KVR Audio

PinothyJ · Post by **PinothyJ** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:38 pm

thank-you all…

mmichalski59 · Post by **mmichalski59** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:57 pm

I have Emulator X2. As far as sound and capabilities, I really like it. As far as usability, it has a ways to go. But there are some great things you can do with it. Read Craig Anderton's Live Review over on Harmony Central.

I also have the XBoard and I like it as well. Of course, it is great if you have Emulator as all the spinny things and slidy thngs match up with functionaility in Emulator.

In addition, I have the 1616M. It had some driver issues in its early days but I have never had an issue with it. It works as advertised and the sound quality is superb. I have paired it up with a Rode NT1-A for vocals and acoustic guitar and teh sound is smooth to my ears. The Rode is an extremely quiet mic so any noise detected would likely be from the 1616M and I just don't get any.

To be honest, I really don't have a point of comparison as I just got back into recording last year after a 10 year hiatus. I would look for an opinion from people who have used multiple sound cards/MIDI controllers. I do have three software samplers and I use them all. But the actual sampling gets done with the Emulator.

Hope this helps a bit.

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:38 am

BertKoor wrote:I'll have to add: for every user that's complaining there are probably thousands that don't have any issue at all... You hardly hear good news (unless asked, see above!) because that's expected.

yep, you always gotta keep that in mind. The users that are happy usually dont' post anythign.

I have the 0404, which is the least expensive card, and I think it's great. The more expensive ones should be even better.

Stone · Post by **Stone** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:51 am

I've never understood people who complained about the drivers, but then again i didn't do much multi channel asio stuff.

The only problem i've had was with the POWERFX stuff for using the dsp. Other than that, patchmix is PERFECT (alot of people won't read and so they are clueless with patchmix- it's been a lifesaver hundreds of times in my studio).

I don't use the computer w/ the 1212m in it for much producing these days, it's mainly a passthrough hub routing ins and outs from digital and analog gear on a rack computer to centralize multiple pieces of gear.

I'd also reccommend outbox options like firewire- not only are they great quality, they also are usable w/ ur laptop if you get one later (or have one now).

Arglebargle · Post by **Arglebargle** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:57 am

I've had problems rendering the onboard effects to audio files in my DAW. It just won't do it. which is a shame, because they sound great!

EnzymeX · Post by **EnzymeX** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:10 am

I have an 1820m and I love it. I have not had driver issues in over a year. The converters are great, and the analog output is loud!!

I don't use the onboard effects at all.

umd · Post by **umd** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:36 am

I think all E-Mu's products are worth every penny.

If your good with computers you'll will have no problem setting up the hardware and using patchmix (with the 0404/1616/1212/1820 line). Otherwise you'll be frustrated and pissed.

The new products though(0404 usb and 0202 usb), are easier to set up, their software is much more simple, and anyone can have them up and running very quickly. But being a new product, the drivers still have some little flaws.

The Chase · Post by **The Chase** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:13 pm

Other than the said DVD problems I have (whicha re rare problems) I'm very pleased with mine. The convertors are stunning for the price.

Mutant · Post by **Mutant** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:37 pm

I have 1212M and i love it !
Excellent sound, stable drivers, one of the best if not the best (flexibility+routing) mixer (PatchMix), good effects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mu

kmonkey · Post by **kmonkey** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:48 pm

Having 1820m for years i can say only praise, Emulator X2 is IMO best sounding sampler to date. Worth every friggin penny...

lordvader48 · Post by **lordvader48** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:55 pm

ViktorW wrote:I had a 1212m PCI card with the EmulatorX software and sold it after 2 weeks because the drivers had some problems with my computer and the EmulatorX software was not at all to my liking, it produced CPU spikes and was a pain to use, at least for me.
I liked the sound though. If the drivers are better now, and the hardware sure is, then it should be okay I guess.

Vik

Ditto. I thought the EmulatorX software was horrible. Really big, bloated and nasty, hard to use, and also very slow and resouce-consuming. I was also really put off by "Patch Mix" and how intrusive and hard-to-deal with that was. "Patch Mix" was the feature that ensured our 1212/EmulatorX rig ended up on E-Bay.

At that time (a few years ago) the drivers weren't any good either. The combo of EmulatorX and the 1212m was very twitchy and buggy, as well as hard to use. As far as the sound, I didn't think that the EmulatorX sounded particularly good either. Frankly, we're getting better-sounding results out of DirectWave than we did out of the Emulator X.

I would imagine that by now the Emu drivers are pretty good, so you'll be okay as long as you avoid EmulatorX. If you haven't already, make sure you consider DirectWave for your sampling needs.

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:28 pm

lordvader48 wrote: I was also really put off by "Patch Mix" and how intrusive and hard-to-deal with that was. "Patch Mix" was the feature that ensured our 1212/EmulatorX rig ended up on E-Bay.

Intrusive? How? You set it up the way you want, and then leave it.

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:49 pm

I have two cards. The patchmix interface is tricky at first but once installed is fine. The dsp efx are handy when you are running low on juice but not top drawer. The card has worked fine in four different motherboards. System link works on the cards. I am a cubase SX user and can't comment on other hosts. The price is fantastic and sound is very good. It seems that the driver issues have been largely resolved and I haven't had a problem in two years.

Killvehicle · Post by **Killvehicle** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:39 pm

Just realizing I have had the 1820m for about 3 years now. BY far my longest running soundcard.. IN the past I have always been looking for the next step.. And I honestly NEVER go looking at whats a better soundcardwise anymore. To me it was the end-all.

With that said, of course it has its flaws, The rendering of PowerFX(The onboard FX) can be problematic, but there is a workaround, I even think it is in the software help manual somewhere) I never have had any ISSUes with the drivers. They all have worked good for me. Emulator X is not very effecient but can sound great and I find it easy to use..

Althouhg since I have had a 99% stable system I have avoided all updates of my DAW(cubase SX2).. I imagine if I upgraded I could have run into problems, so I'd rather have a stable system that does what I want than worry about upgrades that could throw it all out of whack.

Scooner · Post by **Scooner** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:36 pm

No problems here with an 0404.
I still struggle with patchmix, but I come here for help!

E-MU products look pretty fantastic, are they really?