On 9/17/07, Rafael F. Compte <<a href="mailto:rfcompte@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">rfcompte@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> I have thought about external audio hardware but I haven't found what I'm looking for. That really sounds like a great idea since the integrated Intel sound card of my laptop isn't exactly top notch... First I thought about an Audigy sz2 notebook PCMCIA but it looks like it isn't very well supported in linux. Is it better if it is PCMCIA or is it just the same as an external USB device? Any diffrences? Any ideas? By the way I also couldn't open Freebirth. There must be a problem with the package. I even reinstalled it through Synaptics... did nothing... I don't get any messages. Just won't open. Rafael </blockquote><div> Hi Raphael, freebirth won't open for me either and I am not sure why Ubuntu would include non-functioning software in their studio flavour. In my experience pcmcia is much better compared to USB - without inspiring geeks to counter that declarative statement regarding the protocols I can only say that the way the gear is built and implemented, USB is still incredibly unreliable on all platforms - though its great for moving pictures off of cameras.  PCMCIA cards are usually more professional and lower latency.  Though you should check to see if your laptop has a TI chipset.  If not, you may never realize the difference between the 2.  My advice is if you do not have a dedicated TI chipset to manage the pcmcia cards and instead have some more generic chipset that manages all the communication ports - don't bother with pcmcia, go for USB or better, stick with your integrated card.  If the dynamics and frequency response are the real issue, maybe this can be improved with another sound card, but you may have to use very high >1024 samples to get clear artifact free audio.  So my question for your laptop is - what chipset is handling the pcmcia or cardbus on your laptop? On my laptop I use the multiface II from RME with a cardbus host adapter.  In the US you can purchase this as a bundle for around $650.  I can confirm personally that this is well supported in ALSA - but as with anything in ubuntu studio, plan on building the alsa firmware, drivers, libs and utils yourself. I am also having great luck with the echoaudio Layla 20 in linux - this is pci but the same company makes a pcmcia card called the Indigo IO that is pcmcia.  It may be worth checking the alsa soundcard matrix to see if this is supported.  The Indigo IO can be purchased for less than $200 and provides excellent stereo input and ouput in a pcmcia card.  Though its connectors are not professional - 1/8th inch - it has a professional sound and can provide reliable sub 10ms latency on a variety of platforms.  The Indigo DJ has 2 stereo outputs if you need an extra monitor out for headphones in addition to the main house outputs. </div> </div>If I can have an influence at all, I wold steer you towards pcmcia because there is no cable, and the cards are more professional.  I simply cannot recommend a single USB audio device period.  But I am a musician who demands low latency and my expectations might be higher than someone just playing mp3 and watching movies. Of the 2 companies I mentioned, RME and EchoAudio - both have superior support beyond your purchase.  In my case, echoaudio replaced my layla20 power supply 4 years after it was purchased at no charge.  They also cleaned up the unit while it was out for repair.  I bought it in '99 and in Ubuntu Studio it just plain rocks. The multiface II would be the class kit for you, but if you are not an audio engineer or musician it would be overkill.  But it is halfrack ;) Hope this helps and let us know how things work out! -Jonathan Adams Leonard my latest track produced entirely in Ubuntu Studio: <a href="http://www.jonathanleonard.com/songs/2007/mp3/reapers_wish.mp3" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.jonathanleonard.com/songs/2007/mp3/reapers_wish.mp3 </a>