Item: EMU8803
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customer reviews
109 People rated this product :
8 out of 10
19 People wrote reviews
10 out of 10
"Inarguably the best card in its price range."
Feature:
While the 1010 is the most basic Emu card, the Patchmix software is completely insane (in a good way) and unprecedented at this price point. You can basically route ANYTHING, from the card's actual physical inputs and outputs, to all of your software's virtual inputs and outputs, to ANYTHING else; the sky's the limit. My most common "tricky" use for this is to record live mixdowns from Cubase into CoolEdit in realtime, rather than just rendering the mixes to disk. I'm not sure what's going on with the summing mathematically, but it definitely sounds better than just bounce-mixing! I couldn't do this on any other card in this price range.
The onboard MIDI is exceptionally tight with the included Cubase LE and my existing copy of SX - it's noticeably tighter than my previous USB-based MIDI interface, especially when driving analog synths over a MIDI-to-CV converter. If you've struggled with sloppy MIDI timing from USB interfaces, you'll be pleased with how this tightens things up.
I really can't vouch for the onboard effects; I never use them. Though I imagine that they're useful for setting up monitor mixes for tracking.
Quality:
I've had no problems with it, though I'd worry about the heavy breakout cables putting strain on their jacks if it were mounted higher on my tower (I have it in the bottom slot, so the cables rest on the floor).
My one frustration with the card has been that about once a week, it completely stops making any sound. This is easily fixed by choosing "restore defaults" in the patchmix software, but that requires a PC restart. Adding to the frustration is that this is a widely-recognized problem, but Emu seem to have no intention of fixing it. Not life-changing, but definitely an annoyance.
Value:
This is inarguably the best value for audio cards in its price range; it sounds better than anything else out there and it can do ten times what most of them can do when it comes to routing and onboard stuff.
Desirability:
It's an audio card, so it's utilitarian and unsexy. I do have to comment that the included Patchmix software is UGLY - it's an eye-straining shade of green that looks embarrassingly "techy" and "Matrix"-y. Luckily, there are a ton of free, user-created skins for the software out there on the internet, and I quickly replaced it with a very pleasant, clean one.
Sound:
For the price range, it sounds absolutely excellent. I don't know what actual converters are used, but they've no doubt trickled down from whatever was top of the line just a few years before.
Ease of Use:
There's a definite learning curve with the Patchmix software; it's not as user-friendly as it could be, especially to someone who's never worked with the extensive routing that it offers. It took me about a week to get my head around it, and I've worked with the equivalent in the analog world. The included manual is quite lacking in this area, so I'd imagine that a neophyte would have a bit of trouble learning it.
On the other hand, the ability to easily save and recall different patchmix presets and the included templates allow this to easily function as a "set it and forget it" card for those that just want to record the stereo inputs and maybe use the MIDI ports.
Support:
It seems that software updates for the card have ceased at this point, though they do seem to have fixed the major bugs with the exception of the aforementioned "silence" bug.
Overall:
Definitely the best bang for the buck, and a real workhorse that does what it needs to do. I wish that Emu's cards were completely modular and that you could just add that breakout box from the 1820m without having to completely upgrade.
Submitted: 5/12/2007
Style of Music: Electro
3 out of 10
"dont bother!!"
Feature:
features are ok, nothing spectacular or better than the other guys
Quality:
ok quality as far as the hardware side, software side your on your own
Value:
dont bother
Desirability:
never again will i buy any emu/creative soundcard product
Sound:
the sound is good but whats the use with the most unstable drivers. the drivers havent been updated in ages emu needs to step up their support.
Ease of Use:
read the manual a few times
Support:
dont even bother, unless you like getting the run around
Overall:
should have saved my money and got a better m-audio card like the 192, or digidesign.
Submitted: 2/23/2007
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