Lexicon Core 2

Setup for us was a breeze, but of course we had to compromise our setup by using Win 98, and we had to disable the USB driver that was sharing IRQ 5 with the card. If you have trouble with the card working erratically or crashing, make sure it's not sharing an IRQ! And also, this card _WILL_ WORK ON ATHLON SYSTEMS! As much as Lexicon says that it won't, it will work just fine if you are not using a VIA chipset. I use a Duron 750 with an ECS mainboard (SiS chipset)

Sound quality is very good, although since this card is a good 6 years old already, there are better interfaces out there. We also have a Tascam US-428, and I find the converters on it to be a little better - but I still am satisfied with the Lexicon.

We use the piece for a webcast, where stability is extremely important. So far, we've done 3 two-hour radio shows using it, and it's been solid. Then again, the ONLY things on that system are Win98 (modded with 98lite), Winamp, Shoutcast DSP, and Sound Forge. Keep it simple if you need the stability... And don't breathe too heavily, or Win98 might crash :)

Overall, Harman International is usually OK when it comes to product support... But I know that everyone else who has requested support or drivers for newer OSes has been told "buy another card". That's pathetic, as this is a pro audio interface, and not a $20 sound card.

Overall, this thing is great if you're willing to bend over for Lexicon and run Win98. If you're not running 98, you might as well forget about it, cause it's a total vegetable otherwise. I love the card because we got it for free from a friend who couldn't get it to work... If you can score one for under $100, it's worth it.

Ease of use with this thing is like a crapshoot. You gotta just hope you get lucky, because troubleshooting this thing is a nightmare, and you are pretty much on your own because the manual stinks.

If you get this thing to work, I mean really work for you i.e. no clicks or stammers, it sounds really awesome! I really like having the dBx limiting on the A/D inputs, as it prevents digital nastiness while recording, and it is really very transparent.

This thing literally worked for me without issues once, for about a year, on a P3 PC that I had, and it was awesome! Then I upgraded my computer so that I could get more processing power (P4, new motherboard, still Win98SE cuz no support for XP), and everything went to hell! Now it won't work correctly on the new system, and I can't even get it to work at all on my old system. What a bummer!

There is one woman at this company who really knows her stuff, and she's excellent at troubleshooting! Trouble is, she's not in the first line of support people (who don't know squat), and it's pretty obvious that the company is trying to forget they ever made this product, so usually you just get the cold shoulder.

Loved the card, and I lament the day I decided to mess with the system that it was working on. I will never again buy a product that a company has decided to stop supporting. Very frustrating!

It is an amazing sound card if you have win98 good sound easy to use

superb

nope it has no XP support

usual lack of support
bought it loved it upgraded to XP - you know the rest
I fonrd there american developer in charge of driver a very nice chap but he explained it was out of his hands nothing he could do
CANT SOMEONE OUT THERE WRITE A DRIVER FOR IT THEMSELVES I WILL PAY FOR THE DRIVER IF I HAVE TO........
It is so unfair of lexicon to treat customers like this they are arrogant and completely out of order... One very unhappy UK customer

I will never by from them again

The system is excellent on Windows 98 and 98 is a pathetic Operating System.

I am outraged that they will not suppot this product on XP. Everyone has to upgrade to XP - it is the only way forward and it is the most stable OS Microsoft has ever released - excellent, but Lexicon refusing to develop the drivers is unbelievable and outrageous.

I agree - we should band toegether and sue Lexicon. That is 200 UK pounds just poured down the drain. They should refund everyones cash.

I phoned them from the UK and the support guy said "well its just tough - buy another card" I have now abandoned it - it is in a box somewhere with all my patch cables and old bits and pieces.

Can't even sell it secondhand - who would want to build their studio around constantly crashing Windows 98?

I have been searching the web hoping to find someone out there who has written new drivers for it but to no avail.

I have an MPX1 - okay - its a great unit but I want to bin it because of the lousy company Lexicon (who screw their customers) has their name on it.

I rated this product as very difficult to use - well - can't use it :(

It was not noisy at all.

Reliability is a joke - you can't rely on Lexicon that's for sure.

The Tech support guy told me to buy another card !!!

Don't buy one - don't even buy one cheap - you will regret it.

Forget about XP drivers. They have abandoned support for this card. I have been bitching to them for a year about XP and GSIF, and they simply have no intentions. It's an orphan, and that's that.

They do have a new driver they haven't published, that makes it cakewalk wavepipe compatible. You can write support if you need it.
Now cakewalk is ASIO compliant, however.

Too bad, I love the board; the Lexi-reverb is outstanding, the Dbx soft-knee on the front end is a great feature, but someday I will have to give it up becuase it has no future. How about a petition?

I would rate this very high, except it's a dead end.

The system is very easy to install and use. Just read the manual and make sure you understand the system requirements! I don't think some of the reviewers read the packet properly. I have never had a problem with core 2 and have built several reliable systems with them

As good as is required for what I do. I'm using a DBX channel strip with spdif connection into the card.

Never had a problem.

Never needed it

I'm a producer so I deal with many styles of music and the Core2 always delivers. I like the fact breakout box uses jack ins/outs and has spdif in/out. Its an older card these days so you can pick them up cheap if you hunt around, I got mine with the mp100 fx add on free. I think when choosing a soundcard you need to spend time looking at the options. I dont care what operating system Im running, I care about making music, DONT loose sight of that.

The setup was a bit confusing but I figured it out and got it to work.

When the card does what its supposed to do, its not too bad. My only issue with the card is that it puts glitches in some recordings.

This is the main deal with the Core2. I'm using a PC with an 800 MHZ Duron processor, and they seem to recommend the intel stuff. It works with my duron setup but produces glitches when used with Sound Forge, Vegas, and Cakewalk 9. I can't even leave it recording 30-40 mins while my bands records our set without it having glitches on the recording. The glitches sound like rapid fire snare drums and others are just missing split seconds of sound. I think if I change over to an Intel box it might work alot better. Another issue with it when I went optical digital with a lightpipe from a sony mini-disc unit to the Core2 and there was problems with a clicking noise coming through. Also, Why doesn't it have midi support?

I e-mailed them when I was trying to set it up and they did call me back (which is more than I can say for a few other companies tech support dept). They told me what I was doing wrong and about the disabling of the USB ports. I really wish they get some drivers for Windows 2000, because 98 is too unstable to do any kind of serious multi-track recording. I am an advanced user with a tech degree and use 2000 and NT 4 on a regular basis and I'm used to the reliablity of that platform. I wonder what Lexicon's problem is? I'm glad that I didn't spend that much on the Core2, like some of the other prices people paid that posted here.

I used it to record and edit our CD, and the glitches in the audio on some of it made recording even tougher having to re-record some of the tracks that had glitches. It does work and I think with the right PC and having it configured right, it might be useful. I feel sorry for the people who are not computer savy.

Great sounding card, when it works. Now getting it to work can be a nightmare. Windows XP or 2000??? Forget about it. THEY DONT MAKE DRIVERS FOR IT!!!! ypical thin manual.

Excellent sound! Very transparent. Great feature is the ADAT digital in / out. I connect my ADAT to the card and transfer all 8 channels at once from tape to the computer (and back).

Once you have it working providing you don't make any computer hardware changes - works great. Be ready for lots of work if you upgrade the PC

Please - THERE IS NO SUPPORT.
If someone from Lexicon ever reads this - I WILL GLADDLY PAY FOR WINDOWS 2000/XP DRIVERS!!!!!!!! Don't turn your back on us. I buy lots of pro gear too and WONT buy any Lexicon products anymore - change my mind about this!

Bottom line, great card - if they'd update the drivers!!!!!!!
PLEASE LEXICON I BEG YOU!
I'm forced to rate a 10 card a 2 due to support and lack of drivers!

How hard is it to use a sound card. Plug it in and install it and it works.. That don't say that it worked everytime i needed it to. It certainly don't work on Windows XP so i dont even use it anymore. To be honest with you, i will never buy another Lexicon product again because they did'nt make drivers for XP. That's outlandish. Make a product, and stick everyone that bought it on 98 for the rest of our lives. MAKE DRIVERS FOR XP AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS YOU RETARDS!

sounded ok, nothing out of the ordinary.

There are no drivers for XP, therefore its unreliable.. Besides that, even when i had it working on 98 i had trouble with it.

Honestly, they are rude and not even worth trying to talk to. I can't even describe how worthless they are, and they really dont care. That's the saddest part of it all.

The card was ok, a toy for learning audio. Im mad because Lexicon has no respect for their customers whatsoever. How do you make a product for computers (the fastest growing manmade item on this planet) and not make drivers to keep up with the computers? How hard is it to make drivers? Please tell me how much you would have to pay someone to sit there for you and create a driver for xp for this card. I MUST know why you are not making a driver!

I bought the card a pair of years ago. As soon as I mounted it on my PII computer it started to work flawlessly. Then, after a year or so I decided to upgrade my system and go on the Athlon route... there started all the troubles.

On the Pentium II it had no noise. It worked great with whatever software I used. On the Athlon with Via Chipsets you basically Can't Use The Card. Clicks and Pops everywere.

I read somewhere here that the ADC and DCA are on the board. FALSE. They are on the breakout box. Just open it and you'll see.

On an old machine you can depend on it easily. You can go as far as a PIII machine. On PIV there is the same Via Chipset problem that is present on Athlons, therefore there are the same problems. If you have a motherboard without Via chipsets you are set.

NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT. I wrote them (I am in Italy) and all they were able to tell me is 'GET BACK TO PENTIUMS, NOT ATHLON, SINCE THEY ARE UNRELIABLE MACHINES'. Then, a pair of months later they put this 'good' information on their site. When I bought it there was no note on compatibility issues with K7 processors. (Now I know the compatibility issue is because the Motorola chipset has problems with Via chipsets, and it is present on almost all 24bit semi-pro and pro audioware, but I came to know this thing on the MOTU and ECHO internet pages, not on Lexicon's).

I still love the sound of my Core2, but I had to change my motherboard with one with AMD761 chipset innit. I have tried on an A7A asus motherboard (Ali chipset) without problems. On PIV motherboards with Rimms there are no problems, but on PIV with VIA 266, VIA333 and VIA400 chipsets there are Noise problems.
Used it with an adat (toslink, 8in/8out) without a single problem.
The DBX compressors sound really good. I have recorded almost anything on it without problems.