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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 E-Mu 0404 USB 2 audio/MIDI interface Very Good + Jun 02, 2010
By Eric
"ENicolas"
This is a Creative Soundblaster Pro in a box with two VERY clean high-quality mic preamps. SP/DIF digital audio ins/outs in both coaxial (RCA) and optical cable versions, MIDI in/out, 1/4 inch L/R monitor outs plus a 1/8 inch stereo out, 1/4 inch headphone out, and of course a USB output to the computer. The mic/line inputs are Nutrik 3-way XLR/Balanced/Unbalanced 1/4 inch so you can hook anything up to them. There is 48v Phantom power that is on or off BOTH mic inputs at the same time (so you can't use one powered XLR condenser mic and one 1/4 inch dynamic at the same time - well, there must be some limitations for the price). Each preamp has a segmented LED meter w/clip indicator and selectable soft limiting. The mic inputs, main monitor output, and headphone output have true analog knobs for level control, while the digital "direct monitor" output has an "endless" digital knob. Direct monitoring can be switched between the main outs and the SP/DIF outs, or switched off. SP/DIF can be switched between coaxial (RCA) and optical. ALL is not roses, though: the unit requires a floor-wart adapter even when you don't use phantom power. Some important operations can only be done using the software control panel, such as switching soft limiting on/off, switching MIDI sync between internal and external clocks, and setting sampling rates (which go as high 192kHz and 24-bits on the PC, but only 96kHz on the Mac). Another problem is the drivers. While they work fine with my version of Reason 4, they are unstable with Record + Reason (might be due to my system being 64-bit Windows 7). However the freely downloadable ASIO4All driver [...] works perfectly with this product - so use the E-Mu driver when you can, and use ASIO4All when you can't. Construction is solid but is plastic, so I'd set it up in a convenient spot and leave it there. It's very pretty - I purchased the white version because the front panel printing is easier to read. A great feature here is the unit can be used stand-alone with no computer - it's a self-contained moderate-to-high end Soundblaster with its own premaps - you can plug anything into it and listen via the monitor outs or headphones. The sound is very good - as I said the preamps are very good quality and the unit doesn't add any noise or much "color" to the signal. It comes with a bunch of software that's worth the price in itself: A "Light" version of Cubase, Ableton Live, E-Mu's virtual Proteus synth plugin, and more. I use Propellerheads' Reason and Record software and it works great with them, with the exception of the driver pickiness mentioned above when using Record. A very good unit worth twice the price.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 great product Feb 05, 2010
By Andrei G. Birsan
For all those who need a laptop professional solution, EMU 404 is great. I'm using a macbook pro that has an integrated intel sound card. The MIDI clock is very low and the noise lvl is almost inexistent. Strongly recommended.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Best external soundcard sub $250 Aug 31, 2010
By Sean
Before this, I purchased the Cakewalk UA-25 EX and the TC Electronics Konnekt 6 firewire. Both of those had numerous dropout issues on my system which is Win 7 64 bit, Sonar 8.5, 8 gigs ram. I was about ready to give up on external soundcards, but decided to give this one a try and found that it has been absolutely perfect thus far. Haven't had 1 dropout, skip, pop, etc. For $185, it beats out the more expensive competition. The Vista drivers work perfectly on Windows 7 so you don't need to worry about compatibility issues.
If you are in the market for a sub $250 soundcard, get this, you won't be disappointed.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Good External Audio Card for the Price Dec 18, 2010
By Sergio
This external audio card is worth for the price, specially considering the compatibility with other E-MU products such as the EmulatorX2. But if you need RCA and more outputs you might consider getting the Audio 8 (Native Instruments). Also, consider that E-MU (now Creative) is well known for not updating their software and firmware on a periodic basis as other professional renowned audio manufacturers do so your system could be easy outdated. Finally, this audio interface requires an AC wallwart to operate so, if portability is an issue, then a Microbook (MOTU) might worth to consider (however, the microbook does not have any MIDI ports). Still, the audio is very clear and has a very low latency response for using with virtual instruments.
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based on 4 reviews
