[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan Shouldn't you change your sig now?

I will as soon as I get my amp back and can enjoy my new phones...hp3000s!

 

[swiego]

I don't find it boring. Just getting it working took days of work....

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Someone please tell me what the most 'boring' soundcard (headphone, amp, etc) is, as it's probably offering the truest presentation of the music.

Shouldn't you have a DT880?

 

[zhoufang]

The first time I heard my 1212M I was extremely disappointed, for the exact reason that is sound boring.

As time goes by I seems to like it more. On the 2nd day it sounded noticably better, and by now a week later I like it quite a lot. I will not say that I'm surprised though, that's because I have too high a expectation of it from I read here.

The reason for the it should be largely due to my hear/brain getting adjusted to the sound. The burn-in part could be there as well. I have no way to test it since I don't have another new 1212M to compare.

For for people that's going to buy the 1212M anyway, my advise are:
1. don't lift the expectation too high, especially if you like your previous source.
2. expect it to be boring. The power of speculation is great.
3. give it and give yourself sometime to adjust.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReDVsion Shouldn't you have a DT880?

Actually yes, I'd like a pair. From what I've read though, they seem a bit too close to the Senn HD580/600 sound to really be worth spending the money (I already have a pair of 580s). Hopefully I'll end up at a meet sometime this year, & somebody'll bring some.

 

[pbirkett]

I get puzzled when people say the DT880 sounds just like the HD580/600, it doesnt IMO. The DT880 clearly has less bass, and more treble, and doesnt sound much alike at all. They are both 'laid back' though, I guess.

Anyway, I havent heard the 1212, but I'm guessing I'd prefer the 0404, since I very much like a forward, aggressive sound

 

[mysticaldodo]

I wish I had the EMU 0404 sigh........

 

[Glassman]

well my experience is quite different, I find 0404 more boring and 1212m more lively sounding, although it's after mods.. maybe I'm just too used to my card.. the fact is the card failed to impress me first time I heard it, probably higher expectations due to hypes found all over here.. nice piece of hardware, drivers could have been better, that's a different topic though..

 

[comabereni]

My 1212m arrives soon, maybe today. I am not expecting it outperform the AV710, which sounds neutral/"boring" to me. I like it.

-coma

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by comabereni My 1212m arrives soon, maybe today. I am not expecting it outperform the AV710, which sounds neutral/"boring" to me. I like it. -coma

You DON'T expect it to outperform the AV710?

You are in for a surprise.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo You DON'T expect it to outperform the AV710? You are in for a surprise.

Tell me about it. I didn't expect the emu 1212m to be better than my terratec and indeed it was a lot better. A lot more air, detail, and clarity.

 

[comabereni]

Okay, spent a day with my new 1212m. Compared with the AV710 that I've used for half a year now and am very familiar with its sound, I have to say these two cards sound very similar to my ears. It wasn't a "plug-it-in-and...WOW" experience. The 1212m seems somewhat more refined sounding. Maybe bass attack/punch is smoother and more natural. Maybe the bass reach is lower, or maybe it isn't muddy. Mid-bass and low-midrange smoothness, if anything, would be what I would say sets these cards apart. Midrange and treble sound similar. I'm not planning to get rid of my 1212m, but the AV710 doesn't sound leagues apart and confirms all that old thinking (before the AV710 trashing started

) that the AV710 is a great value. IMO, this 1212m that costs 8x the AV710 doesn't sound 8x better, but that's a matter of opinion and personal finance. In other words, I'd look at a *different* card if the AV710 doesn't make you happy, not a 1212m as they sound very close, only one is 8x more expensive. This is definitely a much smaller step up than, say, getting quality headphones or speakers compared with your cheap headphones or earbuds, or a nice amp where you previously didn't have one.

With this in my office speaker rig, I tried pulling my Millett hybrid tube preamp out of the mix and running signal directly from the 1212m to my T-amp, just to see if I could get away with it. Within an hour I had put the preamp back in place. The difference there was significant, much more than the difference between the AV710 and 1212m.

That's my opinion (and I'm sticking to it

).

-coma

 

[lan]

Let it burn in some more. Like 2-3 weeks non stop then try going back to the chaintech.

 

[comabereni]

Okay. Will let it burn in some. It is only new to me--I bought it from ph34rful and have no idea how much time it has on it.

I found it necessary to leave the AV710 in my PC so I could direct all non-foobar sound through it. I used the Foobar and system volume settings you and others recommended a few months ago, i.e. turning Foobar volume down to -50dB to prevent clipping at the source and maxing it out everywhere else (using my external preamp as primary volume control). I forgot I had PatchMix maxed out and accidentally clicked on some video footage and nearly blew my speakers as the worst clipping distortion I've ever heard screamed out of them for several seconds, as I tried frantically to locate the volume knob on my preamp.

Just a word or warning for those who optimize settings for Foobar but also use other applications with accompanying sound.

-coma

 

[lan]

What that's crazy and unfortunate stuff. Why did you have foobar at -50db? You lose some of the dynamic range and it'll sound flat... like the AV710