I'm trying right now to decide between buying an E-MU 404 and a 1212m, please help.

I printed out the spec sheets for both the 404 and the 1212m from the EMU site, and noticed the following differences between the 404 and 1212m:

E-MU 404:

24 bit, 96kHz converters
Non-balanced analog inputs & outputs
Optical and coaxial 24/96 S/PDIF IO

E-MU 1212m:

24 bit, 192kHz converters
Balanced analog inputs & outputs
24/192 ADAT IO and 24/96 S/PDIF IO
Firewire Interface

Purely from the standpoint of sound quality, the 404 sounds like a better choice for me since it is described as more lively and dynamic. I also like the fact that the 404 uses ONE PC card only as opposed to two.

My question is, what am I giving up if I pick the 404 over the 1212m, especially if I get an external DAC one day? Will the differences listed above result in lower performance if the 404 is used with an external DAC instead of the 1212m?

I have seen some DACS listed as 192 kHz, so would the 96 kHZ of the 404 reduce the performance, or would it not matter? Is it better to have balanced outputs, or does this not matter with most amps? As for the 24/192 ADAT IO, I have no idea how this would impact the DAC question, please help! Thanks

-Soundbuff

I was under the impression that the 0404 is capable of 192 kHz and that the drivers were the only thing holding it back @ 96 kHz...from what I've read, the 192 kHz capability will be added in a future driver revision.

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Then what's the point in getting the 1212m then?

The 1212m is more refined and slightly more detailed than the 0404, for those people who enjoy that / fits better with their system.

External DAC-wise, according to lan the 0404 is in fact a better transport than the 1212m, so I suppose there's absolutely no reason to get the 1212m if you'll be using the soundcard's digital out.

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