[Duck Hat]

How much better than the AV-710 is the emu, and does it justify its price being four times as much?

I'm going to buy one of them because right now I am using the crappy soundblaster that came with my computer, and I really don't wan't to spend much money. I'm only going to play stereo speakers or headphones from them and 100 bucks is the absolute max I would pay.

Just to give you an idea of how much money I am spending on my whole sound system, for speakers I am using the sonic T-amp and wharfedale 9.1 speakers, and for headphones I'm using shure 4c's and Grado Sr80's (slightly broken) with a chu moy amp.

 

[Jigglybootch]

If $100 is the highest you're willing to go, it would be a sin not to pick up the 0404. Trust me when I say that the 0404 blows the Chaintech away.

 

[Nova]

I upgraded first from nvidia soundstorm then chaintech then emu. The soundstorm (or any onboard sound for that matter) is pretty crappy to say the least. I remember the bass being very bloated and no detail the rest of the way up to the higher frequencies.

Then I got the av 710, which cut back on the bass a bit, but the detail really picked up in the mids and highs so the sound was a lot more balanced.

I finally got the emu 0404 and it really made the highs shine and improved the detail and clarity from lows to highs.

I would say save the trouble and get the emu.

 

[ssingh0]

the major reviews when it came out, real experienced guys did reviews and said it was really incredible for the price, and at the same level of the 1212, just a bit different.

 

[gshan]

Out of curiosity, how well does the 0404 do with gaming compared to av710?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I think the 0404 is the best deal going out there for a source right now, especially if modded, and if you can do the mods yourself the value goes up even more.

 

[wnewport]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gshan Out of curiosity, how well does the 0404 do with gaming compared to av710?

Neither do that well, in games sq doesn't matter as much as the surround essence that pulls you into the game, and the AV710 seems to just as good or better job at this (This is what I have read, I do not own the Emu). They do not come close to competing with X-fi and SB unfortunatly. It also depends on whether you are using headphones or speakers.

Personally I would rather have a Sound Blaster 2 and cheap 5.1 Logitechs than an Emu amp and hd650 for gaming.

Running 2 soundcards might be a better option, switching with drivers would be a pain though.

 

[daba]

It's good but I only use it for the software and the digital output! So most of it is being wasted.

 

[that_aznpride101]

how does it compare to Revo 5.1? is it that huge of a difference?

 

[green84061]

But of course the most important thing is how much if any better to the DAC in the Aria is it.

 

[Gabe Logan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer I think the 0404 is the best deal going out there for a source right now, especially if modded, and if you can do the mods yourself the value goes up even more.

Agreed.Anyone considering keeping the 0404 for long term should really go ahead and get it modded.

I personally don't know why i waited so long.

 

[green84061]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe Logan Agreed.Anyone considering keeping the 0404 for long term should really go ahead and get it modded. I personally don't know why i waited so long.

What does the mod do?

 

[adfinni]

I was wondering about the modding of the emu 0404 too.

Slightly off topic, but will the fidaudio RCA analog adaptor + a 3m IXOS gama audtion II cable linked to my upcoming arcam alpha 7R amp sound much better than the emu with teh standard breakout cable ?

Ta

 

[Erukian]

I thought it was interesting how an E-MU developer pointed out on a different forum that modding the card does nothing for the benchmarks.

-Joe

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erukian I thought it was interesting how an E-MU developer pointed out on a different forum that modding the card does nothing for the benchmarks.

That is true. It seems that emu/creative engineers look at specs first and how they sound second. X-fi scores very well in RMAA, but does it really sound as excellent as the measures would indicate? Nope.

Some AK dac's measure worse than crystal dacs, but still they perform better. There can be all kinds of post-filters that give better thd+n measurements, but do funny things to the tone.