Emu (Creative Professional) 0404 USB Review

Wow.  As an audiophile who buys and sells on the used market frequently, I go through lots of products.  But the EMU 0404 USB is one I will hold on to for a sometime.  At $200 retail, there is nothing even close to its price range that competes in terms of sound quality.  Even products costing 2, 3 or even 4 times more don't sound better.  By the time you hit 5x, your in Benchmark DAC1 level, and then its time to look elsewhere.

 The 0404 has 2 main outs (xlr balanced or unbalanced) that have their own volume control on the device.  There are SPDIF outputs as well.  And a headphone output with a separate volume control.  In addition, there are 2 mic inputs that feature phantom power.  I can't comment on them as I use this device solely for output.  If your intentions are to use the device for input, you are limited to those 2 mic inputs as well as the SPDIF input, and probably is not the best choice for multitrack simulatenous recording. 

 But for the discerning listener looking for 2 channel output from their computer, good luck finding something better.