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E-MU0404usb surprisingly decent analog section


deepak

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I've mostly been using the E-MU0404usb with its built in headphone amp which definitely bottle-necks the built in DAC. But combined with my M^3 the DAC in this soundcard is surprisingly decent. A bit edgy/gritty in the highs and not the biggest/deepest soundstage (compared to the North Star) but otherwise not bad at all for how little it costs. I wonder if it could be improved with a better output (tubed?) stage?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yeah I've been thinking about having it modded for some time. Considering it uses the 24 bit version of the DAC chip Alex Peychev likes so much I was going to buy one and have it shipped to him to look at for mods, but I've been lazy about it.

Meh, you know what chips entire line of Stello products uses? ^.^

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A single chip does not a product make. My Wadia uses the lowly BUF634 on its outputs so by your logic it's the same as something like a PIMETA which uses the same chip. ::)

I did not say anything about them sounding the same. If you want to talk implied - well the implication was that Peychev mods would probably take the E-MU in the same direction as Stello went already.

Oh, and all the DACs using that particular chip I heard sound alot alike (main difference seems to be accounted entirely by output stages, better DACs just sound cleaner), wonder if that is a coincidence...

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I did not say anything about them sounding the same. If you want to talk implied - well the implication was that Peychev mods would probably take the E-MU in the same direction as Stello went already.

Perhaps you should have completed the statement then and not assumed that everyone knew exactly what you were talking about? And I didn't say anything about the two products I was comparing sounding the same either.

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Perhaps you should have completed the statement then and not assumed that everyone knew exactly what you were talking about? And I didn't say anything about the two products I was comparing sounding the same either.

Well then we are both making pointless statements, fun.

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Okay, why the grudge guy? Next time I'll post fully what I want to say, but do you have to really follow me with a post of almost identical quality?

well don't you think that you should have posted your full point in its entirety from the beginning? seems pretty logical to do so to me...

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I did not say anything about them sounding the same. If you want to talk implied - well the implication was that Peychev mods would probably take the E-MU in the same direction as Stello went already.

Oh, and all the DACs using that particular chip I heard sound alot alike (main difference seems to be accounted entirely by output stages, better DACs just sound cleaner), wonder if that is a coincidence...

I didn't really follow this thread, but I'd guess the direction would be reasonably different versus the Stello line for two reasons:

1. Stello DACs probably use opamps in their output stages... Alex Peychev if he was willing to do a mod probably will not.

2. He'd probably consider a tubed output stage as well and Stello products are of course solid state.

Of course these mods may in the end take the thing to a more expensive price than the Stello DACs... but... it might still be cost effective. Who knows.

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Stello DACs use discrete output stage, class A. I am sure there are ways to improve upon that, including going tube, but that would be outside of what the tiny E-MU 0404 usb could support...

does the idea of plastic enclosure and tubes make anyone here twitch also?

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