I don't know anything about sound cards, they only seem to get mentioned in discussions of Windows machines but I assume Macs have them too? The only Audio information in my Mac Pro system profiler says "Intel High Definition Audio"
So would adding a good sound card improve the sound quality or should I only consider another card if I'm having problems with my current hardware?
If your thinking of changing a sound card , I would personally go for a firewire external this will give you the two worlds internal and external I use the Edirol FA-101 works great , for the price it covers just about all inputs
Good Luck
Thanks for the suggestion! I wasn't really planning on adding a new sound card, more wondering how it would affect the sound coming out of the speakers/headphones. If the soundcard is powerful enough is the quality dictated more by the speakers or would a better sound card improve the sound too?
The sound quality itself of the the internal sound card may not be bad for home use, but if you go for recording of other more delicate situations you may want to get an external one. My main complaint with the internal sound of my MacBook Pro is the high noise level (your mileage may vary). Also latency is better for some external soundcards. There are plenty of them for either USB, Firewire or PCI/Express Card. I had good experience with RME in the past and more recently with NI Kore and an M-Audio Mobile Pre. Both are fine for my needs.
Thanks Peitzmann, that sounds reasonable. I'm fairly happy with my set up so I'll probably stick with it for now. I won't be doing any serious recording so my next upgrade is more likely to be some better monitors. Thanks again!
I'm afraid that better monitors will reveal the poor quality of the internal D/A converters even more... and urge you to buy a good sound card ! :-)
LOL! Maybe I should leave well enough alone then! Thanks for the info