Topic: Should I step up to Audigy ZS PC card for laptop editing?

[nolonemo]

Man, this sure is a slippery slope.. . .

I started out wanting a separate mic for a video camera, then I wanted a better mic, and then I wanted a better audio section for the mic, and it's really a vicous circle....  Anyway, I've been stepping up gear and. just got a Sony PCM-D50 to replace my Zoom H2 plus Rolls MX-34 for use with my AT-822 (I'm recording medium-size combo jazz big band, classical chamber groups and small classical orchestras. with the occasional acapella choir) -- and now I'm wondering about upgrading the mic...

But I digress.  I've been editing on my laptop (Lenovo T61) and now I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to hear more detail in the sound if I add a Audigy ZS PCMCIA card to use instead of the internal souncard.   I started wondering because in doing head to head comparisons of the Zoom H2 and D-50 from simulataneous recordings, I didn't hear as much of a difference as I had expected and wondered if the soundcard was killing some of that.  I usually record in 48/24.

Thanks for any input, I really am quite a noob in this.  I just don't want to sell the gear I have short when I'm mastering the recordings.  I should stress that I am not using the laptop for recording, only for editing audio recorded onto portable devices.

[stantheman1976]

The sound card is not going to affect the quality of audio you've already recorded.  It will affect how good it sounds to your ears.  A higher end external sound card will probably be better for playback than your internal card but the difference may not be drastic.  Better equipment can never hurt so if you want to go higher end it would not be a bad idea but it might not be necessary.

[nolonemo]

Thanks for the reply.  My main concern is being able to go a good job of mastering the audio that I've recorded, and I wasn't sure just how good the sound chip in the laptop was. 

[sunjan]

Thanks for the reply.  My main concern is being able to go a good job of mastering the audio that I've recorded, and I wasn't sure just how good the sound chip in the laptop was. 

If you're just editing the files in post on your laptop, that has nothing to do with the soundcard. As long as the lappy has enough CPU, RAM and a healthy HD, that's all you're going to need.

While editing, I guess it helps to have a decent audio out when listening to your edits though, but it's all about your ears... Apart from that, the card is not involved in the editing process.

As stan said, the audigy comes in use if you're lappy taping, or for playback.