Now that people's IQs have deteriorated to the point that they're calling external interface boxes "sound cards", I guess I have to be extra explanatory here.

I mean the circuit board that you stick into your computer. A sound card. You know, a card that's for sound?

It seems that a market of sound cards that cost seven dollars and external interface boxes that cost hundreds or thousands leave a lot of ground uncovered.

By 2025 standards, any card that you poke into your computer, even the seven-dollar ones, would be capable of stereo audio exceeding cd quality, right? They make fancier ones for gamers who want psychedelic effects but I don't want any effects, psychedelic or otherwise.

There seems to be some trend for audio inputs to be mono, though, because why would you use an audio input for anything but a phone call?

And here's the rub: Were I to buy the seven-dollar card that outputs 4.1 or 5.1 nightmare home theater soundscapes, would it still have a mono input?

My interest is sharing LP cuts and doing some LP damage repair.

Thank you kindly.

What's the central question?

You're wanting more pci-express brand choices aside from those by rme etc?

How much do you want to spend, and why does it have to be an internal card? All PCs today have a built-in “card” anyway.

RME and lynx

Mono input only on my computer. For phone calls. I want stereo hi-fi.

32 channels and no standard connectors.
Oh, that's just what I need to record old LPs.

The JCF Latte is a pretty good sound card. I’ve made dozens of phone calls with it.

What connectors are you looking for? Both brands have standard connectors.

I play normal LPs on a normal hi-fi. The audio would be delivered to the computer on two cables terminated with RCA plugs. Like normal people do.

It appears that all internal sound cards are extremely elaborate playback and extremely primitive mono computer microphone inputs.

It appears that all external sound interfaces are either like the internal sound cards or for some kid with a guitar to plug into the "instrument" and a mic to plug into the "mic" input.

I absolutely can't find RCA stereo in and RCA stereo out. There are one or two very early and presumably primitive things but you'd think that normal people stereo connections would be easier to find.

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RCA is just an unbalanced line level.

Anything that has line level in and out would work for you. You'd just need TS to RCA adaptor plugs.

One of those super cheap "sound cards" might work, but a 1/8" line input isn't going to be better than the cheapest USB interface with unique line level jacks.

For the sake of $50 or so - it makes sense to do it properly.

Those “sound cards” of yesteryear are gone because all computers for a long time now have included sound chips, and for the overwhelming majority of users just a mono input for video calls etc. is enough.

Also, a quick check on thomann showed that there are actually audio interfaces with RCA in/out, just as external USB devices, like those from Behringer:

https://www.thomann.co.uk/behringer_...ol_uca_222.htm

https://www.thomann.co.uk/behringer_ufo_202.htm

Else, as psycho_monkey wrote, some adapters or RCA to TS cables for a fee bucks also would work with any external audio interface.

Sure, bite the hand that feeds you. You’re on a pro audio forum. Do your own research, then.

Normal people don't record their LP's into computers to do "damage repair" either though, right? And they don't really ask for actual cards that are good quality to do it either.

No, Lynx has cards with inputs other than for the "computer microphone". As far as I know so does RME.

Again, "normal people" don't do what you want to do.

Why don't you just get a turntable with XLR line-level out instead? Or USB?

Have got a 202 + 222 and tbh, best avoided.
Really poor SQ, but worse still both picked up interference from PC/laptop mobos.
Even worse when connected to another input or output piece of gear.

Whilst out of the OPs' price range, the RME ADI-2 Pro FS has iirc a phono input EQ preamp mode, meaning you can connect a record deck straight into it.

I think I've found what I need. It's not a card but the idea of a card went nowhere. It's a gadget called PreSonus AudioBox USB 96 USB Audio Interface. It has two input channels that look identical (as opposed to "mic" and "instrument", runs 24-bit/96kHz which should be adequate to rip LPs, and is cheap and plentiful in the secondhand market.

The rarity of this configuration is demonstrated by how many hours that I needed to find it.
It's not "Professional Studio" gear but it should be adequate to my needs.

Thank you for all the zany entertainment.
.

Maybe not the Presonus. I just looked at the Sweetwater reviews and a lotta lotta people have had trouble with them. No wonder there are so many pre-owned for sale.

Behringer makes something similar though. Almost nobody complained about it in the reviews and there are very few second-handers for sale. There's a fella a few notches up who says they don't sound good but there's all these people on Sweetwater who say it does. I guess it'll cost me a little money to find out.

Any interface will work. As others said you just need to get the right cables or adapters (RCA to quarter inch). For the money look at MOTU M2. Nice conversion. If you’re in Europe - Audient is less expensive than in the US. In the US - MOTU would be fine.

@OP

Creative still exist, old school type gaming soundcard with 5.1 sound support etc

CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy Fx V2

Non professional soundcard.
Doubt it has ASIO drivers, which I doubt will be needed for what you want.

Will need mini jack to rca adapter

Apparently the Creative drivers include ASIO as well. May well be perfect for OP. I didn’t even know they still made these.

iirc went bust.
Guess they've been resurrected.

Creative never went away, they've been selling audio interfaces and PCIe sound cards forever. They still own all of EMU's proprietary stuff too.

All the op needed to do was go to creative.com and there they are like they've always been, or could've just bought some RCA to 1/4" or 1/8" adapter cables like the rest of us running turntables into 'real' interfaces.

The mod will probably censor me again for saying this, but it seems like almost nobody here actually read what I was looking for and what I was finding.

We did but we are helping steer you the right direction. “The customer is almost never right”

Are you sure you actually know what you're looking for? You were given several solutions to the problem already and connecting a turntable in stereo to a PC is not rocket science.

I need to offer an apology here; the soundblaster I linked to only has mono input.

Then we are back to probably NOT an internal card and instead go for a regular audio interface.

Will be more than $7.

That config is your bog standard interface. 2 line inputs, running at 24/96 describes just about everything apart from the really basic one input things (eg focusrite solo).

Focusrite 2i2 would do the job for you for example.

You're right—true sound cards are rare these days! For LP transfers, look for an internal card with proper stereo line-in (not mic-in). Avoid gaming cards with effects. ASUS and Creative still make solid basic models. Just check specs to make sure it handles stereo input.

As I said - any basic USB interface will do it, and they'll outperform the gamer-focussed rubbish made by Creative or whoever.