M
mindwalker
New member
Hey guys,
This is probably a recurrent question, but nevertheless I'd like to get a little bit of insight on it!
First of all, I've got a laptop running XP SP3 on an Intel Duo 1.8 Ghz, 1GB memory and a 5.4k rpm hard drive (slow, I know).
I'm considering buying an audio interface for both listening to music / recording! My laptop has USB 2.0 ports and I want the interface to be USB 2.0 as well (not just compliant, but performing likewise). Although I'll probably not be recording more than 1 track simultaneously for now, I rather spend a little bit more and be more future-proof.
With that in mind, without going ridiculously expensive, the 2 options I narrowed it down too are the EMU 0404 and the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra.
I would lean towards the EMU 0404 because most people on the internet seem to be very happy with it and have had no driver issues and all that. The word out on the M-Audio Ultra seems to be a little less consistent with some people reporting issues with their setups, and a worst customer service than the EMU when it comes to fixing problems and issuing firmware updates / drivers.
However a big bummer for me is that the EMU 0404 runs exclusively on an external power supply, whereas the Ultra has it optional (with the restriction that you run on fewer inputs without the power supply.. that's fine for now, I won't be recording more than 2 tracks at once).
Since I also suspect I will be totally hooked on the much improved sound quality of normal audio listening through the interface, I think I'll want to use it all the time... so the power supply of the EMU will be constantly needed... that's why I would rather not having to use it.
Is there a big difference feature wise between the two ? They seem to sport more or less the same kind of inputs/outputs and I doubt I could tell a big quality difference in the sound itself between the two...
Do you guys have experience on both of them ?
Thanks a lot for the help!
This is probably a recurrent question, but nevertheless I'd like to get a little bit of insight on it!
First of all, I've got a laptop running XP SP3 on an Intel Duo 1.8 Ghz, 1GB memory and a 5.4k rpm hard drive (slow, I know).
I'm considering buying an audio interface for both listening to music / recording! My laptop has USB 2.0 ports and I want the interface to be USB 2.0 as well (not just compliant, but performing likewise). Although I'll probably not be recording more than 1 track simultaneously for now, I rather spend a little bit more and be more future-proof.
With that in mind, without going ridiculously expensive, the 2 options I narrowed it down too are the EMU 0404 and the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra.
I would lean towards the EMU 0404 because most people on the internet seem to be very happy with it and have had no driver issues and all that. The word out on the M-Audio Ultra seems to be a little less consistent with some people reporting issues with their setups, and a worst customer service than the EMU when it comes to fixing problems and issuing firmware updates / drivers.
However a big bummer for me is that the EMU 0404 runs exclusively on an external power supply, whereas the Ultra has it optional (with the restriction that you run on fewer inputs without the power supply.. that's fine for now, I won't be recording more than 2 tracks at once).
Since I also suspect I will be totally hooked on the much improved sound quality of normal audio listening through the interface, I think I'll want to use it all the time... so the power supply of the EMU will be constantly needed... that's why I would rather not having to use it.
Is there a big difference feature wise between the two ? They seem to sport more or less the same kind of inputs/outputs and I doubt I could tell a big quality difference in the sound itself between the two...
Do you guys have experience on both of them ?
Thanks a lot for the help!