E-MU 0204 USB: Damn, They've Done it Again! And for $129!!! - Page 20

The 0204 is not balanced.  You want to use TS outs on the main outputs.  The front headphone jack also doubles as a line out, which is probably why it's a higher impedance jack.  Near zero-ohm jacks wouldn't work as well as line outs.

Well can you recommend me something balanced in similar price range? I doubt this would help removing hiss, my Titanium HD is not some laptop audio port.

http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/saffire_6_usb/specifications/

It's a little bit more expensive. @ ~$200 but you do get your moneys worth if you look at the spec and bundle..

Regarding the buzz in the 0204 USB output, I just resolved this on my Win7 x64 machine with the help of EMU support:

apparently plugging the 0204 into a USB 3 port can cause this noise.

Check your computer specs/manual to see which ports are usb 3 and which are 2, and plug it directly into a USB 2 port. 

The buzz is from the 0204 losing its sync with the computer.  Maybe it happens more with 3.0 jacks, but my laptop is only USB 2.0.  So their explaination is invalid.  Turning the unit off and then on or unplugging it will fix it, but it's very loud and very annoying when it happens upon startup or after it's been sitting for a long time without use.  When it loses sync while music is playing, it just gets distorted and broken up.  This can be fixed by just opening and closing the audio settings for whatever program you're using.  Emu/Creative drivers still need some improvement.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by loyola 

Regarding the buzz in the 0204 USB output, I just resolved this on my Win7 x64 machine with the help of EMU support:

apparently plugging the 0204 into a USB 3 port can cause this noise.

Check your computer specs/manual to see which ports are usb 3 and which are 2, and plug it directly into a USB 2 port. 

USB 3.0 ports are terrible when it comes to USB DAC handling, they have rather severe issues that haven't been fixed on virtually any of the USB 3.0 host controllers available on the market.

When possible, connect through USB 2.0 ports alone.

Yes, they seem to be giving USB based audio components a bunch of issues.

Something of an aside. I have a nice 24/196 ADC in my preamp and would prefer to use that. Difficulty would be in getting the SPDIF data into my computer. The motherboard sound card only has SPDIF out. Is there a low cost PCIe SPDIF input card available? If the only solution is a high end sound card then I am better off just getting the E-MU 0204.

Thanks

In case anyone is interested, this is what I decided to use for a solution, with the goal of simplicity:

http://www.rega.co.uk/html/Fono%20mini.htm
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbradley02 

Something of an aside. I have a nice 24/196 ADC in my preamp and would prefer to use that. Difficulty would be in getting the SPDIF data into my computer. The motherboard sound card only has SPDIF out. Is there a low cost PCIe SPDIF input card available? If the only solution is a high end sound card then I am better off just getting the E-MU 0204.

 

Thanks

Ok guys, Just bought it and test if this week end, but I am just sad to see that there are 20 pages and NO ONE said clearly how it sound, and how it works with headphones...So I bought it anyway for 80$ on a second hand site, but it was new not opened.

to all the people with sync problems: go buy 5 different usb cables, cheap, medium cheap, but short cables, and try them all, you will find that the usb cable is a major player in the sync problem. The 2 meter usb cable bundled in is too long.