Some techtalk about differences 0404 and 1212m in which you can conclude which card would serve which purpose...production and recording.
[ S/PDIF out E-MU ]
"The guys at Empirical Audio examined the digital out of the E-MU 1212M and said that it was the best they'd seen, rivalling those found in multi thousand dollar equipment."
"I was very seriously considering buying a 1212M before I read this thread...it sounds like this is a classic case of a product being only slightly inferior to its bigger brother, while costing only 1/2 as much. And since the 0404 and 1212M have different qualities (0404 = aggressive, dynamic -- 1212M = smoother, more detailed & refined), one really can't say that the 0404 is inferior. Going strictly by specs, yes...but in a real-world listening session, maybe not."
"0404 is a more agressive sounding card compared to 1212m. It has more powerful attack and dynamics. This is most evident in the bass. I think this agressiveness makes the sound more sharp and thus instrument separation seems to be greater."
"The modded 0404's digital out is better than stock 1212m. This would be my recommendation for good digital out card modded or not."
"I would say in order of magnitude, the mods make the most difference: changing opamps (and adding decoupling caps) > analog card blackgates > digital card blackgates. However, they all make nice, noticeable differences, and are all very worthwhile IMO. The opamps have the greatest difference because they are much faster than the stock ones, and so respond quicker to dynamics, and produce better detail."
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The difference between 0404 and audiophile 24/96 is that 0404 is 24/192, about 12dB's (11dB's more on input/ADC)more in snr (both A-weighted) meaning more headroom. THD+N is 0.001% vs 0.002% on the audiophile. They both target a different field of interest, where the 0404 is production pur sang whilst the audiophile is biased at interfacing digital home theater setup on which they seem to specialize their software support ( Dolby Digital and DTS DVD, DTS Music CDs, and DAD 24/96 audio CDs). Emu specialty doesnt even come close to these features, it's a plain forward studio utility, the reason why most noobs back out on these cards, you need to know your share on studio/mixing basics and signal routing. But it's the ideal noob step up into the producing game as it contains all you need on studio basics to advanced studio options. You dont wanna learn then you really dont want to know about producing in general.
On the other hand, if you do nothing but produce with a pc, you simply use the sp/dif for interfacing to your monitors (analogue if using external audio burner), but then you'd still better of due to the 24/192 resolution of the cards and the sound...
Audiophile 24/96 specs (not much though)
frequency response: 22Hz-22kHz, -0.4, -0.4dB
dynamic range: 104dB (A-weighted) (D/A)
100.4dB (A-weighted) (A/D)
THD: < 0.002%
0404 specs
General Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz from internal crystal or externally supplied clock
Bit Depth: 24 or 16 bits
32-bit DSP with 67-bit accumulator
Hardware-accelerated mixing and effects processing
PCI Bus-Mastering DMA subsystem reduces CPU usage
Zero-latency direct hardware monitoring w/effects
Compatible with ASIO 2.0, WDM, MME, DirectSound®
Size: 156mm L x 107mm H
Weight: .25lb/.10kg (card), .85lb/.40kg (with cables)
Analog Line Inputs Two 1/4" inputs (unbalanced)
Type: DC-coupled, low-noise input stage
Level: -10dBV nominal, 6.4dBV maximum
Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): +0.20/-0.10dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -100dB (.001%)
SNR (A-weighted, 22kHz BW): 111dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-wt, 22kHz BW): 111dB
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -120dB
Analog Line Outputs Two 1/4" outputs (unbalanced)
Type: differential low-pass filter (3-pole)
Level: -10dBV nominal, 6.4dBV maximum
Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): +0.05/-0.10dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -100dB (.001%)
SNR (A-weighted, 22kHz BW): 116dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-wt, 22kHz BW): 116dB
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -109dB
Digital I/O S/PDIF:
- 2 in/2 out optical and coaxial
- S/PDIF or AES/EBU format (software switchable)
Synchronization Internal crystal sync at 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz
External sample rate sync to S/PDIF (opt. or coax)