Which sound cards are compatible with my Mac?

You already have, built-in, according to the spec sheet:

• Front-panel headphone minijack and speaker
• Optical digital audio input and output TOSLINK ports
• Analog stereo line-level input and output minijacks

What is your special need for an additional sound card ?

OK, I'm a pro user. I edit television (which means I know nothing about sound). I have 25 years in the industry and I have to ask:

*What software are you using that needs an audio card?*

Because that is going to guide you more *to what you can use* in terms of supporting it than anything else.

Was this question ever answered?

I've been looking around, or at least thinking of looking around, for a more stable option.

The onboard card is great for general use, but when it comes down to using it for heavy audio recording/editing (in a professional sense), it falls short. The lack of XLR input/preamp being one aspect of this. I'm not sure what the AD/DA converters are like either, but I'm sure buying a dedicated card may contribute to something in that area too.

Currently I'm using a FireWire 410, which works great. Having had the need in using the Mac Pro for live sound recently, the 8 outputs was very appreciated! However I've always thought that, for some reason, internal sound cards would probably be better somehow? This is based on no knowledge, maybe someone can put me straight and tell me if they are, aren't, or no different!

Anyway, maybe I'm just trying to spoil myself, but the FireWire is old, was second hand when I got it, and although it works Ok most of the time, I'm sure there must be something that will just improve my overall setup.

A price range... Probably anything upto £1000? I'd hate to spend that much when the FireWire only cost me £70! But if it means improving my set up in a very good way, I'll happily spend that.

I use computer mainly for MIDI sampling, but do record a fair bit too. Although nothing that requires anything like 10 simultaneous inputs, perhaps just 2 or 4?

Many thanks!

Any suggestions?

i'd like to chime in here. i have a dat machine i need to use (remember those) and it's output is coax (rca) not optical, so currently i have no way of getting sound into my power mac. on an old g4 that recently died i used an m-audio audiophile 2496 card. unfortunately that card is not compatible. anyway any recommendations. thanks.

I have a DAT machine I need to use (remember those) and its output is coax (RCA) not optical...

There are coax to optical converters
<http://www.cablestogo.com/product list.asp?catid=8831006>

Hey - Love the ID? Was listening to "The Way Up" on way to work this AM.

Anyway - I just picked up the Lexicon Alpha, which is a fairly straightforward 24-bit 48K USB interface with (no-phantom pwr) XLR mic input + Inst/line. Came with Cubase and seems to be working great although it specs for a 1GHZ machine. I set it up primarily for my son to use, but it is clean enough for casual good sounding recording. Drivers installed fine. I'm still putting it through it's paces, but so far no glitches...No MIDI though, but just $80. Works fine with my PC too...

Not sure about 'all' but this one was mentioned
http://www.esi-audio.com/products/maya44e/

Always a good source in the past for hardware upgrade info:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

I did not mean to be evasive. But very few folks ever seem to need a sound card in most Macs, so the information you seek is very specialized, and not widely known.

The built-in Mac audio is too noisy for professional uses.