M-Audio 2496 comparable?

[dynamicfx]

I've had my midi composing setup working for a few years now, but I just got a new computer that doesn't have a PCI slot, just an empty PCI express slot. I was using an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI card as my midi (and audio, occasionally) interface, and it was great for my needs. Does anyone know of a somewhat comparable PCI-express friendly (or USB 3, etc.) card or other type of interface that would work well for a similar price (around $100), or a way to use my PCI card in the new computer?

Thanks for any ideas!
Alan

Windows 7
Core i5 Ivy Bridge Quadcore
12 GB RAM
Cubase 3
Kontakt 4

[musicalweather]

I also had an Audiophile 2496 and had to find something else for similar reasons. I ended up getting an M-Audio Firewire solo. They're about $200 new but you can find used ones for about half that much.

[dynamicfx]

Thanks for the response! Looking at that Firewire Solo interface, the biggest problem I see is that it doesn't have the MIDI in/out that I'm looking for (which is actually the biggest reason I need something).

Since there haven't been many responses, I'm guessing there aren't a lot of good alternatives yet, at least in that price range. So expanding it a bit more, what are good MIDI (and audio) interfaces that others like and use?

Thanks,
Alan

[monteverdejon]

I was looking around for an external interface for my laptop-based live rig. While I settled on a 1st-gen Apogee Duet (Mac only) I was also looking at Echo Audiofire 2, a firewire interface which comes with a breakout cable including MIDI and SPDIF. They're discontinued but I saw them going on eBay for $90 or so.

Not sure about PCI-E cards in that price range. I occasionally think about a Lynx AES16e, but I can't get away from my MBox 2 Pro as I still need it for Pro Tools 8.

[dynamicfx]

Thanks for your replies -
Has anyone had experience with the PreSonus AudioBox 22VSL? It's a little more expensive ($189 at Sweetwater) but seems at least similar in capabilities to my Audiophile 2496 card.
Any other similar interfaces in a relatively similar price range?

[Len911]

What about M-audio midisport 1x1 for $39.99? Usb, windows 7 compatible

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MIDISport1x1/

[musicalweather]

It might not be a bad idea to separate out the MIDI from your audio interface; that is, use a separate device for MIDI... That way you have flexibility with the number of ports you have and can add more in the future necessary. There's no reason the two have to be bound together, unless you're under budgetary constraints. If you're on a Mac, MIDI and audio can be handled easily in the Audio / MIDI setup window. You can stack MIDI interfaces as necessary. I have my MIDI going through a MOTU midi time piece (8 ports) and a MOTU Fastlane USB (2 ports); the audio, as noted earlier, goes through the Firewire solo. FWIW.

[musicalweather]

Oops, I just saw that you're on Windows... Well, Windows probably has equivalent setup utilities, I imagine....

[dynamicfx]

That is a good point, that they don't have to be combined in one piece of hardware. I guess I just assumed that was the more economical way to go, but with some of the MIDI-only things that are only $40 or so, that may not be true.

[mojobone]

There are a great many ways to solve your problem; it's probably down to option anxiety that so few have posted, since there's no clearly superior solution. You could mount your PCI card in an expansion chassis. You could do a bunch of research on the best-sounding PCI Express audio/MIDI cards. The best option might be to keep your old 'puter as a slave and use Vienna Ensemble Pro to bring the audio into the new computer over Ethernet. The real sticky point is that your particular audio card has never been beat for audio quality/value, so there may be no comparable alternative at that price level. For my money, no card at all is a cleaner way to go; a Firewire interface with MIDI (or not) is less noisy.