[elliot]

Which of these cards do you guys think would be a better low-end sound card for the money?

 

[amol]

EMU 0404 is not a lower end card exactly, but should be way better than the chaintech counterpart, seeing the RMAA benchies.

 

[breez]

Yep and with EMU you probably get more stable drivers

But then again, for the price the Chaintech does remarkably well.

 

[lan]

I think the emu 0404 is 2 performance classes ahead of the chaintech and it's also about 2 price ranges higher so it's about where it should be. I'd go for the 0404 since the price isn't outrageous.

 

[Mr.Radar]

The EMU 0404 is a step above the Chaintech in quality, however it still isn't close to the Chaintech's "bang/buck".