Mr. M

I'm working on a soundscape patch in MaxMSP to run on a Windows laptop (USB-connections - NO FireWire!). I want it to be some kind of surround sound. I think 4 channel (no sub) setup would be fine, maybe even 3 channel - if anyone knows if its possible to make a good surround panning that way?

Anyways I need a very cheap hardware solution ASAP:

2) 4 (or maybe just 3) active studio-monitors - or a hifi surround system (amp + speakers)

By "cheap" I mean a cut above the most crappy PC-speakers, but otherwise as cheap as possible... (hard to explain...)

Any recommendations would be highly appreciated! :-)

1) a USB soundcard with 4 outs
2) 4 (or maybe just 3) active studio-monitors - or a hifi surround system (amp + speakers)

Any recommendations would be highly appreciated! :-)


maxmsp-hardware-cheap-surround-sound-solution

M-Audio has some options, but its more expensive without better quality. Only interesting if you want to opt for ProTools LE...

I have a ESI Quatafire and I am very happy with it, but its out of production. The ESI U46 comes closest...

As a completely different option, you could use two pairs of USB Speakers like the ALESIS M1 ACTIVE 320 USB. I haven't heard them and don't know if they are good enough... But such a solution is less flexible...

Esi Maya - 4 in, 4 out...
Esi Gigaport - eight out...
Esi U46 XL - 2 in, 6 out...

Any cheap usb 5.1 soundcard will do, if you install Asio4All (www.asio4all.com).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=usb+sound+card+5.1

This makes all the outputs available separately in Max/MSP.

For speakers, the most low budget option is to get a 5.1 speaker set, like those from Logitech or Creative.

Any cheap usb 5.1 soundcard will do, if you install Asio4All (www.asio4all.com). 

Examples: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=usb+sound+card+5.1

This makes all the outputs available separately in Max/MSP.
For speakers, the most low budget option is to get a 5.1 speaker set, like those from Logitech or Creative.


thanks for the gigaport lead. just what I needed.

MaxMSP -> Hardware: cheap surround sound solution