[Scottyyy]

Hey guys,

I just bought one of these and set it up (thanks snowice). First impression is it's a very nice bit of hardware. Sounds noticably better over my M-Audio Revo 5.1 sound card. However I have a few questions about it:

1. I bought this to get rid of the hissing/sibilance the Revo gave. The EMU reduced it a lot, but it's still there. It's still quite noticable. Is there any way I can fix this or should I just live with the fact Denon D2000's are hissy/sibilant headphones?

2. Could I use this with my 360? My old TV I use for my 360 doesn't have a headphone jack. Could I buy a TOSlink cable, attach it to the digital output on the 360, attach it to the digital input on the EMU and I'll have sound through my headphones? I ask because I don't want to go out and spend a fortune on a decent TOSlink cable if it won't work.

That's all for now.

Thanks for any help guys.

 

[wlz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey guys, 2. Could I use this with my 360? My old TV I use for my 360 doesn't have a headphone jack. Could I buy a TOSlink cable, attach it to the digital output on the 360, attach it to the digital input on the EMU and I'll have sound through my headphones? I ask because I don't want to go out and spend a fortune on a decent TOSlink cable if it won't work.

Sure it will work, i have my computer and dvd player connected to both digital inputs and headphones work just fine. I don't think you need any of those expensive cables, cheapest ones will do the job as well.

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure it will work, i have my computer and dvd player connected to both digital inputs and headphones work just fine. I don't think you need any of those expensive cables, cheapest ones will do the job as well.

Thanks mate.

Yeah I know any old one will work but I was under the impression TOSLink cables were pretty expensive anyway.

 

[Sir Nobax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. I bought this to get rid of the hissing/sibilance the Revo gave. The EMU reduced it a lot, but it's still there. It's still quite noticable. Is there any way I can fix this or should I just live with the fact Denon D2000's are hissy/sibilant headphones?

??????

I just plugged in my 115dB/W Aurvana IEM's and i only had a very faint hiss when i turned the headamp on max, if somehow windows would make a beep or a other kind of sound in that same time i would be totally deaf for the rest of my life. 8hr (where 0dB would be 7 o' clock) it already is loud enough.

So I can hardly believe the E-MU 0404USB hisses, are you using a external amp, if so, i guess the problem would be there.

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Nobax /img/forum/go_quote.gif ?????? I just plugged in my 115dB/W Aurvana IEM's and i only had a very faint hiss when i turned the headamp on max, if somehow windows would make a beep or a other kind of sound in that same time i would be totally deaf for the rest of my life. 8hr (where 0dB would be 7 o' clock) it already is loud enough. So I can hardly believe the E-MU 0404USB hisses, are you using a external amp, if so, i guess the problem would be there.

Nope, just the EMU and my headphones.

Oh, and by hissing I mean harsh pronunciation of the letter "s" in songs. There's no background noise at all when I turn it up with no music playing.

 

[Sir Nobax]

OH, you mean sibliance.

Yeah, that would be caused by the Headphone/DAC/Amp's signature frequency responce.

Might want to look upgrading your rig with a cheap tube amp, this probably will smoothen things out a bit.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...harsh pronunciation of the letter "s" in songs...

Sometimes that's the cost of accurate playback... You get to hear all of the mixing decisions that made the music sound great on cheap equipment. It could also be a synergy issue between your playback equipment, as Sir Nobax said. Swapping out different components (ex. different headphones) will reveal the true sound signature of each specific item in your signal path.

Something I've noticed a lot lately--mixing engineers don't seem to be using de-essers, so those sibilant sounds can really cut through. I guess it depends on the genre of music, though.

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Nobax /img/forum/go_quote.gif OH, you mean sibliance. Yeah, that would be caused by the Headphone/DAC/Amp's signature frequency responce. Might want to look upgrading your rig with a cheap tube amp, this probably will smoothen things out a bit.

Well all I have now is computer's USB > EMU 0404 > Denon D2000's. There was no sibilance with my AD700's, but I much prefer the sound of the Denon's.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend more money to fix this.If the EMU 0404 isn't helping, should I just sell that off and get a tube amp instead?

Then I'd be going M-Audio Revo 5.1 > tube amp > Denon D2000.

I don't know much about tube amps, but I've heard the Little Dot II++ is a good cheap one. Could you recommend any others?

Thanks.

 

[badmonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif Something I've noticed a lot lately--mixing engineers don't seem to be using de-essers, so those sibilant sounds can really cut through. I guess it depends on the genre of music, though.

I've noticed that. Loreena McKennit's most recent album is terrible in comparison to the one before. Damned annoying.

I suspect my Revolution 7.1 may be about to get the boot. Does the consensus agree that a switch to an EMU would help?

 

[judas391]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottyyy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well all I have now is computer's USB > EMU 0404 > Denon D2000's. There was no sibilance with my AD700's, but I much prefer the sound of the Denon's. I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend more money to fix this.If the EMU 0404 isn't helping, should I just sell that off and get a tube amp instead? Then I'd be going M-Audio Revo 5.1 > tube amp > Denon D2000. I don't know much about tube amps, but I've heard the Little Dot II++ is a good cheap one. Could you recommend any others? Thanks.

that sounds pretty reasonable, as the revo has a fair dac already. a tube amp would mellow out the sound. why did you buy the emu in the first place?

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by judas391 /img/forum/go_quote.gif that sounds pretty reasonable, as the revo has a fair dac already. a tube amp would mellow out the sound. why did you buy the emu in the first place?

Get rid of the sibilance, improve the sound, and it looked pretty awesome.

It does 2 out of those 3. It misses the most important one though. (the first)

 

[Sir Nobax]

You can always EQ the 'Ssssss' away. (says "he who dislikes DSP'ing")

 

[Scottyyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Nobax /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can always EQ the 'Ssssss' away. (says "he who dislikes DSP'ing")

How would I do that?

Never used it before.

 

[dmcs414]

Scottyyy, your setup sounds exactly like mine will be very soon... I'll explain-

I just purchased some Denon D2000s and an Emu 0404usb which are both on their eventual way to me. I currently have a Little Dot II++ which I use straight from my on-board sound card to my Sennheiser HD595s. I wanted to get phones with better bass and better SQ from my computer, hence these two recent purchases.

I certainly hope I don't experience the sibilance that you're talking about having with your D2000s, but I want to help you be rid of yours if I can. Since I already have the Little Dot II++, I'll naturally be amping my D2000s with them and the 0404usb when they come in. If I don't experience any sibilance, I'll certainly report that here so hopefully that will help you decide if a Little Dot II++ should be a good purchase for you.

Best of luck regardless!