Dylan_Fan
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2005
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Please help me choose between the ESI Juli@ and EMU 1212M. I have grown
so weary of researching soundcards, but I have at least narrowed the field
to these two cards. I am upgrading from a Turtle Beach Santa
Cruz, which has been fine, but it is time for something better.
From what I have learned, I can’t go wrong with either card. The Juli@ sure looks cool, and I have never seen anything negative written about it. However, the 1212M seems to get the nod as the better of the two. It certainly has a lot more electronics hanging off it, but it may be overkill. It is packed with features that I will never use. This is only going to be for listening to music after all.
My plan is to initially use my headphones (A900s, ER4Ps, and soon - HD650s) directly from the analog out. (I believe that is possible with adaptors?) If that is bad, I can always use the SM3, that I ordered for portable use, which should be arriving soon. Longer term, I want to get a decent DAC, probably a DAC-1, and then a good home amp. (I’m fascinated by the Singlepowers by the way.)
I also have reservations about the EMU needing 2 PCI slots, or is that 1 PCI slot and an adjacent expansion space? I am unclear on this. I will be building a new PC soon, and most new motherboards are sorely lacking in PCI slots. I think the ESI can alternatively be used in a PCI-X slot. Does anyone know if this is true?
I am hoping to get your opinions, and some compelling reasons to get one over the other. Based on the best prices I could find for each, the 1212M costs $40 more, but that is not really an issue. I just want to get the card that will be the best starting point for my proposed sytem. Thank you for your feedback.
so weary of researching soundcards, but I have at least narrowed the field
to these two cards. I am upgrading from a Turtle Beach Santa
Cruz, which has been fine, but it is time for something better.
From what I have learned, I can’t go wrong with either card. The Juli@ sure looks cool, and I have never seen anything negative written about it. However, the 1212M seems to get the nod as the better of the two. It certainly has a lot more electronics hanging off it, but it may be overkill. It is packed with features that I will never use. This is only going to be for listening to music after all.
My plan is to initially use my headphones (A900s, ER4Ps, and soon - HD650s) directly from the analog out. (I believe that is possible with adaptors?) If that is bad, I can always use the SM3, that I ordered for portable use, which should be arriving soon. Longer term, I want to get a decent DAC, probably a DAC-1, and then a good home amp. (I’m fascinated by the Singlepowers by the way.)
I also have reservations about the EMU needing 2 PCI slots, or is that 1 PCI slot and an adjacent expansion space? I am unclear on this. I will be building a new PC soon, and most new motherboards are sorely lacking in PCI slots. I think the ESI can alternatively be used in a PCI-X slot. Does anyone know if this is true?
I am hoping to get your opinions, and some compelling reasons to get one over the other. Based on the best prices I could find for each, the 1212M costs $40 more, but that is not really an issue. I just want to get the card that will be the best starting point for my proposed sytem. Thank you for your feedback.
