www.soundonsound.

com january 2007 66

on test
computer
recording system
Martin Walker
E
mus DAS (Digital Audio System) range
has proved extremely popular since the
flagship 1820M and 1212M interfaces
(both with mastering-grade converters) and
the slightly cheaper 1820 version were first
released in 2004. Later in the same year we
saw the budget 0404 model, with less
exotic converters, like the 1820. These
PCI-based interfaces were supplemented in
2005 by the 1616M/1616 models, both of
which shipped with a PCMCIA Cardbus
adaptor for use with PC laptops. All these
models featured the same set of DSP effects,
courtesy of Emus EDSP chip.
Despite the almost identical names, the
0404 USB 2.0 interface under review here is
a different beast from the original 0404 (the
numbers merely specify the numbers of
inputs and outputs). For a start, its the first
Emu audio interface to employ a USB 2.0
connection, the first of the range to abandon
DSP effects, and also the first to offer cross-
platform Mac OS X as well as Windows XP and
x64 drivers. I was supplied with Windows XP
software (which requires Service Pack 2 to be
installed) and installation was quick and easy.
Emu
0404 USB
Emus first USB 2.0 interface, and their first to offer Mac
OS X compatibility, dispenses with DSP effects and
complex software front-ends, majoring instead on
hands-on controls and practical studio features. Have
they hit on a winning formula?
USB 2.0 Audio Interface for Mac & PC
Emu 0404 USB, driver version 5.12.01.0002.
Hardware: Compal CL50 Centrino Laptop with
Pentium M 1.4GHz CPU, Intel 855PM Odem chip
set, 512MB PC266 SO-DIMM RAM, running
Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Software: Steinberg Cubase SX 3.02 and Wavelab
6, Native Instruments Pro 53, Rightmark Audio
Analyser 5.5, Centrance LTU, Miditest.
Test Spec
Photographs by Mark Ewing
Knobs & Buttons
In stark contrast to the spartan collection of
flying leads emerging from the original
0404 PCI, the 0404 USB has a smart grey
and black desktop case with lots of knobs,
buttons and LED indicators. The reason for
this becomes more obvious once youve
installed the drivers and software and have
clicked the Emu logo on the Windows
Taskbar. Instead of the now-familiar
Patchmix DSP software, a very much simpler
control panel appears, providing read-outs
of current sample rate, internal or external
clock setting with associated Lock indicator,
digital input status and S/PDIF or AES Pro
output format. Emus Patchmix DSP utility
has proved to be a mixed blessing: while
supremely flexible and configurable for the
experienced user, it has proved a constant
source of confusion and frustration for new
users, so having dispensed with the DSP
effects, Emu have obviously decided to
replace the utilitys remaining functions with
hardware equivalents. I suspect this
approach will be far more popular!
The 0404 USB features two of the same
Emu-designed, ultra-low-noise mic, line and
high-impedance instrument preamps as their
1616 series, with the same Neutrik Combi
sockets, rotary gain controls, global 48V
phantom power and LED meters for
monitoring input level. The useful option of
individual soft limiting (enabled and
disabled using the Control Panel utility) is
available for gently limiting signals above
-12dBFS, to guard against the nasty sounds
of digital clipping.
Of particular note are the new individual
ground-lift switches for each analogue input,
which should tackle ground-loop problems
that may arise when you plug in earthed
mains-powered gear such as keyboards. As
far as I know, this is a very welcome first on
a desktop interface. Together with the
supplied non-earthed mains PSU (the 0404
USB cant, unfortunately be buss powered)
and the balanced line-level outputs, it
should ensure an absence of whistles,
buzzes and hums when the 0404 is
connected to a wide variety of external gear.
The main two balanced/unbalanced
analogue outputs are duplicated on a stereo
3.5mm output and have a dedicated
analogue rotary level control on the front
panel. Theres also a separate headphone
amp with its own independent level control.
Digital I/O is usefully provided in both
TOSlink optical and coaxial formats,
switched from a front-panel button, while
both digital outputs can also pass Dolby
AC3-encoded 5.1 surround sound audio, for
listening to DVD soundtracks on an external
AC3 decoder.
All input signals can be sent to either the
main or S/PDIF outputs for zero latency
monitoring, selected using another
front-panel button. Monitoring can be
switched to mono, which could be handy if
youre recording vocal and guitar on
different inputs and want to hear them both
centrally in your monitors, or to identify mic
phasing problems. The Direct Monitor signal
even has its own rotary level control.
Completing the control roster are front-
panel activity LEDs for the single MIDI input
and output and to show Internal or External
Sync status.
Audio Quality
The 0404 supports 24-bit audio at sample
rates from 44.1kHz to 96kHz when all four
L
january 2007 www.soundonsound.com 67
Emu 0404 150
pros
Lots of hardware knobs to twiddle, including
output level, headphone level and monitor
level.
Mic and Instrument inputs have handy soft-limit
option and high impedance for guitars.
Input ground-lift options.
Better audio quality than the 0404 PCI model.
No confusing Patchmix DSP utility or DSP
effects.
cons
USB buss powering is not an option.
No sophisticated Patchmix DSP utility or DSP
effects.
summary
Despite the confusingly similar name, Emus 0404
USB is a completely new interface to its
predecessor, with better audio quality and a very
different specification that will appeal to those
who prefer hardware controls over DSP functions.
Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz, plus
176.4 and 192kHz from internal clock.
Mic/guitar/line Inputs: two, up to +60dB gain,
balanced XLR with switchable global 48V
phantom power, or unbalanced TRS
quarter-inch jack line instrument input with
1M impedance; individual ground-lift
switches.
Analogue Outputs: two TRS quarter-inch jacks
at +12dBV level balanced, +6dBV unbalanced,
analogue level control, plus headphone output
with analogue level control.
Digital I/O: S/PDIF in and out, up to
24-bit/96kHz on phono coaxial and TOSlink
optical, AC3 and DTS compatibility, MIDI I/O.
Dynamic Range: 113dBA inputs, 117dBA
outputs.
RMS Jitter: better than 500 picoseconds in PLL
mode (48kHz, coaxial S/PDIF sync).
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz,
+0.06/-0.035dB.
THD + Noise: 0.001 percent measured at 1kHz.
Brief Technical Spec
inputs and outputs are in use, and rates of
176.4 and 192kHz using two inputs and two
outputs, with MIDI disabled. The quoted
jitter levels look similar to those of other
Emu models, and overall the 0404 USB
should prove easier to integrate into some
studios than previous Emu interfaces.
To turn to the 0404s frequency
response, my tests with Rightmarks Audio
Analyser showed that Emu have removed
the HF droop exhibited by previous
interface models in their range. At a 96kHz
sample rate the frequency response now
extends to 37kHz (-0.5dB) instead of the
24kHz of the 1820M. Dynamic range is also
good; not quite as low as the 117dBA
I measured for the 1820M, but very good all
the same and considerably quieter than
many competitors at
113dBA.
Figures aside, its really the
sound that counts, and as my
own Emu 1820M has similar
clock circuitry and converters
from the same manufacturer
(AKM), I spent a long time
comparing the two interfaces.
The differences were subtle,
especially with stereo imaging,
but I declared the 1820M the
winner for its more open and
natural top end and more
rounded bass (both, I suspect,
courtesy of its more
sophisticated converters).
Nevertheless, for a 150
interface the 0404 USB
provides surprisingly good
audio quality.
Driver Performance
In PC Notes October 2006
I said I planned to start using
Centrances Latency Test Utility
when testing audio interfaces,
to reveal any hidden extras in real-world
audio latency. A-D and D-A converters
usually each impose a fixed 1ms to 1.5ms
latency over and above whatever software
buffer latency settings you use, and in the
case of the vast majority of PCI and PCMCIA
interfaces (including Emus own), these are
the only extra delays. However, USB and
Firewire interfaces often employ additional
hardware buffers, and a few less scrupulous
manufacturers conveniently ignore these
when declaring their total input and output
latency figures to Cubase SX. Im pleased to
report that Emu have declared these extras
accurately, so you know exactly whats what.
Keeping the total input latency fairly low
is important when monitoring with plug-in
effects, and the extra 1.878ms imposed by
the 0404 USB is little more than that of most
PCI and PCMCIA interfaces, while the rather
higher 4.893ms added to the output latency
seems fairly typical of USB and Firewire
interfaces (the extra buffering ensures
smooth playback).
ASIO driver performance was good,
running on my laptop down to its lowest
2ms setting, and giving a total real-world
Cubase SX input latency of 3.878ms and an
output latency of 6.893ms. Direct Sound
and MME driver performance was also better
than average, at 30ms and 45ms
respectively, when measured using NIs Pro
53 soft synth.
I was also pleased to find that MIDI
loopback performance, as measured by the
Miditest utility, doesnt suffer unduly as
a result of its extra USB journey: MIDI
latency was just 1.7ms, compared with the
1ms or so of PCI and PCMCIA interfaces;
MIDI ports on many Firewire interfaces can
have latency of 4ms or higher.
Final Thoughts
Although their names are so similar, you
really cant compare the 0404 PCI and 0404
USB, as the latter has so many additional
features, such as
mic/instrument preamps with
soft limiting, balanced
outputs, headphone amp and
lots more analogue controls,
and its audio quality is also
rather better, although the
1212M, 1616M and 1820M
still outdo it on that front.
Its perhaps ironic that Emu
have abandoned their DSP
effects on the 0404 USB when
other manufacturers, such as
Focusrite and TC Electronic,
are starting to include them in
their interfaces, but many new
users only seem to be tempted
by onboard effects if they are
of higher quality than the
plug-ins they already own.
Theres also no denying that
such features complicate the
product, so the fact that Emu
have dropped the Patchmix
DSP mixer may actually
encourage some new users.
Overall, while the 0404 USB
has Emus high-quality house sound, it has
a markedly different feature set from
previous products, that will appeal to those
who prefer hardware knobs and indicators
to software utilities. Im pleased to see
another USB 2.0 interface on the market, as
there are relatively few compared with
Firewire models, and Emus 0404 USB offers
something genuinely different. As long as
musicians realise that its not simply
a desktop version of the PCI model, it ought
to sell very well.
L
on test
computer
recording system
EMU 0404 USB
www.soundonsound.com january 2007 68
With a concise yet informative display, this control panel is a doddle to use compared
with the sophisticated but confusing Patchmix DSP utility of previous Emu interfaces.

Emu 0404 USB 149.99 including VAT.
T
Emu Europe +353 1 433 3201.
F
+353 1 806 6788.
W
www.emu.com
i nf ormati on
There are plenty of stereo in/out audio interfaces with
mic and guitar inputs, headphone amp and digital and
MIDI I/O, but if you want 192kHz capability theres
little competition for the 0404 USB. One with fewer
features and a lower price is Emus simpler 0202 USB,
offering a single mic preamp with no phantom power
option, single-LED metering, no analogue output level
control and no digital or MIDI I/O, although (unlike
the 0404 USB) the 0202 can be USB buss-powered.
If youre happy with a highest sample rate of 96kHz,
two models with similar feature sets and price in the
UK are Tascams US144 and M-Audios Fast Track Pro.
However, possibly the closest contender is Edirols
UA25, which is the only one to incorporate
soft-limiting options like Emus 0404 USB and has
a similar price tag.
Alternatives
Emu 1616M, October 2005: www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct05/articles/emu1616m.htm
Emu 0404, September 2004: www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/emu0404.htm
Emu 1820M/Emulator X, June 2004: www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun04/articles/emu.htm
Previously Reviewed In SOS
This article was originally published in Sound On Sound magazine, January 2007 edition.
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