EM-U 1212M or ESI 192X or Echo MiaMidi
Aug 28, 2004 at 5:22 PM Post #17 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by richx
But the 192X does 6 channels while the 1212m does only 2, am I right?


6 channel is BS, your headphone can only output stereo anyway -- not to mention normal CD music only comes in stereo.. does it matter? emu 1212m gets my vote..definately a no brainer
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Aug 28, 2004 at 6:12 PM Post #18 of 42
I agree. The only compelling reason to have surround sound right now is for games and movies. There are outstanding surround musical titles but not nearly enough to justify passing up the 1212M.
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 9:38 PM Post #19 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by roadtonowhere08
I agree. The only compelling reason to have surround sound right now is for games and movies. There are outstanding surround musical titles but not nearly enough to justify passing up the 1212M.


it would be wrong not to go for an audigy for gaming, thus even more reason why i don't see ESI as a valid choice.

the ultimate setup here seems to be audigy + emu card.. get the best of both worlds. (ironically both cards come from the same company rofl)
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 2:49 AM Post #20 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by ixeo
it would be wrong not to go for an audigy for gaming, thus even more reason why i don't see ESI as a valid choice.

the ultimate setup here seems to be audigy + emu card.. get the best of both worlds. (ironically both cards come from the same company rofl)


in my opinion, 1212M is certainly not the BEST in the music playback world, don't forget the RME and Lynx
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but from comments here, 1212M is among the top cards
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 4:36 AM Post #21 of 42
The problem with Lynx and the higher end RME is they cost a lot and after a certain price point, you might as well get an external DAC.
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 6:28 AM Post #22 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_eak
in my opinion, 1212M is certainly not the BEST in the music playback world, don't forget the RME and Lynx
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but from comments here, 1212M is among the top cards


nods, i see more people run audigy + emu setups wayyy more often than audigy + RME or Lynx..and with Ian's clarification i think we know why
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Aug 29, 2004 at 6:40 AM Post #23 of 42
Thats also because RME and Lynx are not far ahead in sound quality,while very far ahead in price.EMU is a bargain while they are not.
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 7:15 AM Post #24 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by cadobhuk
Thats also because RME and Lynx are not far ahead in sound quality,while very far ahead in price.EMU is a bargain while they are not.



Indeed, the HDSP9632 (with 176.4 upsampling on) is maybe 20% better than the 1212M, but costs 200% more. That's no picnic, in fact that grim compromise is part of what drove me to give up on soundcard-only rigs and go for an external DAC.
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 7:35 AM Post #25 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer
Indeed, the HDSP9632 (with 176.4 upsampling on) is maybe 20% better than the 1212M, but costs 200% more. That's no picnic, in fact that grim compromise is part of what drove me to give up on soundcard-only rigs and go for an external DAC.


audio stuffs' performance is never directly proportional to its price, somewhat exponential
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Aug 29, 2004 at 7:50 AM Post #26 of 42
A 20% increase in performance for 200% the cost. That's a big performance increase if you ask me. Especially when comparing sources. I do, however, believe that the E-MU is pretty much the best value considering price/performance for IN computer sources though. I love mine, that's for sure
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Aug 29, 2004 at 9:20 AM Post #27 of 42
you'll optain much more quality improvements by modding the card then spending lots more on another, more pricey card.. the essential mods are removing caps from signal path and replacing opamps for better..
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 9:51 AM Post #28 of 42
Lynx? RME? Buy the Benchmark DAC1 and never look for any soundcard anymore. (Given they're more or less the price range ahem Lynx One) Besides, its much much less bulk than a full cased computer (don't you have to bring a computer with you overseas?). Smaller than a CD ROM drive.
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 9:58 AM Post #29 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by lojay
Lynx? RME? Buy the Benchmark DAC1 and never look for any soundcard anymore. (Given they're more or less the price range ahem Lynx One) Besides, its much much less bulk than a full cased computer (don't you have to bring a computer with you overseas?). Smaller than a CD ROM drive.


LOL@lojay, that was blunt. but yea getting a dac may be a more cost effective way to build a good computer-as-source setup, after all you pay for what you get...
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 1:59 PM Post #30 of 42
Quote:

Originally Posted by lojay
Lynx? RME? Buy the Benchmark DAC1 and never look for any soundcard anymore. (Given they're more or less the price range ahem Lynx One)


Benchmark DAC1 is like twice the price of Lynx One and about the same as Lynx Two. Before you spring for such DAC, it would be wise to try and audition it. There are some of us here who don't like the sound of Benchmark DAC1.

Back on topic I think the 1212m is the best one should get before moving onto an external DAC.
 
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