Whilst looking for bargain sound cards on the market we came across the EMU 1212M V2 PCI sound card. If you are not looking for a large number of inputs but want proven quality in mic preamps and the power of internal PCI processing then look no further. EMU 1212M V2

The EMU 1212M V2 will not give you the versatility and flexibility of the £600-£1500 range sound cards, it will however offer good value for money.

At the £100 price tag this is one of the cheapest and most powerful PCI solutions for quality sound and smooth performance.
The retail box contains the E-MU 1010 PCI card, E-MU 0202 I/O daughter card, I/O card cable, a Mini-DIN MIDI adapter cable, the Quick Start installation guide and the E-MU Digital Audio Systems CD-ROM (Windows 2000 and XP Drivers, E-MU PatchMix DSP, E-MU Power FX, E-MU E-DSP, effects library and the Owner's Manual and Tutorials).

Technical Specifications EMU 1212M V2

General

* Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz from internal crystal or externally supplied clock (no sample rate conversion)

* Bit Depths: 24-bit I/O, 32-bit processing

* PCI Specification:
- PCI 2.2 Compliant
- Form Factor: Universal Keyed, Short PCI Card
- 3.3V I/O, 5V Tolerant
- PCI Bus-Mastering DMA subsystem reduces CPU usage

* E-MU E-DSPâ„¢ 32-bit DSP with 67-bit accumulator (double precision w/ 3 headroom bits)

* Hardware-accelerated, 32 channel mixing, and multi-effects processing

* Zero-latency direct hardware monitoring w/effects

* ASIO 2.0, Stereo WDM/MME/DirectSound Drivers

* EDI (E-MU Digital Interface) proprietary 64 channel audio link over CAT-5 cable

* Anti-Pop speaker protection minimizes noise during power on/off

* Ultra-low jitter, clock subsystem: < 1 ns in PLL mode (44.1kHz, Opt. S/PDIF Sync)

Analogue Line Inputs (2)

* Type: servo-balanced, DC-coupled, low-noise input circuitry

* A/D converter: AK5394A

* Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)

* Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): +/- .05dB

* Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB

* Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB

* THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -110dB (.0003%)

* Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -115dB

Analogue Line Outputs (2)

* Type: Balanced, low-noise, 3-pole low-pass differential filter

* D/A converter: CS4398

* Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)

* Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): + 0.0/-.35dB,

* Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB

* Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB

* THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -105dB (.0006%)

* Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -115dB

Digital I/O

* S/PDIF:
- 2 in/2 out coaxial (transformer coupled)
- 2 in/2 out optical (software switched at ADAT)
- AES/EBU or S/PDIF format (software selectable)

* ADAT:
- 8 channels, 24-bit @ 44.1/48kHz
- 4 channels, 24-bit @ 96kHz (S-MUX compatible)
- 2 channels, 24-bit @ 192kHz

* MIDI:
- 1 in, 1 out

* Firewire:
- 400 Mbps 1394a port (6-pin)

Synchronisation

* Internal crystal sync at 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz

* External sample rate sync via
- ADAT (44.1 - 192kHz)
- S/PDIF (opt. or coax 44.1 - 96kHz)

* E-MU Production Tools Software Bundle CD-ROM
- Cakewalk SONAR LE
- Steinberg Cubase LE
- Ableton Live Lite 4 for E-MU
- Steinberg Wavelab Lite
- IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE
- IK Multimedia T-RackS EQ
- Minnetonka diskWelder BRONZE
- SFX Machine LT
- E-MU Proteus X LE (over 1000 sounds included)