Solved Windows 7 Soundcard Needed

[Cheemag]

[Windows 7 Pro 64-bit]

As so often happens my Realtek soundcard has gone the way most of these do.

Can anyone suggest a Windows 7/64-bit compatible soundcard (not USB) and drivers which will permit 'What You Hear/Stereo Mix' on this OS?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

A couple of years ago, the following were known to support Stereo Mix.

I'm not sure if all are still available.

HT Omega Striker 7.1
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi series (excluding Extreme Audio series)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy series (excluding Sound Blaster Audigy LE, SE, and Audigy Value)

 

[fireberd]

I have a Striker 7.1 card. It is a PCI sound card, not a PCIe. But, it worked well in the PC I had it installed. I upgraded and now using the on-board RealTek for PC sound applications. If something would happen to my RealTek, I would install the Striker 7.1.

 

[Cheemag]

I have a Striker 7.1 card. It is a PCI sound card, not a PCIe. But, it worked well in the PC I had it installed. I upgraded and now using the on-board RealTek for PC sound applications. If something would happen to my RealTek, I would install the Striker 7.1.

Thank you both for that.

I shall see if any of these are still available in the UK.

I can get Stereo Mix using Total Recorder with a USB soundcard, but the mic input is very noisy, low, and has +5V on one of the conductors. It will however record stereo from the computer in Total Recorder. Audacity won't work with the USB card at all.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I can tell you that I've personally used a Behringer UFO 202 external USB sound card with Audacity to record Stereo Mix. It's about $35 in the USA. Worked fine, but when I upgraded to a new motherboard I found that my built-in Realtek sound worked fine with Windows 7 and Stereo Mix, so I no longer needed the Behringer.

 

[fireberd]

PC microphone jacks all have +5VDC on the "Ring" connection. Computer mic's are condenser and require the voltage to work.

Line in jacks do not have the voltage. On some laptops the Mic jack also functions as a line in jack and automatically senses and switches the jack to whatever function.

Computer mic inputs require a relatively high signal level, with is supplied by a computer mic. A standard P.A. type mic (e.g. a Shure SM57) is a very low level and will result in noise and a low volume level on the mic input. A preamplifier is required to use a standard P.A. type mic.

I don't know if the HT Omega "Striker 7.1" is still available. Most new PC sound cards are PCIe, not PCI like the Striker 7.1.

 

[stormy13]

Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-e Sound Card Retail 5.1Ch 3D Gaming Ready - XONAR_DGX - Scan.co.uk

Cheap, sounds better than onboard, and stereo mix works on it. There is also a PCI version (Xonar DG), but you would be better off with PCI-E as it will be easier to move to a new computer that may not have a PCI slot.

 

[Cheemag]

I have a Striker 7.1 card. It is a PCI sound card, not a PCIe. But, it worked well in the PC I had it installed. I upgraded and now using the on-board RealTek for PC sound applications. If something would happen to my RealTek, I would install the Striker 7.1.

Thank you both for that.

I shall see if any of these are still available in the UK.

I can get Stereo Mix using Total Recorder with a USB soundcard, but the mic input is very noisy, low, and has +5V on one of the conductors. It will however record stereo from the computer in Total Recorder. Audacity won't work with the USB card at all.

None of the cards mentioned seem to be the complete answer. Many of the Creative offerings are crippled and seem to depend very much on drivers which aren't readily available. Others are obsolescent.

The Realtek onboard had a working Stereo-Mix after getting the correct drivers, but of course no use to me now.

 

[Cheemag]

I can tell you that I've personally used a Behringer UFO 202 external USB sound card with Audacity to record Stereo Mix. It's about $35 in the USA. Worked fine, but when I upgraded to a new motherboard I found that my built-in Realtek sound worked fine with Windows 7 and Stereo Mix, so I no longer needed the Behringer.

Do you mean Behringer UCA 202 ?

Yes, but you still need another soundcard to provide the input to the Behringer from what I've found on the Net.

I have a spare Behringer UCA 202 which I'll experiment with. That and Total Recorder should be able to come up with something between them.

 

[Cheemag]

PC microphone jacks all have +5VDC on the "Ring" connection. Computer mic's are condenser and require the voltage to work.

Yes, the ring has +5V. I just leave it unconnected. But of course that leaves you with a mono mic input !

Line in jacks do not have the voltage. On some laptops the Mic jack also functions as a line in jack and automatically senses and switches the jack to whatever function.

On the USB soundcards I have, there're only mic and speaker jacks.

I don't know if the HT Omega "Striker 7.1" is still available. Most new PC sound cards are PCIe, not PCI like the Striker 7.1.

Not on Amazon anyway. No Striker soundcards. I have one of each kind of slot free.

May not need to use a slot if the UCA 202 can be made to work.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Do you mean Behringer UCA 202 ?

Yes, but you still need another soundcard to provide the input to the Behringer from what I've found on the Net.

No, I mean UFO 202. As I recall, Behringer has a couple of cards that were very similar. I think the one I bought has a turntable input.

It's been several years, but I don't recall using another soundcard to provide input. I remember I wanted to transfer some cassette tapes to my PC and just connected the tape deck directly to the Behringer, which was plugged directly into my PC.

I used Audacity as the recorder.

Here's the manual:

 

[Cheemag]

Do you mean Behringer UCA 202 ?

Yes, but you still need another soundcard to provide the input to the Behringer from what I've found on the Net.

No, I mean UFO 202. As I recall, Behringer has a couple of cards that were very similar. I think the one I bought has a turntable input.

It's been several years, but I don't recall using another soundcard to provide input. I remember I wanted to transfer some cassette tapes to my PC and just connected the tape deck directly to the Behringer, which was plugged directly into my PC.

I used Audacity as the recorder.

Here's the manual:

Thank you for that. I'll look into doing away with the USB soundcard. What goes to your input and output jacks on your Behringer? I put the USB soundcard output to the Behringer input and the Behringer output to the speakers.

I put my redundant UCA202 on the machine and it all works fine except that, as I have a USB soundcard, I've had to isolate the connection to the ring on the mic input because of the +5V on that. That input is mono, but I only need a mono input from the radios, so no problem. I'll probably unsolder the ring connection at the plug into the USB soundcard and common the incoming conductor with the tip.

So no need to buy a soundcard and I still have two slots free !

Thanks to all who responded.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'll look into doing away with the USB soundcard. What goes to your input and output jacks on your Behringer? I put the USB soundcard output to the Behringer input and the Behringer output to the speakers.

I don't recall all the detail, but I can tell you this:

I managed to transfer material from both cassette tapes and vinyl LP to PC with the Behringer, using Audacity as the recording tool.

For the cassettes: connected tape deck directly to the Behringer and the Behringer was connected directly to PC. There was no connection at all to my home stereo receiver.

For the vinyl LPs: I can't recall if I connected my turntable directly to the Behringer or if I left it connected to my home stereo.

At any rate, both were successful. All I had to go on was the Behringer manual that I uploaded and the willingness to do some trial and error fiddling with the various settings in Audacity "preferences" menu.

Also I can tell you this: I just got my UFO-202 out of the closet. As I found it, it has a 2 foot long RCA cable (2 male connectors at each end) that connects the Behringer outputs to the Behringer inputs. I'm not sure what that accomplishes, but I must have found that configuration useful for some purpose. Possibly just for playback over PC?

You shouldn't have to use ANY other sound card.

Download the manual for your Behringer. It might possibly differ from mine, but I think the only difference is that the UFO-202 has a turntable connector.

 

[Cheemag]

I'll look into doing away with the USB soundcard. What goes to your input and output jacks on your Behringer? I put the USB soundcard output to the Behringer input and the Behringer output to the speakers.

For the cassettes: connected tape deck directly to the Behringer and the Behringer was connected directly to PC. There was no connection at all to my home stereo receiver.

For the vinyl LPs: I can't recall if I connected my turntable directly to the Behringer or if I left it connected to my home stereo.

At any rate, both were successful. All I had to go on was the Behringer manual that I uploaded and the willingness to do some trial and error fiddling with the various settings in Audacity "preferences" menu.

Also I can tell you this: I just got my UFO-202 out of the closet. As I found it, it has a 2 foot long RCA cable (2 male connectors at each end) that connects the Behringer outputs to the Behringer inputs. I'm not sure what that accomplishes, but I must have found that configuration useful for some purpose. Possibly just for playback over PC?

That was for loopback. It was rather an unsatisfactory fudge to use with a soundcard/drivers which didn't support Stereo Mix.

You shouldn't have to use ANY other sound card.

I've just found that out.

Download the manual for your Behringer. It might possibly differ from mine, but I think the only difference is that the UFO-202 has a turntable connector.

I have the manual. It tells you very little about how to do things.

I have now taken the USB soundcard out of the picture with the mic/line in to the Behringer input and the Behringer output to the speakers amplifier. It seems to work although the levels into Audacity from Internet radio are a bit low.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Following is a cut and paste I got from a moderator on the Audacity forum, regarding Behringer usage with Audacity.

Maybe you can adapt it to your needs or learn from it:

Connect the Behringer USB lead to a USB socket on the computer.

Allow windows enough time to recognise and connect to the pre-amp then start Audacity.

In Audacity go to "Edit menu > Preferences > Devices" and set the recording device to the USB option.

Set the playback device to either the USB or the RealTek according to where your headphones/speakers are connected.

If you listen via the RealTek, enable "software playthrough" in the "Recording" tab of Audacity Preferences.

If you listen via the Behringer outputs, do not enable "software playthrough".

Do not connect the Behringer outputs to the RealTek.

Other notes from Audacity forums:

When you plug in a USB soundcard then the USB device takes complete control over the sound input and sound level.

You can't choose any alternative input from the drop-down box and you can't adjust the input (mic) slider - well not until you unplug the USB device from your PC. This normally isn't a problem as the USB soundcard should control the level ok without clipping.

There may be a control that you can use however if you are getting an oversaturated signal - if you are lucky your Behringer may have a gain control which will enable you to control the signal. Some USB soundcards have gain controls and others don’t.

If you do not have such a control you are out of luck.

Also, providing that you have a good recording you should be able to lift the volume by using Effect > Amplify

The output is somewhat low: recording levels are around -10dB with most LPs. Behringer is conservative with the internal gain settings in this device to avoid any chance of clipping, since there is no volume control.

After de-clicking I simply select the entire capture and choose Effect > Amplify and the results are just fine.

The RIAA EQ curve in the UFO-202 is reasonably accurate. So the "fidelity" is acceptable IMO.

The main drawback of the UFO-202 is that its self-noise is higher than an audiophile pre-amp

The UFO-202 is basically the same as the UCA-202 but with a phono pre-amp added for use with turntables. It is a complete USB sound card and does not require any other sound card to be present in your computer.

To use it with a cassette player there is a switch on the UFO-202 that allows switching between "phono" input and "line" input. Switch it to "Line". Connect the USB cable to your computer and connect the line outputs (playback out) of the cassette player to the Line In sockets on the UFO-202.

Connect the Line Outs from the UFO-202 to your amplifier or powered speakers (alternatively you can just plug in headphones into the UFO-202)

Open Audacity and go to Edit menu > Preferences > Audio I/O and select the USB option for recording and playback devices. Close and restart Audacity and make a test recording.

 

[Cheemag]

Following is a cut and paste I got from a moderator on the Audacity forum, regarding Behringer usage with Audacity.

Maybe you can adapt it to your needs or learn from it:

Connect the Behringer USB lead to a USB socket on the computer.

[snip]

Thank you for the copy of the info on Audacity. I have kept it for future reference.

I only have the UCA-202 card installed. Realtek is hardware defunct as far as I can determine.

To record from net radio (Clementine) I need Audio Host/Windows WASAPI. Output/Speakers (Audio Codec). Input/Speakers (Audio Codec). Boost sound via computer mixer's Audacity or Clementine sliders.

To record from local radio (hardware) I need Audio Host/MME. Output/Speakers (USB Codec). Input/Mic (Audio Codec). Computer mixer's Audacity slider is does not work. Control level via Audacity's Input Volume slider or at the receiver.

Recording via Total Recorder is no problem.

That seems to be satisfactory, so we can mark this thread solved.

Many thanks to all who responded.