[PlanetCCRMA] Advice on soundcard, anyone?

[Frode Petersen]

Hello again. Having abandoned 192K cards, I have found 3 alternatives at 
96KHz. I wonder if anyone would be so kind as to help me choose. Any 
help will be higly appreciated!

The cards:

Echo Mia Midi
MAudio Delta 1010LT
MAudio Audiophile 2496

I don't know whether Terratec has any cards worth a look (or a listen...)

I WOULD like to have the RME HDSP9632 or something similar to that, but 
alas, it is well beyond my budget.

The number of ins/outs does not have to be very high at this stage, the 
two most important factors are Linux compatibility and audio quality. I 
will not have studio quality monitors either (yet?), but the final 
result will have to hold up to scruteny through a high-end sound system. 
You know more than me about what other aspects are important. Maybe 
upgrade paths are different? Hope you don't think this is too low-end to 
bother with ;-)

Another thing, not a priority though: I have a friend using Echo 
Layla24. I'm trying to convince him to try out Linux in his home studio. 
He would need some help though, so would there be any benefits in my 
having a Mia card in that scenario? The computers will otherwise be 
quite different.

Best regards,
Frode