A really cheap n' Cheerful 2in/8out soundcard

[deevey]

So i'm planning on Modding my APC40 to include a sound card and wanted something that most certainly would not break the bank, sound decent enough and have lots of flexibility...

I managed locally to pick up an Encore ENMAB-SCM for just over $20 - really didn't know what to expect until I tried it.

The good

1. VERY low output noise, I can generally hear high/low end hiss/EM Noise from a bad sound card though my headphones clearly (built in MBP output sounds horrible BTW).
2. High Gain - I was pleasantly surprised that it was about 1/3 louder than my Previous Numark DJIO.
3. S/PDIF in and out - not that i'll use it, but nice addition.
4. Dual Mic Inputs, Single Line input (Mic's share the line channels in mono).
5. Separate Headphone monitor - (more on this later).
6. Works in OSX and Linux without installing anything.
7. Volume Control on top
8. Latency is less than the Numark IO in Ableton (8ms)

The Bad

1. No Power input - USB only.
2. Minijack outputs - Adaptors may be needed.
3. Mic inputs are in a weird place (on the side)
4. Only 48k/16bit (plenty for playing MP3's though)
5. Line/Mic input are pretty friggin Noisy (I don't plan on using it anyhow).

All in all though despite its shortcomings, its an decent enough lil soundcard with reasonable SNR (-97db)

If you are in the market for a budget card to get you moving or just knocking around as a spare, worth checking out.

Like I said, I bought it to mod my APC, something to kickstart the project with and was expecting complete crap - but was pleasantly surprised when I tried it in the shop.

The good news is - its small enough to fit inside I believe

[MrAybar]

Do you have the project pictures??????

[deevey]

I only got the sound card yesterday LOL, gimme a chance

Rest assured I will post photos once i'm done - still need to get some RCA's, 1/4 Connectors and cables before I dive into it.

[ToS]

I guess there are no asio drivers.
How does it perform with ASIO4ALL?

[deevey]

I have no idea, I'm on a Mac - It doesn't even say Mac/Linux compatible on the box but it works like a champ - Volume and Mute Buttons even work properly in OSX :P

**edit - found this on Anandtech **

many sound cards built on C-Media chipsets (which in practice is the vast majority of them) support Steinberg's ASIO (Audio Stream I/O)

Did I mention it really does have one hell of an output! - about 1/3 higher than the Numark DJIO.

Its a Cmedia 6206 chipset - pics of the internals attached.

Its a pretty lil thing.

[MrAybar]

Niceeee keep us post it!!!!!

[deevey]

I will .. RCA's / Jacks / and a few other parts are ordered, just awaiting stock before I get stuck in taking the APC apart and de-soldering things.

[DJDoubleYou]

sounds good!

[MiL0]

48K only? won't that cause jitter when you try to play back at 44.1Khz?

[deevey]

Sorry that should have been up to 48k