M-Audio 2496 vs Emu-0404 with Win7/64bit

[mnich]

From some research across the net, I have found almost every PCI card has some users that encounter problems with the 64bit OS. The M-Audio forums have a thread almost a year old of angry users tired of still using M-Aud's old Vista64 driver repackaged as a Win7-64 driver with no updates since mid 09. Too many bugs to go that long without updating. I see similar problems on a smaller scale with the Emu.

I also am aware the users that have no problems are busy recording, while the users with problems are angrily posting. Thus the problems these drivers have seem exaggerated. I have a 30 day return policy with the 2496 I have just bought and installed. I have had a few crashes but no crackling noise has shown up yet. The online vender also carries the Emu-0404 for about $20 more.

Are there many posters on this board that have experience using these cards with W7/64 with no problems? I would like to hear some success stories instead of the nightmares.

 

[PDP]

M-Audio has a bad habit of doing that, I bought a new "latest" Oxygen49 controller, and directlink doesnt work on Cubase 5 64. They say there is no ETA on the driver which to me sounds like Never. I have the 2496 but run Vista 64. Id just get something that works for now, because we're only a little time away from new PCI-e cards coming out. EMU makes a PCIe that might be better for you (driver wise) but its not a true 64bit yet (bridged). The 2496 is like ten year old technology at this point.