[rms]

I would appreciate if anyone knowledgeable with the 0404 could help me out with this. I just got mine yesterday and am using it for a recording interface for various instruments, vocals, etc and also as a way to get 44.1k bit perfect digital out to my DAC for playback. I had thought from reading the literature that the USB out to the 0404 would allow me to take a s/pdif digital signal straight to my DAC but that is not the case - at least as far as I can figure - I get no signal at all. My signal path is Foobar2000 / asio4all playing flac, USB to 0404, AVA Omegastar DAC, Hafler DH-500, SP Tech Continuums. So I found this on the Emu website, the coax cable from s/pdif out to DAC is obvious and should be all that is required ...however;

"To get the S/PDIF output optical or coaxial to work on the E-MU 0404 USB audio card with Windows based applications, you will need to connect either a S/PDIF optical OR a S/PDIF digital 75-Ohm digital RCA cable from the S/PDIF output of the E-MU 0404 USB into the S/PDIF input of the digital device you want to connect to. You must also connect two balanced or unbalanced cables from each 0404 output to each 0404 input as shown in the diagram below. You must also set the Direct Monitor switch to S/PDIF. You then should have S/PDIF audio output if you have E-MU drivers selected from your Windows based applications. You will also need to adjust the main output of the 0404 as well as the 0404 input levels (A Hi-Z/ Line, B Hi-Z/Line) controls taking care to not overload the 0404 inputs."

(Sorry, I tried to get the direct link to this page to post but it was three lines and would not post ) This link is found on the Emu site knowledge base under the 0404 titled "Setting up S/PDIF output with Windows XP based applications." What it entails is taking the line out signal and externally patching it to the line in to be able to get a signal out the S/PDIF output. Seems like a crazy workaround - but it does work, though I'm sure there is some signal degradation. There must be a better way. Does anybody know?

 

[rms]

Bump... Anybody?
I'm going to run this by Emu support this week too, I'll post back if they reply.

 

[sejarzo]

As several of us have posted recently, your first mistake is using ASIO4ALL......there is no need to do that whatsoever. ASIO4ALL is a workaround for devices that have no native ASIO driver, and that certainly is not the case for the 0404 USB. You should have the native E-MU ASIO driver installed on your PC already.

When you set up your ASIO output preferences in Foobar....and this varies a bit depending on the version you are using....select the "ASIO E-MU 0404 | USB" option in the drop down list of available ASIO devices. Next, you must shift the output channels. (I use Foobar 0.8.3 because 0.9.x versions have a tendency to keep losing ASIO configuration settings.) In 0.8.3, under Preferences>Playback>Output>ASIO(dll version) there is an option in the right pane of the dialog box that says "Shift Output channels" and that must be set to 2. That effectively routes the signal coming in via USB to the S/PDIF section rather than the internal D/A and analog output stage.

That physical patch-around "solution" (if you can call it that) described in your first post is required only if you desperately need to use a playback app that isn't ASIO-capable, and thus gives you no options to shift the output channels within its configuration.

 

[kyotousa]

What's the downside of using ASIO4all?

 

[thomaspf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyotousa /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's the downside of using ASIO4all?

Since the S/PDIF device is not visible to the Windows sound system you can not get to it via kernel streaming either.

 

[kyotousa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomaspf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since the S/PDIF device is not visible to the Windows sound system you can not get to it via kernel streaming either.

You mean I can't use ASIO4all for digital out?....hm I wonder why EMU driver use so much CPU resource.
Maybe I should change to PCI card...

 

[thomaspf]

If you only need digital output then I am not sure the Emu 0404 USB is the best choice. I am using it for room measurements and are quite happy with it.

For simple USB->S/PDIF conversion I would pick a device that works with the standard Windows usbaudio.sys driver. The overhead is low.

Cheers

Thomas

 

[900seca]

I also considered the emu 0404 for hq digital out source but it seems like an unnecessary ammount of money to get it. After checking out a multitude of cards and usb devices, its clear that I'd be spending alot of money on things I dont need. I've got a Zero headphone amp/dac that sounds sweet directly from my cd transport but I want an economical source to provide a bit perfect digital source from my pc. Can any of you please recommend a couple devices that provide that source for less than $100?? Currently have Sound Blaster Live card in a dell desktop. Thanks... Steve

 

[thomaspf]

For personal use I have an Emu 0404 USB, an Audiotrak Optoplay, and the Edirol UA-1EX. The latter two work fine with the standard Windows driver. The Edirol also comes with it's own drive rbut I have never used that.

The Optoplay is a really minimalistic and cheap TAS1020 device but I do not believe it is in production anymore. The Edirol can be found for $70.

Cheers

Thomas