I talked to several of my friends in LA about ASIO before I bought the Emu 0404 PCI card. I wanted to be able to test Cubase, and use the 67 VSTi instruments I collected.
The result has been fantastic. The 1st thing I noticed about the Emu card is that I didn't hear the typical computer hash from its outputs. Sounds like a minor benefit, but I have used other audio cards for long while for Native PC audio programs, and for auditioning/hearing the Directx plugin effects inside the MicroEditor. The Emu card features a nice set of audio specs pasted below. The zero latency ASIO ability is 110% crucial for VSTi synths and instrument plugins if you expect to actually perform music with them.
I still prefer my arsenal of Emu samplers and synth modules over software ones... mainly because I need the vacation from the computer keyboard and the mouse. Having KNOBS in my hands while writing music is just more relaxing. Come to think of it... I hate the dang mouse/keyboard solution.
It's like the MIDI keyboards... we had a piano keyboard, a pitch wheel, a modulation wheel, velocity sensitivity, after touch and pressure sensitive keyboards as far back as 1985. NOTHING has improved or changed much since. Same for computers... there's no affordale interface improvements as yet, although I've found the wireless Logitech series mouse to make mousing very pleasant. And yes... I'm aware of the mixing consoles interfaces from ProTools and numerous others. But they are so proprietary... what's needed is a univeral device that is "user" programmable.
I'm also aware of a touch sensitive panel (or screen) device that's being developed by Apple that will make inroads to classrooms soon. It features the ability to integrate multi tasking for classroom use. And it appears it's likely to branch out into other uses due to the simplicity of it's concepts for the user.
Back to my reality, I've always appeciated the dumb intelligence of the MicroEditor when compared to other programs that have multiple fader graphics and multiple meters. It's been a running joke here to my clients when they notice ME's ONE FADER. I just say "heck.. you can only click on one fader at a time anyway!"
I read the last few posts and I think my contribution to the dialog is more from the typical daily studio engineer/composer/musician and film sound designer experience.
I love technology. But I can't get anything accomplished when:
a) I can't afford better gear/software tools
b) when I can't get support when I need it
c) when I can't rely on my computer systems to keep working day to day
e) when I have to wrestle with some Windows issue 1 to 2 full days a week
f) when I have to become a software programmer in order to deliver
to a specific format.
I can't afford to be entangled in the spec wars and format wars. It's been impossible to avoid the battles and wasted time I spend just keeping WINDOWS XPpro up and working...
so I can keep working
so I can pay the bills
and stay in business.
I like to keep things affordable, simple, practical, predictable and reliable as is possible. I've watched too many studios open and close while trying to BUY what MIX Magazine's selling them.
As I read the posts above, I can't say I've encountered the "sync" problems mentioned... nor have I ventured out to much beyond the daily sessions recorded at 44.1Khz @16bit. And the reason isn't non-interest in 24bit... it's just that my clients aren't asking for it... and to steer them around the studio CLOCK and run up studio time/costs for something they're not asking for is not useful. I'm always glad to hand them their well recorded, edited and mixed audio on two CDr's and get paid with a smile.
Which... come to think of it... just burning CDs has been a source of fear.
It works. It doesn't. It works. It doesn't. It works. It doesn't.
I have spend hours trouble shooting issues with burning CDs.
NOTE:
MicroCD needs to keep updating the drivers for the DVD/CDr burners. I bought a new Plextor DVDR PX716A and MicroCD doesn't see it. So I've have to turn to my Roxio 9 program (now owned by Sonic Solutions).
I've reported that my overall experience with MicroSound is still, a positive one. Even amidst all fo the changes in the industry. Yes, I wish my MicroSync card worked in my faster 2.8GB computer... and there's a plethora of things I wished were better... but it still gives me almost everything that is critical to producing music and film audio. Although I wrestle daily with ME's SLOW WAVEFORM GRAPHIC/DRAW SPEED. Why is it soooooooooo sloooooow?
When you keep getting asked "how did you do that?" often enough, then you have to credit the tools as much as the user. And my customers have spent many session hours here, comparing what happens here to what happened at the some other (ProToy) studios. And the ones who happen to understand the differences, are now MicroSound advocates.
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EMU 0404 Digital Audio System Features:
24-bit, 96kHz converters that deliver an amazing 111dB (A/D) and 116dB (D/A) signal to noise ratio and dynamic range
Flexible connectivity with 1/4" analog I/O, optical and coaxial S/PDIF I/O, and MIDI I/O for seamless integration with your entire studio
E-DSP 32-bit multi-effects processor offers you over 16 simultaneous hardware-accelerated studio-grade effects with no CPU overhead - plug-in architecture allows you to add new effects as needed
32 Channels of zero latency Hardware Mixing/ Monitoring with super-flexible virtual patchbay - no external mixer needed
Full compatibility with most popular audio/sequencer applications with ultra-low latency WDM, DirectSound and ASIO 2.0 drivers
Powerful software studio package
Two 1/4" analog inputs
Optical 24-bit/96kHz S/PDIF I/O (switchable to AES/EBU)
Coaxial 24-bit/96kHz S/PDIF I/O (switchable to AES/EBU)
MIDI In/Out
E-DSP Hardware-accelerated effects, mixing and monitoring