Monitoring soundcard output

I'm just about to make the leap from a Pentium 100 to a new machine with Windows XP, 3 Ghz CPU, loads of RAM etc etc. Looking forward to be able to do what most other people can do with their machines and also use it for a nice "needle drop" machine.

After reading the posts regarding soundcards I'm going to get the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI card.

As the machine will be a stand alone (two rooms away from the hi-fi rig) I am wondering what users in this situation use to monitor the outputs.
I guess options are a hifi amp & speakers connected the the RCA outs or some kind of powered speakers (of "computer speaker ilk" that similarly hook up to the RCA outputs.

Any advice on this matter is much appreciated....and if you really think the M-Audio 2496 is a bad move then let me know because I am going to order it in the next couple of days!!

 

The 2496 is an excellent choice....IMHO, one of the least expensive, yet most "Hi-Fi" cards you can get, as far as computer audio goes.

Since you are going to set this computer up for quality audio recording, I would recommend you put together a decent monitoring system to go with it.

Stay away from those "plastic computer speaker" systems if you can afford to...most of them are all "boom and tizz" but not very musical. You may find it hard to put together a good needle-drop CDR if you are not enjoying what you hear.

So how much do you want to spend? For a very basic, but very high-quality system, consider spending $200 or so on a simple headphone amplifier and a good pair of headphones.

Another option? Visit your local used hi-fi shop, and put together a system that suits your own needs...I've had this computer for nearly 4 years, and in that time I have built up a complete audio system on the desk in front of me...a used tuner, used preamp, my dad's old CD player, a mono industrial amplifier I got for free, and a 25-year-old Advent speaker left over from my high-school days. Everything except the turntable! Still sounds great...and right now it's about "the highest-fi" in the house...

best of luck,

 

Two rooms away from the source? That's quite a run of cable.. you'll get some signal degradation along the way. Go for a good quality interconnect.

If you're handy with a soldering gun you might be looking at less money, since you can buy a length of good-quality wire and two pairs of garden-variety RCAs. What will make a difference here is the wire.

If you have the means or can spend a little extra, see if there's any way to use a balanced line between the hi-fi and the PC. Signal loss should be less.

 

I hadn't planned on connecting it because I think the distance of about 12 metres would prove problematic.

My plan is to record to DAT and then move the DAT machine to the PC every so often. I'll make sure I have extended periods of dubbing to DAT before the unhook/move to PC so that it doesn't get too annoying.

Of course I'll keep an eye out for another DAT which would be nice!!