Trying to Figure out best home studio setup


Hi All.

So I have been researching upgrades for my studio...

I am trying to get better monitors & sound card.

Right now I am running Ableton Live on Win7 64 bit 4 gigs and a AMD x2 3ghz PC.

I asked around a few friends for some suggestions and searched on here for monitor suggestions...

I think I want to get the: KRK VXT8 for the monitors. More expensive then some... but I'd rather pay the money now than go cheap and have to spend more money later...

I am also trying to upgrade my sound card on the PC. I have been doing some research and I seem to stumble into 2 choices... Asus Xonar Essence STX PCIe Sound Card and the M-Audio Audiofile... I am leaning towards the Asus because of the lowest signal/noise ratio that it provides and it runs PCI express so its faster than the audiofile... Although it is more expensive..

My other option is the Focusrite Saffire PRO 24 because it seems to have the best routing capabilities, all the inputs & settings you want right there at your fingers...

I guess my biggest question is will the Asus or Audiophile work with studio monitors like the VXT8s? I checked out some images of the vxt8 and I dont see regular inputs on the back of the monitors... Do most people use RCA cables too hook up their monitors or is the preferred method XLR or something else.... I just dont want to drop the money and not be able to use the equipment in the best way possible...
Does anybody have these monitors? Any issues or concerns I should think about? Never bought/hooked up studio monitors before so I don't want to buy without knowing!

Are there any preferred setups that people recommend for a PC that might be better than what I have described above? Just looking to make the smartest decision possible.

Links to the equipment in question:
[url=http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4540646&sku=A455-2630 ]Asus:
[/url]
[url=http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffPro24/]Saffire[/url]
[url=http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/KRK-VXT-8-Powered-Studio-Monitor-?sku=601075#used]VXT8s[/url]

I generally like Asus products but that soundcard looks like junk to me. It seems like a very niche card for audiophiles, and won’t really be suited to audio production. They also don’t really have a reputation for studio cards (good or bad), so I’d steer clear of them. You’d probably be better off with the M-Audio card than the Asus.



The Saffire card should be more up your alley, with a decent selection of in/outs, clean A/D converters, and strong support. Personally I have a MOTU 828 and love it. It has tons of in/outs, gets to low latencies and is reliable above all.



As for the monitors, if they are like other monitors from KRK they’ll have TRS/XLR inputs, which are standard for pretty much any studio soundcard.