Hi,

I'm going to invest some money in getting a sound card / audio interface that let's me use many channels (beyond the 2 that I'm getting from my default laptop sound card).

My requirements are as follows:
-I'd like to get at least 8 channels, but more would be good; i need to get independent channels that I can amplify and feed to speakers with a great deal of control in real time synthesis
-Latency is a concern: it has to be very low, and synchrony between channels very accurate
-PD runs in a fast laptop with windows xp. Connections: Firewire, USB2, PCMCIA expresscard.

Could you recommend an audio interface that could work for me?
If this has already been discussed in the forum, please do point me to those discussions, as I haven't been able to find them.

Many thanks

I missed mentioning my budget: below 800€
Portability is also important to an extent.
Another limitation can be that my firewire port is 4 pin.

I was considering getting an Edirol FA-101. Will this give me 10 independent channels in PD? I think that I need a 6-pin port for this: is using a firewire-to-PCMCIA adapter a solution that would work? If not, would Edirol UA-101 be just as good an option?

Should I consider something different entirely?

Thanks again.

For near 0 latency with heavy load Firewire is best.

I use a MOTU Ultralite and it works great with PD.

i have an edirol fa66 and from pd all channels are available all in/out channels.
edirol has good converters (better than built-in soundacards), is very solid.
but... it does not do any dsp.

I use a motu 896 and a presonus firebox. The motu is more stable i should say. I run them (not together) from a pcmcia firewire card, because the 4 pin on my laptop was so dodgy that the slightest touch to the cable caused a lost connection. However, latency is an issue on winxp, or at least for me. i don't seem to be able to get below 30ms without things starting to crackle...

Echo audio makes great stuff at good prices, especially if it is used. PCMCIA or PCI devices too.