I've been using a budget card for years, an M-audio Delta Audiophile 2496. I've been happy with it's low latency, but I'd like to upgrade to something with a lower noise floor. In Sound Forge, The card's analog inputs register around -85DB, not even 16-bit dynamic range. I assume I need to get all connectors outside and away from the computer to get the noise floor down a considerable amount from that.
So, what would you guys recommend as a fairly inexpensive audio interface (a few hundred dollars) with both decent converters, and solid drivers under Windows XP? What companies are known for best performance, and which companies should I just avoid altogether?
I'm listening to more and more music right off the computer these days, so AD/DAC quality is fairly high on my list of priorities.
Thanks for any suggestions.
If it matters, I do most work in Cakewalk Sonar Producer 8.3, and some mastering in Sound Forge 6, and I'm still using Windows XP-sp3.