[Elecraft] Best Audio Interfaces 2020?

[Wes]

I should have stated for KG6MZS that my computers do have audio inputs to the 
internal cards.

And when I spoke of digital modes, I meant RTTY, the only one I seriously use.

Wes  N7WS


On 6/15/2020 8:51 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 6/15/2020 4:55 PM, Wes wrote:
>> OK  QSL.
>>
>> All of my computers have soundcards including the, soon to be replaced, shack 
>> Lenovo laptop. I tried a TASCAM US-100, highly recommended by K9YC, without 
>> seeing any improvement over the Lenovo on digital modes.
>
> Hi Wes,
>
> You might want to look at the piece I wrote on the topic, which details my 
> testing. It was pretty rigorous. The USB interfaces I recommended were equally 
> good, decoded to much greater signal to noise levels, and produced almost 
> twice as many decodes as the sound system built into the two T43 Thinkpads 
> used for the tests.
>
> Pulling out the weakest signals requires a lot of dynamic range if very strong 
> signals are present, and cheap A/D converters can have poor linearity close to 
> the low end of the dynamic range. WSJT-X uses 48 kHz 16-bit, theoretical 96 
> dB, real life more like 90. It's not unusual for there to be locals 30-50 dB 
> over S9 when the band is open, so every little bit of dynamic range can matter 
> when you're trying to work the weak ones. All of this is why I started my 
> search in the semi-pro audio world.
>
> One thing I differ with in the WSJT-X instructions is to set band noise to 30 
> dB on the green voltmeter bar. That's fine for modes like MSK144 and ISCAT B, 
> but gives up FAR too much dynamic range for modes like FT8, FT4, JT65, and JT9.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC