I've read about the stability issues with the emu 0404 and the
apparently better sound quality. does anyone have any up-to-date
thoughts on which sound card is better? emu 0404 or the supposedly
rock-stable m-audio 2496? i think i've finally decided to try one of
these and thought i'd ask here in this place of great wisdom! ;-)
(the smiley somehow signifies the sarcasm and the truth behind what is
actually fake sarcasm at the same time, i think, i hope.....) thanks!

bob

of course i'm wondering IF there's any consensus... worst header
ever... sorry...

bob

bob wrote in news:a1gvo1hsm2jr65arjvq12ve8t75cjj6hv7@
4ax.com:

For what host?
The EMU **** is over-hyped garbage with dodgy drivers.

I have been having problems with an Em-u 1820M. I do see that they
release new drivers for it about every month so they are working on the
issues. I think the sound quality is very good. I had auditioned an
M-audio card and thought the build quality was really low. It was sort
of a throw away plastic housing with no mass. Alteast put a sinker in
it to make it feel like it should cost $200. I monitor directly from
the card and the m-audio was a no go there. It sounded OK but I
didn't use it for any sessions. The E-mu seems a bit more solidly
built though still not mil spec by anymeans. Lot's of I/O and good
converters were it's main attractions for me.

Tom

wrote in news:1133553593.551813.126870
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

good converters were it's main attractions for me.

Are you high??
Spend $200 bucks for an audio card, you get a toy.

I've had an M-Audio 2496 for about 2 years. It's bedrock solid in regards to
drivers and overall stability, and it sounds pretty good. I've also got an
EMU 1212M, and it's true that the EMU drivers are a bit twitchy. The latest
release are actually a siginificant improvement (at least they solved the
bulk of my problems, and introduced no new ones), but they don't seem as
refined as the M-Audio ones. I can't comment on the sound of the Emu 0404,
since it apparently has different converters than the 1212M or the 1820M.

(FWIW it's worth, however, the EMU 1212M sounds significantly better than
the M-Audio 2496 -- at least, to my ears, anyway. So, the EMU hardware seems
to be good, despite their driver woes.)

Personally, I think the 2496 is a great starter card -- inexpensive, decent
sounding and easy to run. You could do worse. You may also want to look at
the M-Audio Audiophile 192 -- not much more expensive, balanced analog I/O,
and apparently sounds really good.

Hope that helps.

Rob


"bob" wrote in message
...
I've read about the stability issues with the emu 0404 and the
apparently better sound quality. does anyone have any up-to-date
thoughts on which sound card is better? emu 0404 or the supposedly
rock-stable m-audio 2496? i think i've finally decided to try one of
these and thought i'd ask here in this place of great wisdom! ;-)
(the smiley somehow signifies the sarcasm and the truth behind what is
actually fake sarcasm at the same time, i think, i hope.....) thanks!

bob

I've had an M-Audio 2496 for about 2 years. It's bedrock solid in regards to
drivers and overall stability, and it sounds pretty good. I've also got an
EMU 1212M, and it's true that the EMU drivers are a bit twitchy. The latest
release are actually a siginificant improvement (at least they solved the
bulk of my problems, and introduced no new ones), but they don't seem as
refined as the M-Audio ones. I can't comment on the sound of the Emu 0404,
since it apparently has different converters than the 1212M or the 1820M.

(FWIW it's worth, however, the EMU 1212M sounds significantly better than
the M-Audio 2496 -- at least, to my ears, anyway. So, the EMU hardware seems
to be good, despite their driver woes.)

Personally, I think the 2496 is a great starter card -- inexpensive, decent
sounding and easy to run. You could do worse. You may also want to look at
the M-Audio Audiophile 192 -- not much more expensive, balanced analog I/O,
and apparently sounds really good.

Hope that helps.

Rob

yeah, that great! thanks for all the replies. I think the 0404 is
supposed to sound better as well. just thinking mostly about
stability... It'll be in a brand new fast computer but the main reason
i'm upgrading is to be able to record stablely so i might just go for
the 2496 because for anything of real import or quality, i have a few
studios to choose from... thanks again!

bob

Are you high??
Spend $200 bucks for an audio card, you get a toy.

That's what the m audio stuff costs.

the audiophile2496 is a great card for stability and midi. it's not
"audiophile" but it's rock solid.

wrote in message
oups.com

the audiophile2496 is a great card for stability and
midi. it's not "audiophile" but it's rock solid.

The AP2496 is clearly not pro, not with those consumer
levels and unbalanced RCA jack I/O.

If its not audiophile, what is it? ;-)

On Sun, 4 Dec 2005 06:18:52 -0500, "Arny Krueger"
wrote:

wrote in message
roups.com

the audiophile2496 is a great card for stability and
midi. it's not "audiophile" but it's rock solid.

The AP2496 is clearly not pro, not with those consumer
levels and unbalanced RCA jack I/O.

If its not audiophile, what is it? ;-)

ok then, i want to be proud of the stuff i'm going put far too many
hours into so should I be thinking about the m-audio 192 card or does
anyone have any thoughts on the ESI Julia? There're too many choices
argh!! I can't get the new computer until late january so i've just
been reading way too much!!!

bob