The soundcard is arguably the most important component in the chain. It deals with all things audio going to and from your PC and every audio process that occurs inside your PC.

A good soundcard will:

• Support 24bit / 32bit bit depths and high sample rates (96kHz)
• Overcome the Windows latency problem by supporting ASIO (a proprietary audio driver architecture developed by Steinberg that reduces latency in Windows applications by bypassing the WDM model altogether and speaking directly with the soundcard maker's hardware).
• Have a low noise level and a good Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), low Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and a good frequency response and dynamic range.
• Not be locked to a fixed bit-rate. Some soundcards, especially on-board ones (i.e. integrated within the motherboard) are bit-rate locked (generally to 48kHz) thus everything is re-sampled to that rate.

We recommend M-Audio's Audiophile 2496 (see System Section for more on this).

It features:

• Excellent sound (high-quality converters located in the professional I2S codec AK4528);
• Wide capabilities (multifunctional Envy24 processor which provides a great deal of settings);
• Excellent VxD and WDM drivers (support of all operating systems including WinXP);
• Superb quality of the digital-out (due to the separate transceiver chip CS8427);
• MIDI input and output with standard DIN-5 connectors;
• Support of professional interfaces (GSIF, ASIO, EASI) and low latency (in the WDM drivers as well)

Best of all, it's relatively cheap.

Once all the analog equipment is in place (mics, mixer etc.), the routing is clearly understood, the soundcard installed and you've read all the manuals (yes, they are worth reading!), you are ready to record ... well, almost. The final question that needs to be answered is: What software to use?