Need a new sound card

Not sure if this has been covered here or not....

I'm running AA3 with an XP machine.

My mic runs via XLR thru a PreSonus Tube PreAmp out (XLR) to a Digi MBox 2 and into the pc via USB.

I believe the USB in is whats causing static/hum in my voice over recordings.

Thoughts or suggestions on what I should buy. I'm willing to drop up to $300.

Thanks everyone. I love the site.

Well, first let's offer a minor correction: the USB connection/port can't add hum directly because the mic signal is already in digital form.  So the hum is being generated in the MBox, and if it goes away when the USB cable is unplugged, well, then there's just some bad power grounding issues there.  (Does the MBox have direct monitoring?  Otherwise you wouldn't know if the hum went away with USB disconnected!)

Anyway, on to the real question.  Enough users around here have worked with Emu products that I got a 1616m system and so now I in turn will recommend it too.  It's clean, it's quiet, and I've enjoyed using it (once you figure out the PatchMix software!).  You won't need a model that expensive to get a good mic pre, but any Emu product that meets your needs is what I'd recommend for you.

I thing you should purchase the Diamond MX300 soundcard is the youngest of a new soundcard series based on the Aureal Vortex 2 AU8830 audio Chipset.

This post is grossly misleading. The card referred to came out in the last century and was based on a chip from a now defunct manufacturer.

Somewhere I have an MX300 soundcard, and somewhere I have the Aureol t-shirt that came with the development kit they sent for that chip. They became history while the kit was still in the post.

Not sure if this has been covered here or not....

I'm running AA3 with an XP machine.

My mic runs via XLR thru a PreSonus Tube PreAmp out (XLR) to a Digi MBox 2 and into the pc via USB.

I believe the USB in is whats causing static/hum in my voice over recordings.

I think we need to be taking a step backwards here... MC is essentially correct; the USB connection inherently won't cause static or hum, but it may well be the cause of it at a system level.

So the first question is - what sort of PC is this? It isn't a laptop, by any chance?

As for the Diamond chipset post, I'd ignore it. Most of the wording is a direct, unattributed lift from here, and it's just earned the poster a posting ban...