could be a good choice, so I think that right now I can formulate my question differently: is there anyone who has had experience with one or the other and can comment on them?
Thanks in advance
A.

I have the Alesis i|O 26, few problems with drivers in the beginning, but working great with the new drivers.

Keep in mind that with any computer/interface combination there will be compatibility issues, check your laptop specs vs the interface requirements, you'll avoid lots of headaches.

I will also go for a Firewire vs. USB, even when the specs on a USB is 480kbps, and firewire 400, firewire still faster because of the way it handles data.[if you'll be recording 2 simultaneous tracks USB it's OK, maybe it'll take more tracks but it's tricky] http://www.qimaging.com/support/downloads/documents/FirewireUSB.pdf
It is also recommended that you look for a PCMCIA Firewire card with the TI Chipset.
Our laptop [Church laptop] works great with my i|O 26 and its firewire 4 pin port.




------------------
www.tagworld.com/vicentelopez


HE'S COMING, MAKE MUSIC, GET READY!

Hi Dreamer,
I own the M Audio audiophile usb.
Can't really compare it to anything else as it's the only midi/audio interface I've owned. I'm quite happy with mine, I've had it for about 2 to 3 years.

The only other sound card I owned was an audigy nx2 usb. It didn't have the midi interface. I mainly bought it so that I use soundfonts directly, giving me an alternative to a more complicated software set up required to run fonts on my laptop.

I had to get an external card because my last 2 laptops (Dells), didn't have PCMCIA slots that I could put the PCMCIA type card into.

I just connect my laptop / Audiophile via a USB cable.

best wishes
Rikki





[This message has been edited by rikkisbears (edited 07-22-2007).]

Dreamer,

For most of the equipment listed all you need is an inexpensive USB 2.0-A to USB 2.0-B cable and the appropriate drivers. The drivers are installed in your laptop, then you need the software to work with midis, Band In A Box, Power Trax Pro, etc. This ain't rocket science and you sure don't need to spend lots of money to get the highest quality midi and audio recordings.

Good Luck,

Gary 8)

Thanks, ViLo: that was very helpful; Audiophile has a Firewire model too



so now I have one more choice, at least.

Thank, Rikki
very helpful and informative, as always.
Now I know that the Audiophile is a good candidate for my setup.

Gary,
the USB cable could work for midi, meaning that the USB port could be an alternative to the midi ins/outs, but what about the audio? Both the Audiophile and the Edirol cards can handle audio signals and have a sampling rate of 96 kHz at 24 bit. Can an USB 2.0 port accomplish this?

Here is another option: the Tascam US-144:



well, at least those things don't cost an arm and a leg...

Just to make this topic useful for others who might have the same problem, here is another valid contender, even if the price is in another league (it's almost double, compared with the others and more than double compared with the Audiophile USB): the Edirol FA 101.

Dreamer,

I also use the Audiophile 24/96 module and have had it for 3 years. It is very convenient as I leave everything else plugged into it all the time and just have to connect one usb connection for both audio and midi when I want to use the laptop with my set up.

It is a well established and have used it with 3 different laptops using Windows 2000 and XP. However, make sure what you get works with Vista is you are going down that route as so many things don't

Regards - KFingers (Keith)

Dreamer,

I also use the Audiophile 24/96 module and have had it for 3 years. It is very convenient as I leave everything else plugged into it all the time and just have to connect one usb connection for both audio and midi when I want to use the laptop with my set up.

It is a well established and have used it with 3 different laptops using Windows 2000 and XP. However, make sure what you get works with Vista is you are going down that route as so many things don't

Regards - KFingers (Keith)

Thank you, Keith: the Audiophile looks more and more interesting, especially considering the price
Re. Vista, I have installed it on my PC together with XP (taking advantage of the dual boot option), but on my laptop I have XP only, so no problems there.

Just for the record: here is another item worth considering: the M-Audio Firewire 410.