I have started recording digital audio on my Mac notebook, mainly digitizing old analog source material from various sources. Since my iBook has no analog audio in, I bought a Griffin iMic USB audio card which has been adequate for voice recordings and cassette dubs, but I also have some VHS hifis from CD's, and direct-to-discs that I'd like to do. I suppose its a safe bet that, at $39, the iMic probably does not have the world's best DAC chip. But spending megabux on a card isn't an option.
I have been looking at the M-audio "Audiophile Firewire" (It has a USB counterpart; the only difference I can detect is that the Firewire version has a steel case instead of the plastic used in the USB version- and the firewire version is cheaper, most places.And I notice oversampling is not mentioned at all in the specs; I guess they don't? Are the Firewire Audiophile and it's competition worth the extra $100? It supports 24 bit 96kHz where the iMic only supports 24/48k, but I don't know whether that translates to better performance at 44.1K. Also, the M-audio units have ext power supplies as opposed to the bus-powered iMic. Anybody have any experience with these or similar devices?
