[rem7]

All right, two questions.

I've herd that E-MU cards are really good. I was wondering wich would be the best for me, 0404 or 1212m, I don't think I'm going to be recording or anything like that, just listening to music, and in the future I want to buy a DAC. Why would it be better if I had the 1212m, do I really need that much? I'm open to other recommendations other than EMU.

I currently have an Audigy 2 with some Logitech 5.1 analog speakers, when I was looking at the EMU cards I realized that the output conections are very different (the EMU cards don't have those 3 colored 'center' 'rear' and 'front') will I be able to use those with the EMU cards? Or will I have to get a new set of speakers.

Thanks

EDIT PS: I found some users had both cards, Audigy2 and EMU on their system at the same time, why is that? for gaming? Does it create any problems with the os? (I use WinXP Pro)

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem7 EDIT PS: I found some users had both cards, Audigy2 and EMU on their system at the same time, why is that? for gaming? Does it create any problems with the os? (I use WinXP Pro)

Yes & No

It depends on your specs. I personally had compatibility problems when I first installed the two cards (Audigy 2 ZS & Emu 0404). I eventually ironed out most of the problems, but ultimately couldn't get the EQ on the Audigy to work. You would think that two products from the same company would have a little synergy. After some time, I just jettisoned the Audigy because the 0404 worked fine for gaming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi the main reason for choosing a 1212m over the 0404 is to have a more smooth clean and refined sound . So if you are about classical and refinement maybe it's better you stay with the 1212m which is a very good choice , this if you can afford the extra price . imo the sound difference ( for headphone listening ) is ust another " worth 100$ ?" difference , the 0404 and the 1212m sound different .. but not much in the way that one's better and the other is worse .. more in the way that one is more fun while the other is more refined . You have this option , get a 0404 and have it modified later for a more precise and clean sound . btw the 0404 doesn't sound dirt -at all . Some say the 1212m is in a class of some nice class cd player ( Meridians for ex. ) ; I haven't listened to a Meridian still .

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ght=0404+1212m

 

[rem7]

nice, thanks

was the link supposed to be pointing to the quoted thread? I got the reply box....

 

[Usagi]

Yes, I've changed the link.

 

[glac1er]

Sorry, double posts...

 

[glac1er]

I have the EMU0404 and had trouble connecting them to my Altec Lansing 641 at first. In the end, I figured it out, but I needed to purchase some cables online.

I don't think you will make the improvement that will justify the price tag for multimedia speakers like Logitech or Altec Lansing considering you already have the Audigy 2. They give more benefit to headphones or probably more advanced speakers. I will have sold my EMU0404 if I don't have any headphones. Audigy2 is already pretty good for Logitechs IMO.
I think it's better to save the money for headphones or probably upgrade your speakers.

Also, I heard the EMU are not good for gaming, so please take that into account.

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glac1er Also, I heard the EMU are not good for gaming, so please take that into account.

It works fine for me. When I first started using the 0404 for gaming there was a cracking sound like there were gaps in the audio, but it was due to an outdated driver I failed to update. Once this was taken care of, there was no problem. The sound quality was fine after that.

When you get an Emu, test it out for yourself. You'll be able to switch back and forth by changing the hardware setting within Windows. You’ll be able to compare head to head.

 

[Chri5peed]

Take into account you'd have to get some better breakout cable/s for the 0404(the one it comes with are poor) and 1212 is 2 cards.

I sound like an ESI salesman, but I have an ESI Juli@ card, it has all its connections on the card, and the RCAs/TRSs are reversible.

Professional 1/4" balanced TRS jacks are active

Consumer RCA jacks are active

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...lia/index.html

Price-wise its in-between, but closer to the 1212. A few reviews I've seen say its equal to the 1212 in SQ.
ESI are a German company, like AT are Japanese, harder to get hold of, I got mine on eBay.

All these cards are unamped if that matters?

 

[mikechai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed ESI are a German company, like AT are Japanese, harder to get hold of, I got mine on eBay.

ESI is a Korean company.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikechai ESI is a Korean company.

You learn something new every day.

The rest is true though, quite tricky to get hold of.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glac1er I don't think you will make the improvement that will justify the price tag for multimedia speakers like Logitech or Altec Lansing considering you already have the Audigy 2. They give more benefit to headphones or probably more advanced speakers. I will have sold my EMU0404 if I don't have any headphones. Audigy2 is already pretty good for Logitechs IMO. I think it's better to save the money for headphones or probably upgrade your speakers. Also, I heard the EMU are not good for gaming, so please take that into account.

I agree, it would be a waste to upgrade your soundcard when you do not have good speakers or headphones. You need to upgrade your entire setup before stepping up. Amp, headphones, speakers, source, the works.

Gaming is ok on the E-MUs, I have come accross some odd issuse with some slow downs, sometimes have to disable directX directsound to get it to run ok, but no game has ever not worked.

 

[rem7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glac1er Audigy2 is already pretty good for Logitechs IMO. I think it's better to save the money for headphones or probably upgrade your speakers.

I don't really use my speakers that much, mainly when I want to listen to music I just put on my headphones.

Quote:

You need to upgrade your entire setup before stepping up. Amp, headphones, speakers, source, the works.

Well, I'm buying things little by little and I just got my headphones and amp, so I doubt I'll be replacing those soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo ...it would be a waste to upgrade your soundcard when you do not have good speakers or headphones.

I do plan on upgrading my headphones at some point, maybe some cans, or some custom IEMs. But I find the UE sp5pro to be pretty nice. (ignorance[?] is bliss, I guess)

 

[MikoLayer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikechai ESI is a Korean company.

I thought ESI is german, and Audiotrak/Egosys is Korean. Not exactly sure about their business ties or relationship, but it is pretty safe to assume Juli@ was desinged by Audiotrak, seeing how it first appeared on audiotrak's website before anywhere else. My guess is ESI is a local distributer in europe and they write drivers for some of audiotrak's cards. I had this envy24 based card built by hoontech, which was supported by audiotrak after they took over hoontech. Once they dropped the support, they referred me to the ESI site for continued driver support. A pretty decent card in fact - better than AV710 or DMX 6fire, subjectively speaking.

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem7 I don't really use my speakers that much, mainly when I want to listen to music I just put on my headphones. Well, I'm buying things little by little and I just got my headphones and amp, so I doubt I'll be replacing those soon. I do plan on upgrading my headphones at some point, maybe some cans, or some custom IEMs. But I find the UE sp5pro to be pretty nice. (ignorance[?] is bliss, I guess)

Well, building system peice by peice is ok, but it is a good idea to plan out what those peices are going to be before hand, also, say you buy the 0404, and you don't do your next upgrade for 6 months, and say a new soundcard comes out that is better, you will feel cheated. I'd wait until you are closer to maybe more upgrades, so you can appreciate them instead of having a small upgrade now, that goes mostly unappreciated, and then risk having that component become outdated.

That's just my 2 cents! The ESI soundcard is pretty good too, if you do plan for a external DAC, you will be safe for upgrade using one of these nice soundcards, because they have great digital output sections. If you like portability, maybe even look at the microamp/dac combo.

 

[rem7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo ...it is a good idea to plan out what those peices are going to be before hand, also, say you buy the 0404, and you don't do your next upgrade for 6 months, and say a new soundcard comes out that is better, you will feel cheated. I'd wait until you are closer to maybe more upgrades, so you can appreciate them instead of having a small upgrade now, that goes mostly unappreciated, and then risk having that component become outdated.

true... and that'll lead to spending more money tryin to catch up.
I guess I'll wait and save up some more money for other upgrades,

I do plan on buying an external DAC, don't know which one yet, I'd better start researching.

I've had in mind gettin some cans to use when I'm at home, so you suggest that I should first save up to buy the cans, dac, and soundcard and get it all together at once rather than buying something every six months (or so)...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo If you like portability, maybe even look at the microamp/dac combo.

I don't think I'm gonna get a portable DAC, I enjoy listening music on my computer more than on the ipod.