[ade1982]

As I strive to actually read reviews and listen to what other people are saying (these days), impulse got the better of me, and I bought the E-MU 0404 USB in a rush before I go to bed. I currently have an X-Fi Fatality, and Senn 595s (the reason why I value the opinions of you lovely people!) ...

so my question is, am I gonna hear a massive difference in the quality of the sound through my headphones, and what is the best way to connect them - through the Tos-link, or through the USB? If I connect it via the toslink ports, which DAC will I be using, the EMU or the X-Fi

Thanks for any help

Regards
Ade (A very silly boy!)

 

[Assorted]

Tos-link and the USB are both digital outputs. I'm not sure if it's bit-perfect, but it wouldn't make a huge difference anyway. The DAC you will be using is always the EMU.

 

[EnOYiN]

USB is supposed to have more jitter issues. I have no problem with my Porta Corda however. (which is connected with a USB cable) I would say that it doesn't really matter for you. Just figure out which one is more convenient for you.

 

[ade1982]

Thanks for the replies.

I think I would use Toslink, mainly for the ease of use, as they are on the front of my tower, and the USB ports are on the back. I am slightly confused about this:

Will I actually be using any aspect of the X-Fi, as otherwise I would swap it with a cheaper card, and put it in another computer. If I plug it in the toslink connectors, it will be used as a headphone amp, and DAC, and if I plug it in the USB, it would be a second soundcard?

Very confused!

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Toslink has more cable issues. USB cables are all the same and are cheap. They are also buffered on both sides rather than real-time like toslink so drop-outs are less. Anyway I think the argument can go both ways and is not conclusive as far as I know. Best way to go about it is to try both and see if you hear a difference (if you don't, then save on the toslink cable).

 

[ade1982]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ade1982 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Will I actually be using any aspect of the X-Fi, as otherwise I would swap it with a cheaper card, and put it in another computer. If I plug it in the toslink connectors, it will be used as a headphone amp, and DAC, and if I plug it in the USB, it would be a second soundcard? Very confused!

If anyone can help, could I bump this part of the thread, please?]

Cheers

 

[supermoo]

Depends if you wanna game with that computer. If you don't swap out the X-Fi.

 

[Ahriman4891]

If you are gaming you can output the EAX-ed signal through optical/coaxial (stereo only, so set X-fi to 2 speakers) and have 0404usb process it with its superior DAC. Gaming with 0404usb is a bad idea, since usb transfer eats a lot of cpu time (in my case, 8-15% on a Core 2 Duo 6300).

 

[user5412]

If you plug in the 0404 vis USB you will have a second sound card.

What the other members are suggesting is to use the optical or digital coax connections FROM the X-Fi into the 0404's ports. This will have the 0404 as standalone, and it will process the sound signals from the X-Fi. However, if you do this, it's probably better to buy a cheap Chaintech AV-710 to send the digital signals and use the X-Fi in another computer for gaming.