Now, I am planning to build my own DAW for the first time. This pc is going to be completely dedicated to audio, with no games, MS office type stuff, or internet on it. I am going to run a delta 44 for I/O and use Sonar 3 producer ed. I will also have Nero for burning and possibly Fruity loops, but that is still up in the air.

I just got my new soundcard and it says in the installation booklet that i have to ground myself when putting the soundcard in my computer. it says to hold a side of the computer? I dont really get that. i understand that the reason for this is to avoid breaking the soundcard with static or whatever else but i do not understand what i have to do to ground myself when installing it.

I'm looking to add some Lexicon (lush, stylized) sound to my mix. What would I miss if I went with a used 81/91 combo vs a used 300 single unit? What would I gain? They seem to be going for about the same rate on ebay, with the 300 being about 25% more expensive. Both use 2U of rack space, so *that* is not an issue.

While I buy my gear used whenever possible, I've steered clear of used speakers, mainly out of superstition. Am I making a mistake? What am I missing?

This recent thread on near and mid speakers has got me drooling on ebay again. Could someone let me know what I should be looking out for when buying used speakers, especially over the net?

Anyone know where I can find some Neve 1272 line Amps and how much, I need them for a friend who is looking for them.

Chris

Is AMDs 64 bit processor of any use to a DAW person?, or how much does this apply to the interests of a recordist?

Well,

I've been cruising along quite nicely since I built my own DAW with the help of Opus and others here. Unfortunately, I decided to reenable USB only to discover that USB doesn't even exist in the device manager. I have USB enabled in the BIOS and HIC enabled in services. All the troubleshooting on the net assumes that you can see USB on the device manager's list.

I'm using Pro Co Excalibur cables currently, which are 20'. I'm wanting to cut down on excessive cable length to ensure the highest quality recordings as possible on my home studio budget.

1) Including the patch cable, and entire routing, what total cable length should I be shooting for, with an unbalanced cable?

My question(s):

1) Should I opt to buy all balanced cables or just use balanced cables with gear that can make use of it?

2) Using balanced cables with gear that doesn't use it necessarily... any potential problems? (i.e. using a TRS/balanced cable with a synthesizer and patchbay)

After going back and forth between ideas, I plan on using a M-Audio Delta 44 with a Yamaha MG 12/4 Mixer. I just want to make sure I am figuring the I/O's right.

I would run the main outs of the mixer (TRS) into imputs 1/2 of the 44. I would take the outputs 1/2 of the 44 and run them through a stereo channel (11/12) and then to the monitor outs.