emu0404 ?'s

[badbadtz560]

1) I noticed that the emu 0404 has no rca outputs. I need rca for my nad 325bee amp... does anyone know if the spdif will somehow do this? or do I need some form of adapter/cable?

2) the auzentech prelude is comin out as everyone knows.. if I get that, should I still buy the emu 0404

3) pci or usb? any advantages or disadvantages to either one? I've heard of people having choppy usb quality.. but i dont' recall if it was from the emu. mainly asking if there's a quality difference .. but who knows what other differences there might be...

4) will it work in conjunction w/ another sound card? If so, will they both be outputting sound w/o one lagging behind the other?

ie: if i hook up an amp+speakers to the emu and promedia4.1s to the sound card... will i get synchronized music comin out of both sets of speakers?

 

[Drewpy]

1. You will need to use adapter cables to go from the 1/4" to RCA. Cheap ones can be found at Radio Shack, or you can freely spend hundreds of dollars on more esoteric stuff. The coax digital S/PDIF will not work for your needs, it is not a line level analog output.

2. If the Auzentech X-Fi covers all your needs why bother? If not, then go for it.

3. The USB model has a built in heaphone amp (among other differences which I can't remember off the top of my head).

4. Most applications are only capable of using a single sound card at a time. Outputs from one sound card may however be passed through another soundcard. For example I use an 0404 along side the onboard sound of my motherboard. Most Windows applications and games use the onboard audio which outputs through optical digital (stereo PCM, not AC3) into the input of my 0404. The 0404 connects to my receiver and speakers. The 0404 is used for audio playback through Foobar2000 and some light recording duties as well.