Screw VST...SX or Nuendo would be better. Oke, I can throw a mean punch at Ému hehe. There's a lot of complaints going around about how it's not really adaptable to software, decreasing performance issues, that the fx and dynamics are mediocre....
It's obvious that these people are noobs...
Improper hardware causes most performance disruptions, onboard embedded audio, AMD, I mean common' ...It's says on the box and in the manual....Minum Requirements P3 1500Mhz/512Mb... so dont expect miracles to happen on your P3 700Mhz with 256Mb. Shit dont work like that, yes it has DSP power but the actual Studio X interface is software, the filters are software (the other fx are DSP powered) . You runn AMD, that's tuff... If that shit is an all Intel Hardware PC (P4) fast and big amounts of memory (2Gb in the least), fast SATA drives and DVD Burner (24Bit/44kHz-192kHz recording/mixing sessions means a lot backups to make, Superdrive...Much Better...) then you got the same stability and performance a Mac could deliver (just not that fast). A Dell would be great... Just forget about using it for netsurfing though, that destroys any good running OS eventually so if you hook up a pristine machine to your PC it's audio only.
I think you get the point, if you don't...No offense, but then don't buy the card.
If you do get it, you have 120dB SNR output giving you mucho headroom, great converters, functional fx which aren't that bad at all. Some peeps are pissed because they spend a lot of money on other DSP power PC/Bus solutions like UAD-1 or a TC Powercore...99 Bucks and you get DSP powered VST effects and dynamics practicaly for free because the main concern is the quality of the card ( oke 0404 is merely 24Bit/96kHz, who cares, it boosts 115dB SNR always better than the average - you name it - SB!Platinum crap whatever. Better than any other 24Bit/96kHz card with a single Stereo I/O). 0404, great for pre-production or daws with turntables and/or use of a single mic (hiphop bedroom techie) due to it's single stereo I/O ( you make beats on the pc only and record a one single mic). You got more money ... Go up a notch... Buy a 1212M, the specs are equal to that of an Mbox/Digirack if not better. Same converters anyway, the only thing you lack are the amount of I/O's, but your a dawslut... You dont care for Multple I/O except for perhaps those 2 turntables or your mic. If you'd eventually require more I/O due to expanding to hardware (you found out it indeed is a much better way of life) you can either buy the Break out box if you didn't get it at first and gain 8 I/O's + more ADAT I/O's. Or... You buy a cheap ADAT converter for half the price of the break out box and you still gain 8 out but at lower resolution (really, quality is still great @ 44/48kHz).
If you already have multitrackers, video editing gear, analogue or digital console (something that assigns chnls to Busses/Group to tape outs which are mostly the amount of eight busses), synths, workstations etcetera....
Well...then I wouldn't be needing to tell you all this... but the 1820M would be more than sufficient to do the job. Or, you want great quality, something you can rely on and adapts to future expansion of the studio then this is money well spend.
And, last but not least, the best argument....They're incredably cheap and killing the compitition... RME, Onyx, MOTU, Digidesign can't deliver at the price that EMU exploits.
So screw the specs...
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