rule out anything with built-in mic preamps or headphone amps.  It should just be a straight A/D - D/A set.  Good units are available from RME, Motu, etc..  Even the Echo units are pretty good.  You can't trust the sampling rate as a gauge of the quality because cheap 96KHz and even 192 KHz chips are easy to come by, what seems to distinguish the qualiuty is the electronics surrounding the actual converter chips, also the clocks can make a difference.  So just because the card offers "192 KHz / 24 bit" sampling doesn't mean it sounds good.  I use an older set of MOTU 1224s and it's very high quality.  I'm sure others here will chime in with their favorites.

Not that price is the only guideline...but I think once you start to spend several hundered or more for a 2-channel converter box...then you are getting into pro territory.

Some of the better known higher-end units would be Mytek, Lavry, Benchmark, Lucid, Prism...and I'm sure there are quite a few esoteric brands that cost BIG BUCKS!!!

I use three Layla24 boxes, which would probably fall in the mid-high quality range as would the RME, MOTU and a few others. I'm getting 8 channels of A/D/A per box for only several hunred $$$ per box...and I haven't found any issues with the quality of the audio. They are 24 bit converters...and at 88.2, I think they sound quite good...IMO, very much like the RME boxes...only a bit less expensive.

If you are recording mainly for yourself...then "Brand Name" is not a real issue...but if you are looking to run a pro facility, a lot of people expect to see certain high-end ($$$) units in your racks.

Those are good specs on the 1010.  There are plenty of people using the 1010 to make great recordings.

If you need the brand name, then m-audio probably won't do it for you.  However, I don't think there are many artists that know a damn thing about conversion, so I (personally) wouldn't spend my money on the name, that's for sure.

The next step up in functionality and performance would be makes like RME, Metric Halo, and EMU.  If you are on a PC, seriously consider the RME units.  People seem to really like them.  If you are on a Mac and need portability, look to Metric Halo.

Also, the dynamic range doesn't mean the unit will sound the way you want it to sound.  Some converters are flat.  Others brighten things up, or add "punch" or other effects to the signal.  What the dynamic range will tell you is whether the manufacturer/designer took the time and money to build a good analog circuit around a good chip.  If they did, the unit will probably sound pretty good as well.

Peu, are you recording in a professionally designed studio, with high-end monitoring, well-engineered accoustics, high-end preamps, high-end mics, silent air-handling system, etc.?  If you're building out something that's audiophile quality, then perhaps Apogee or equivalent is a good idea for you.  But from your post title, you were asking about ways to distinguish between "pro" and "prosumer" audio cards, which suggests that you aren't building out an audiophile quality studio, but something more "practical".  FWIW, my studio has the high-end amenities, and I use a MOTU 24 I/O and really like it.

Jimbo is correct, there are plenty of people out there making good recordings with decent quality prosumer systems like the 1010.   He's also correct that a few dB difference in dynamic range is much less important than the "sound" of the unit which is not measurable in conventional specs.  To me, the Layla is a bright, kind of exaggerated sounding unit... not bad, but not photographic.  The 1010 is a little flatter, the MOTU a little flatter.  Whatever your taste.  Some people consider the MOTU units to be "prosumer".  By the same token, some people consider a Mercedes S500 an "everyday sedan".

The point is, you can make great recordings with any of these units, all of which are better than the systems that were commercially available ten or fifteen years ago, and unless you're building out a very nice studio, the converters aren't going to be your weakest link.

To be fair, I haven't properly auditioned a Layla since the old 20-bit units, so I'd guess that the sound is different now.  Point was that "specs" don't tell you all that much about "sound".  FWIW Laylas are good gear.

I can't imagine anyone saying the HR824s are "bright" or "harsh" - after doing significant side-by-side listening tests with 9 other similar monitors, I found the HR824s to be almost overly smooth or even just a tad dark-ish (FWIW I use the HR824s).  Compared against Yamaha, Dynaudio, Tannoy, and Genelec, the Mackies are definitely not as bright... really only the JBLs seemed "warmer" or "darker" - but that goes to prove your point Miroslav that different people hear things differently.

Hi Rip,

My question here is how can I identify a pro sound card instead of just choose a brand.

From your post you agree that Delta1010 is a prosumer sound card. But where can I see it in the specifications?

Thanks

But where can I see it in the specifications?

Peu wrote Hi Rip, My question here is how can I identify a pro sound card instead of just choose a brand. From your post you agree that Delta1010 is a prosumer sound card. But where can I see it in the specifications? Thanks

You can't.  Specs are not sound... welll, they could be, but you'd be reading a book of specs, you'd have to understand what they meant, and all of the manufacturers would have to agree to publish specs based upon the same criteria.... you don't think that the marketing departments would stretch the truth, do you???

Here's what differentiates a pro card, in my world.

Pros want stuff to work, work right, work well, and not be a hassle to either set up, operate, or maintain.  They do not have the time to piss around with their gear in that way.  So a pro looks for a good company, with good support, and solid drivers, and the right featureset for their needs.  (You seldom see a pro buy something with 7,000 bells and whistles because someday he 'might want' to use some obscure feature.  They tend to know what they need to do, and buy the equipment that allows them to do it.)  Sometimes the pro is considering the upgrade path, sometimes it is not a consideration... for example, I bought seperate soundcards, preamps, and converters becayuse I knew that, over time, I'd want to improve the pieces/parts and i did not want to have to install new stuff and learn whole new systems just to change one part of the rig.  I bought a sound card that used digital inputs, so that when I upgraded the converters, I only had to plug them in and keep working as before.  Same with the preamps.

I often recommend that people visit the on line forums of the things that they plan to buy.  On line frums are obviously places for the bitchers and whiners, and the guys too lazy to read the manuals and learn how to work their gear.  So you have to learn to account for that. But you'll quickly see which companies are supporting their products, which forums are rich in both user and company help, which ones respond to user needs, and which ones blow them off.  If you see 300 posts about a bug that goes unaddressed, or constant complaning about one thing or another, with lame responses, then you might consider someone elses solution for your needs.

If you just want some names, my top choices are Lynx and RME.

  Bill