[wavid]

i picked up a really cheap internal E-mu 0404 soundcard a few days ago...30 pounds with shipping
(but atm cant really use it so its disabled)...
i have some 5.1 DELL MMS 5650 speakers that i cant plug into the soundcard..
and ther are no headphone ports so i dont know how to plug my HD280s in...
im a newbie so i dont really know what im supposed to do or buy so that i can use my new soundcard...so im asking for help/advice on what to do...
in a few months time i want to sell those dell speakers and get some good stero speakers instead (i dont really need 5.1 because i mostly only listen to music)

 

[Rhinosaur]

Hi wavid,

You need a headphone amp to be able to use this card with your headphones as you can't plug them in directly (it says this somewhere in the manual too). You'll need to use the analogue outs (the big red and white connectors as in the pic) for this.

At the moment I use the spdif out (digital) with my dedicated DAC and the analogue outs for my cheap computer speakers and find it works great.

 

[wavid]

well im building a cmoy ...would i be able to use that? (that might take a while tho because im having problems with the cmoy layout)
what what could i buy in the price range of 50 pounds that could make my headphones and 5.1 speakers work(if the 5.1 speakers are not posbile then il need to get some new speakers)
i have a old HiFi system in the attic..could this be used for anything?

 

[FallenAngel]

EMU0404 is a stereo card, and a very good one at that.
There is no built-in headphone amp.
CMOY can work, I suggest Mini^3 instead though, or at least run the CMOY from a simple LM317-based PSU and without input caps.

 

[wavid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif or at least run the CMOY from a simple LM317-based PSU and without input caps.

idont understand this...im making a standard cmoy
will it not be ok?
even with my cmoy tho..how will i plug the headphones in?

what speakers do you recomend for this cmoy..and will i have to buy something else to plug the speakers into the soundcard?
i have about 100£ to spend

 

[FallenAngel]

CMOY Tutorial : How to Build the CMoy Pocket Amplifier

Simply leave out the film capacitors on the input, you do not need them, or replace with 1K resistor. As for whether the "standard cmoy will be ok?" of course it will be OK, this is simply a recommendation to make it better.

Simple LM317-based power supply, use something like this (of course you can build your own on perf-board) : Tangent Regulator, Adjustable, plus Diode bridge

You cannot connect speakers to a CMOY, it is a headphone amplifier, not a speaker amplifier. If you use powered speakers, you do not want to run them from the CMOY either, run them straight from the card.

Perhaps you want to build a couple of adapter cables for your EMU card? 1/4" TRS to female 3.5mm and male 3.5mm. This sounds like a little bit of a complicated cable, but should work. Just draw out on paper what connections need to be made and what cables you already have to do it with, then build the big "linking cable" that can connect everything.

 

[wavid]

ok so i can not make my cmoy for anouther week or 2...
but im thinking maybe il get a amplifier for my soundcard...
i got to carboot sales alot (like yard sale) and they have alot of amps
and i go on ebay alot too....
so maybe i could buy a amplifier for a cheap price...(10-30 pounds)
i jsut dont know anything about amps to know what to look out for ...or buy
i nearly impulse bought a NAD 902 amp...dont even know if its good or if its used for...
i really dont mind second hand stuff...so thats why my price is 10-30 pounds...
can some1 help me buy a amplifier that i can plug into my 0404 and then plug my headphones and 2 speakers to it..
if a 10-30 pound amp is gonna increase the SQ of my 0404 and my headphones and future speakers even more then i dont mind spending it

 

[Rhinosaur]

I think the easiest solution at the moment would be to use your motherboard's sound until you've got your CMOY built (this won't cost you anything too!). You can have both the EMU's drivers and your motherboard's drivers installed at the same time, although you'll have to select the mobo's sound as the default device.

As for getting your headphones and speakers working together this might be a bit complicated, as you'd be using the same analogue outputs for both. As mentioned before, I use those analogue outs for my speakers and the digital spdif out for the DAC on my desk (and to the rest of my headphone system). The speakers use the EMU's DAC and my headphones use the one on my desk. As such, it's very easy for me to switch between my headphone system and my speakers.

That said, you probably don't want to buy a DAC (or perhaps a DAC/amp combo) after just buying a new soundcard (although the curse of upgraditis will probably force you

).

I'm sure someone has a good solution to get your speakers and headphones working together, but I'm not too sure myself.

 

[wavid]

do u have a picture of ur setup i could see?

would ther be any point of getting a DAC if im gonna have a cmoy soon?
will a DAC...or Reciever/amp drive my headphones better than my cmoy?

im having abit of trouble figuring out what a DAC is tbh...and why some of them cost so much?...what do they do vs what a amplifier vs reciever does?


EDIT: i also read in anouther post about a reciever / bookshelf speakers route

maybe this may be better for me...actualy this sounds like a very good idea for my girlfriend...she has a ok pioneer reciever...(paid like 400 pounds for it 4 years ago)....and some ****ty 5.1 sony speakers....
and the sound from her macbook speakers is horrible...
what is the best way to plug in the macbook to the pioneer?
i have a monster minitoslink to toslink cable at home...could i connect it with that?
...maybe i should get a decent pair of stereo speakers for her mac...connected thru the reciever.....dono if i can get a decent pair for 50 pounds tho....
oh and would my headphones sound better out of her pioneer reciever than from my cmoy?

 

[Rhinosaur]

Hi wavid, no prob. Happy to help.

A DAC is a Digital to Analogue Converter. The files on your computer (mp3s, flac files, the data on CDs) are all digital files. Your headphones/speakers need an analogue signal however, so you need a converter to get them to work. The DAC converts the digital files to an analogue signal. This analogue signal is relatively weak however, and isn't powerful enough to drive your headphones. Hence the need for an amplifier (such as the CMOY).

Your motherboard's soundcard has both a DAC and an amp built-in, as do many other cards (Creative's cards for example). The EMU 0404 has a DAC but it doesn't have an amplifier, which is why you can't plug your headphones in directly.

My headphones don't use the EMU's DAC. Instead, the EMU passes that digital signal to the DAC on my desk (via the digital outputs) to do the work instead. This goes to my amplifier, and finally to my headphones. My speakers however do use the EMU's DAC, which then sends the signal to my speaker amplifier.

You don't necessarily need to buy a DAC/amp combo as you already have a DAC in the EMU 0404, and your CMOY will be the amplifier you need to complete the chain.

One alternative you have is connecting your speakers to your motherboard's sound card, and using the EMU for your headphone system. It will be a bit inconvenient switching between them (you'd have to go into Control Panel every time) and your speakers won't benefit from the EMU's better DAC, but it's definitely a cheaper solution. The way I have my equipment set up, all I need to do is check/uncheck whether I want to listen to my headphones or my speakers (or both if I really want to...).

DACs and amps can get very expensive and will both improve the sound of your system (depending how good your headphones are of course

).

I'll get some pics if you want when I can find the camera. Any more questions feel free to ask and I'll attempt to answer them.

EDIT: I was typing my reply before you edited your post, sorry about that. With respect to receivers etc., I have no idea. My knowledge with speaker setups is very limited. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will help you out on that front.

 

[wavid]

thx so much for the response...yea i edited my post because it was too messy and sometimes if i ask too much then people dont bother reading it....but thank you very much for explaining to me...now i understand completly...
i think u have a point with the cheaper solution...i dont use my speakers that much anyway...i think i will just keep them plugged into my mobo...i really dont have any problems with going to control panel and switching...actualy it will be much easier for me...

atm i have to go under my desk to take out the speaker cables to put my headphones in...then go under and do the reverse if i want my speakers in.....
now i can just leave my speaker cables in the mobo at all times and just switch in control panel to use....and just have my cmoy on my desk....

when i think about it...my headphones(sennheiser 280s) are not good enough to be spending lots much money on them to notice a big difference....maybe in the future when i get new ones...

again thx for the replys and help

btw when i go to carboot sales (big yard sales) what should i look out for that i could benefit from?