[genefid]

I've been listening to the emu 1212m via analogue out for the past day - initial impression is very positive. I don't consider myself an audiophile, so I'm not sure how to describe what I'm hearing. Airy yet detailed? Smooth without being muffled?

Suffice to say, the diffence between the 1212m and the audigy2 zs was immediately noticable. The harsh treble from the audigy2 zs that made my flac collection almost unlistenable was gone. Instead, I was presented with..... music! The output from this card compares favorably to that of my denon cdp.

My current setup is:
flac --> emu1212m --> denon stero receiver --> hd600

While everything stated herein is entirely subjective, I can offer one somewhat objective finding. With the amp volume on max
(and nothing playing), emu1212m is silent. The audigy2zs on the other had, presents all sorts of crackles and hisses.

My only complaint with the 1212m is that it is perhaps too revealing. I'm noticing imperfections in recordings that I've never noticed before.

I'm interested in finding out how this card compares to the RME pad. Anyone have one in the chicagoland area for a comparison?

 

[lan]

how's the drivers? control panel? does it get along with with the Audigy 2 in same computer?

 

[genefid]

Quote:

Originally posted by lan how's the drivers? control panel? does it get along with with the Audigy 2 in same computer?

The installation was very straight forward. No problems or conflicts with my XP setup.

The control panel is very complicated - it's suppose to mimic a studio mixer panel, and I, having no studio experience, have no idea what all the little buttons and knobs do. It was, however, relatively easy to setup and use with foobar: no resampling or kernel streaming required since there is no upsampling and the drivers bypass the kmixer.

Audigy2 zs and EMU 1212m are coexisting in my system without any problems. Since EMU offers directsound support, you don't really need the audigy unless you're into EAX.

 

[Jorg]

Hey, don't let this thread die

I'm very interested in you further opinions.

 

[ReDVsion]

Someone with an RME PAD needs to try out one of these things...

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally posted by ReDVsion Someone with an RME PAD needs to try out one of these things...

I should have on on hand for comparison soon, and for modding as well

And if I like it more than the RME, I WILL buy one and send the RME packing.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by Iron_Dreamer I should have on on hand for comparison soon, and for modding as well And if I like it more than the RME, I WILL buy one and send the RME packing.

Eh? did you buy one?

-Ed

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

No, but Sduibek is buying one and sending it to me to mod.

 

[ReDVsion]

Great! I have yet another excuse to spend more money!

 

[genefid]

Iron_dreamer -

What's the benefit of bypassing the analogue output stage?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally posted by genefid Iron_dreamer - What's the benefit of bypassing the analogue output stage?

On the RME, it is like peeling back a layer of noise and garbage from the sound, making it sound much clearer, with a blacker background, and much faster dynamics (i.e. drums pound more like real drums, the attack part of the sound is much better represented), and a complete loss (IMO) of the treble harshness that plagues the card in stock form.

My modding mileage may vary with the EMU, but I will find out soon

 

[ReDVsion]

Iron_dreamer, do you intend to test the card without the mod as well?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Yes, I will see how good it is first without the mod, then with it.

 

[ITZBITZ]

Is the balanced output a TRS 1/4" jack? If so, how are you converting this to unbalanced RCA?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I'm not. What I will do is make one of the TRS jacks carry the unbalanced stereo signal, the same way the RME does.