Linux sound cards

This isn't really a DIY question, but it is a studio type question.

Does anyone have any experience with good quality PCI sound-cards in Linux?
I'm starting to experiment with Ubuntu studio. I've looked through the ALSA list, but I don't know how the supported sound-card list matches up with good quality PCI sound-cards with balanced ins and outs. I don't need to have mic-pres or anything like that. Just need some suggestions for good makes and models. (cheap would be good too, but that doesn't really happen with balanced cards)

Thanks
Colin

My Echo MiaMIDI is so-far-so-good on my Fedora Core 10 install. Once Ubuntu 9.04 comes out, I'll probably switch to that one.

The Mia has two 10kohm balanced ins, two balanced outs (I guess 600ohm), and a MIDI port. On top of that, they provide help and support to the guy who writes the ALSA drivers for their cards. The only weak point is the mixer application that controls the cards internal digital mixer. It takes some getting used to. I spent a couple of hours figuring that program and the cards internal routing out. Once I did, though, it was a "set and forget" issue.

Typical cost of the Mia is $130 US.

EDIT: I should point out that if you want something up to "professional" snuff, the RME cards are very well supported for ALSA.

I used to use an M-Audio Delta-44 with Linux on a pretty regular basis.  It was pretty much always on the ALSA support list.

Hey, I'm not using that card these days but it sounded pretty good and has balanced TRS inputs and outputs.  Make me an offer... I probably don't have a future use for it and won't be expecting a whole lot of $$.

Ah, yes, I should've mentioned, the M-Audio series of cards are all very well-supported under ALSA. That's another case of the company supporting the open source driver coders, but I don't know how that policy has held up since Digidesign bought them.

I'd turn my DAW into Linux at an instant, if I just could be 100% sure I could do everything in it. The last I looked, I couldn't.

This laptop I'm writing at is running Crunchbang Linux. Me likes!

Scodiddly said:

  Make me an offer... I probably don't have a future use for it and won't be expecting a whole lot of $$.

Click to expand...

Scodiddly,
Your inbox is full. I would love to make an offer on that, but getting it to the UK wouldn't be cheap, and there's every likelihood that those nasty swines at the post-office would insist I pay import duty. The only offer I could make would almost seem insulting. It'd amount to not much more than a case of beer plus postage (for the card, not the beer...).  PM me.

ColinS said:

Scodiddly said:

  Make me an offer... I probably don't have a future use for it and won't be expecting a whole lot of $$.

Click to expand...

Scodiddly,
Your inbox is full. I would love to make an offer on that, but getting it to the UK wouldn't be cheap, and there's every likelihood that those nasty swines at the post-office would insist I pay import duty. The only offer I could make would almost seem insulting. It'd amount to not much more than a case of beer plus postage (for the card, not the beer...).  PM me.

Click to expand...

Oops, sorry about that.  It's emptied now.  I'll send you a PM.