[emericanchaos]

i don't knwo how much i'm splitting hairs here but i would like to know. basically i'm ready to upgrade something here. i'm ampless but my source would be my weak spot if i got an amp so it doesn't seem to matter which way i go. soo, on to the meat.

i know they're both very clean but is there any reason to spend the extra money on the EMU? keep in mind i'm not opposed to modding these things.

on paper the audiophile seems to win out ever so slightly. it's also more affordable.

going the route of source upgrading leaves me in the spot to pickup a cheap portable amp that takes wall power just to hold me over until i have the funds again for a serious amp.

 

[emericanchaos]

hi

 

[Ahriman4891]

I think most people have not heard both, so you won't get any useful input.

Not sure why you said that M-audio is better on paper. From the specs, it's the opposite. 0404usb has a newer DAC capable of 192KHz playback, better S/N ratio (117 vs 106 dB), better dynamic range (117 vs 108), better THD+N (-100 vs -94 dB). The only aspect where M-audio could win would be drivers, and that's not certain either.

Keep in mind that decibels are logarithmic, so every 6 dB = 2x difference. That is, 94 vs 100 dB THD+N is a substantial difference; whether that translates into real-life improvement is another question. Most headphones have THD+N of about -75 dB, so either card is overkill in that regard.

That said, I like my 0404usb