Suggestions for a recording studio + home theater setup

[the4saken328]

Hey guys and gals,
I'm going to be moving into an apartment soon and hope to have a nice setup, sound-wise. I am planning on building an amateur recording studio to record guitar and vocals and also home theater speaker system purely for music for now and adding a projector a while later. This is all centered on my HP notebook, which would be the source of everything. Well there are a few products that I just want to get some feedback and suggestions about connecting it all on. For recording and listening to music, I am considering the Echo Indigo IO soundcard. However, I have no idea if it'll work with a home theater speaker system, specifically the Fluance SX-HTB+ speakers, and am wondering how I would go about connecting these. What other items would I need, such as an AV receiver, subwoofer, or whatnot? Also, I am considering purchasing a Mackie Onyx Satellite Firewire recording system which would assist in supplying power to a Marshal MXL V63M Condenser Mic. Does this conflict with anything? And, if it matters at all, I also have a Podxt Live and am getting an Atomic Reactor amp soon. What would be the best way to connect all this? All suggestions are welcome. I just want an awesome sound system through which I can also hear my recordings. Thanks!

P.S. Just to make sure, hardwood floors > carpet floors, right?

[ScorLibran]

Originally posted by the4saken328
For recording and listening to music, I am considering the Echo Indigo IO soundcard. However, I have no idea if it'll work with a home theater speaker system, specifically the Fluance SX-HTB+ speakers, and am wondering how I would go about connecting these.

I used an Echo Indigo for years with a very similar setup - notebook PC to home theater receiver to speakers and projection system. The Echo Indigo is a simple 2-channel audio adapter with a very high quality DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and output stage. With it's 3.5mm output jack it'll connect to anything that can receive an analog stereo audio signal. Plug it in to the receiver just like you're plugging in a CD player. HOWEVER since you're connecting to a home theater, most of which can support at least 5.1 channels nowadays, you may want to consider looking at other audio adapters which may offer more channels, as well as full digital audio output with common home theater-friendly connection types. You've got a nice receiver that's going to do processing for you, right? Why not give it the native, unmodified digital signal that originates on your PC? Just like with lossy audio encoding, the more times something is destructively processed, the more quality is lost. Why have four devices processing something when leaving it to one will provide a better, as well as easier to manage, result?

As for how to connect your PC to the rest of the system, it's easy. It's just another A/V source. Be sure to use the best quality interconnect format available based on the compatibility of the components involved. Popular digital formats include HDMI, DVI and Component Video (RGB), while Composite Video and S-Video are falling aside with their analog-only status. Home theater digital audio connections commonly include coaxial electric (orange plugs and ports, by the coloring standard) and Toslink fiber-optic.

[the4saken328]

Thanks for the very detailed reply, ScorLibran! The Echo Indigo is the only soundcard for notebooks I've heard so far that seems to have unanimously positive reviews. Other than that one, I don't know many, besides hearing that usb and firewire solutions don't measure up as well. Could you suggest any in particular? I don't have a receiver yet, but am thinking about getting the YAMAHA 7.1 HTR-5860. So you're saying that the avreceiver should be the only thing doing the processing right?

[swingdjted]

I hope you're not offended, I'm playing the devil's advocate here.

Originally posted by the4saken328
Does this conflict with anything?

Yes. The neighbors. Get a stand-alone house with some trees between you and the next guy. Even "keeping it down" will be far too loud for a neighbor. I do much of the same thing, and if I were in an apartment complex or duplex, etc. I'd be evicted in the matter of a few days.

Hardwood is horrible for recording and listening if accurate sound reproduction is important to you. It's great if you like a lot of reverb. You'll notice that recording studios have padded walls, ceilings, and floors. This is to prevent anything other than the sound source from being heard by the ear or by the microphone.

Also, if you're doing a lot of recording, you should set aside a lot of your money for multichannel recording gear - mixers, different types of microphones (unidirectional, omnidirectional, etc.) multichannel editing software such as Sonic Foundry Acid Pro, etc. so that you can edit each performer/track individually when mastering the recording. Also, keep in mind that for recording and editing, good headphones are generally far more useful than good speakers.