Compare Intel Frontier Design Dakota 24-Bit PCI Soundcard to Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe Sound Card

Instead of turning to separate devices for digital audio, MIDI and synchronization for your computer, choose Dakota. It provides a full complement of 16 high-performance 24-bit digital audio channels in ADAT Optical "lightpipe" format. Its breakout cable offers interfacing with S/PDIF digital audio I/O on RCA jacks, as well as ADAT 9-pin sync input. Dakota also features two MIDI inputs and two MIDI outputs, as well as an internal CD-ROM digital audio cable for direct transfers of audio CDs. Plus, Dakotas SMPTE and ADAT sync ensure that all of your studio components can stay locked together. Less

The CardDeluxe is a small printed circuit board that plugs into one of a PC's PCI-bus slots. Unlike regular soundcards, it does not offer a MIDI port or FM synthesis. What it does offer are two channels of balanced I/O using TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) ¼ phone jacks, and two channels of S/PDIF digital I/O using RCA jacks. It also offers 24-bit word depth, a sample rate of 96kHz, an optional AES/EBU digital interface adapter ($50), and an extension port to word-sync it with other CardDeluxes so that an inexpensive PC can be used as a high-resolution multi-track digital recorder. Its specifications offer virtually state-of-the-art A/D and D/A conversion, using delta-sigma converter chips from AKM. The fact that the CardDeluxe retails for less than $600 can be explained by the fact that its manufacturer doesn't have to sell you the two most expensive parts of an audio component: the power supply and the chassis. Less