EMU Emulator IV E4 | FULLY MODERNIZED & UPGRADED EIV | EOS 4.62 | 128GB RAM | 128 Voice | New ZuluSCSI SSD | New Display | New PSU | New 'De-Bounce' Encoder | **Last One**

This is not a re-post. This is the 2nd and final out of two fully modernized & upgraded 1st Generation E-MU EIV's that I have purchased, upgraded as a personal project and am now selling for others to enjoy. While I inevitably end up losing money on the resale, I do it because I love the magic and sound of old samplers and I enjoy keeping them alive to make music for another generation.

If you missed out on the first one I just listed a few days ago (which sold in the first few days of listing), this is your *second and final opportunity* to get a practically MINT condition 1st Generation EIV. There won't be any more after this. I am holding onto my remaining 1st Gen EIV sampler for my personal use.

The only difference between this EIV and the one that just sold is the LCD display on this one is Black-On-White as pictured (instead of White-On-Black) and this one does not come with rack ears...which is the way I purchased it.

Instead, unlike the last one, this one comes with a PS/2 Keyboard so you can control the EIV remotely (in addition to using the front panel) as well as the PS/2 to DIN adapter you need to hook the PS/2 keyboard up to the EIV. Otherwise, this one has all of the modernizing & upgrades the previous EIV had that just sold.

Ok...so my apologies in advance for the long-winded nature of this listing. There are a lot of details to cover as far as upgrades, as well as some important technical info which helps to understand *WHY* the 1st generation Emulator IV is so special and provides a "warmer", thicker sound than subsequent versions which have circuit design changes from the original EIV.

All of this is explained in the "The Technical Section" below.

Finally, somewhat non-traditionally, I will list my exact cost of the original unit as well as all the individual parts purchased for the upgrades to arrive at the final asking price. It is priced well below my 'break-even' cost.

GENERAL INFO :

This is an *Excellent Condition* almost MINT E-MU EIV Sampler from 1994 and is a personal unit of mine (I am a studio tech). It has been fully upgraded & modernized (details below) and has been tested before being packed up and is fully functional.

There are a few very minor scratches to the case and one hardly noticeable cosmetic blemish below the EIV logo. The front face is in outstanding condition as you can see in the pics and it has a brand new LCD and custom encoder. All the front panel buttons work great and the front panel looks practically MINT.

UPGRADES :

• RAM - The RAM has been upgraded to the full 128MB of RAM from the original 32 it came with.
• DISPLAY - The DISPLAY has been replaced with a brand new high contrast Black-On-White LCD. This display is also unique because unlike other typical LCD replacements, it comes wired with 2 adjustable POTs to handle contrast and timing so you can manually adjust to the best display and then leave it. I have tweaked it to be bright and sharp. You can further tweak the display appearance by simply lifting the lid and adjusting the pots.
• POWER SUPPLY - The POWER SUPPLY has been upgraded to a modern Meanwell PSU. The issue is that these modern PSU's have a different connector and wiring scheme than the connectors for the original EIV model so an "adapter board" is necessary to have the standard connectors and wiring convert as well as have the PSU mount using the original mount points built into the case. The custom ADAPTER BOARD has been purchased from another enthusiast who designed it and had a few of these boards. This is also installed.
• CASE FAN - The PSU FAN is notoriously loud on all versions of these E4's. It's small and noisy. I have removed the old fan and replaced it with a larger Noctua Fan and set it up internally in a "push" configuration. Air drafts out the back as before but is silent. It will last the lifetime of the unit.
• DIAL ENCODER - The DIAL ENCODER has been replaced and upgraded. It is common for the dial encoder on all versions of the E4's to eventually go bad, skipping, jumping and missing increments when turned. Not only has the encoder been replaced, it has been replaced with a Bournes encoder mounted on a circuit board utilizing 2 1µF capacitors in circuit (a circuit design improvement promoted by EMU enthusiast Ray Bellis) which "De-Bounce" the encoder circuit preventing jumps and offering a perfectly smooth operation.
• ZuluSCSI DRIVE - The original 3 GB Quantum Fireball SCSI hard drive tends to be a bit noisy when in operation...plus obviously it is getting long in the tooth and could fail due to age. I removed it from the unit as well as the original Floppy Drive and replaced them with an Internal ZuluSCSI SD Hard Drive. It is fitted into the Floppy Drive slot and hooked into the internal SCSI connector on the main board. It provides *Six 4 GB Virtual SSD's* on an SD card (one per SCSI channel...Channel 7 is reserved for the sampler itself or else you could have 7 drives). You can just swap out the removable SD card from the front panel for a new SD Card any time you like giving you *unlimited* *FAST & SILENT* storage of all your samples.
• FLASH ROM UPGRADE - Finally, these original classic EIV's normally come with a "1 MB Flash ROM" which limits the highest EOS version to EOS v4.10 Classic (the EMU operating system). If you want any higher version, you need a 2MB Flash ROM. These are almost impossible to find for these 1st generation EIV's. I have done the work for you and both sourced and installed a 2MB FLASH ROM module running EOS 4.62.

CALCULATING THE PRICE (My Cost) :

• E-MU Systems Emulator EIV Sampler = $660
• Meanwell power supply = $20
• PSU Adapter EMU EIV Classic to Meanwell = $45
• Graphic Display Upgrade - Emu Emulator IV= $125
• Noctua Fan for PSU=$15
• EMU E4 PCB with Bournes encoder & spike smoothing capacitors =$30
• Internal ZuluSCSI Drive=$95
• 2MB Flash ROM upgrade board for E-MU Emulator IV=$45
• 128MB RAM MEMORY EMU EIV=$95
• HP PS/2 Keyboard Plus PS/2 to DIN5 Adapter=$25

MY TOTAL COST IN PARTS = $1155

* THE TECHNICAL SECTION * :

(Paraphrased from a forum post by another EMU member w/ technical knowledge)

Background

The difference in sound quality between the 3 generations of the E4 line (without question there is one) has not so much to do with with the DACs, but rather the analog output circuitry (the analog board in the 1st generation EIV). You can just believe this or read on and this tech stuff is only important because all the misleading info that exists on forums about the Ultras being the one to get.

The Analog Circuitry

So the 1st generation EIV has an Analog Devices AD1860 (ultra loud DAC) to a TI TL072 op amp (decent op amp) and finally to an Analog Devices SSM2142 (Balanced Line Driver). The SSM2142 is the key...it is a 'balanced line driver chip' that draws a lot of current and gives the EIV "transformer like outputs" that are extremely hot, with clarity and definition. You can mix inside the EIV with the main outputs and everything has separation and clarity that is missing from the later E4 line. Transformers are what makes vintage equipment of the 70s sound warmer and bigger and the SSM2142 appears to do a very good job of mimicking that quality. Only the Original 1st gen EIV has this.

Later, the 2nd generation E4X & E6400 (the classics) came out and they have the same AD1860 DAC as the 1st gen EIV but the Analog Devices SSM2142 (Line Driver) has gone! Why? Cost reduction. Remember all 3 generations of the E4 line can run virtually all versions of the EMU operating system (EOS) with almost no functionality compromises between EIV (gen 1) to E4 Ultra (gen 3) (94-99), but some hardware trade-offs were inevitable over the years and whilst processors got faster ('Coldfire' on Ultra), the audio circuit was unfortunately stripped out. Not to mention, the Analog Devices SSM2142 (Line Driver) requires more power and if you are increasing the processing power, FX, etc, you need to reduce the load on the power supply.

Then came the 3rd generation E6400, E4XT, E4 Platinum, E5000 'Ultras' which changed the DAC's to a 'Crystal CS4329' (20bit, sometimes 24bit) to OP275 op amps . The sound quality in the Ultra's is still very good (better than Akai's ) but it noticeably lacks the definition, size and degree of warmth the 1st generation EIV's possess.

The Analog Devices AD1860 DAC on the EIV and classics has better anti-aliasing characteristics (read : darker, smoother, easier on the ears) on hi-frequency sounds or those with a lot of broadband noise (eg - 'tambourine like' sounds). The CS4329 on the Ultra's is good, but it is the type of DAC you are likely to find in your consumer PC sound-card or DVD player.

The Inputs

Dave Rossum (a true audio genius who ranks with Bob Moog) designed the "analog board" for the EMU EIIIX, which then found its way into the 1st generation EIV. He didn't design any other aspect of the 1st generation EIV other than its analog board (his last full h/w sampler was EIIIx) and the analog board has a 'classic Dave Rossum' trick - gain scaling. He used something similar on the Emu EII and SP12/1200, taking 8 bits of the ADC and adding 4 bits as a form of compression to give you 12 bits of resolution out of an 8-bit ADC. All samples are stored at 8bit. On the original 1st generation EIV, there is a 'gain scaling' chip before the ADC which ensures that a quiet sound still uses the 'full scale' of the ADC and you get better resolution.

What this means is that whatever you sample in, at whatever volume, is lively and full.

This gain scaling feature is missing from the versions that came after the 1st gen EIV.

Samplers

• #1 EIV (1st Gen) - 'the progenitors' - (94-96)
  (1st Choice - Best Sound)
  + Has the Rossum Analog Board with Gain Scaling Chip etc
  + Has the Analog Devices SSM2142 Balanced Line Driver Chip for 'transformer-like' outs
  + Has the hotter Analog Devices AD1860 DACs
  
• #2 E4x, E6400 (2nd Gen) - 'the classics' - (96-99)
  (2nd Choice- still great)
  + Same Analog Devices AD1860 DACs as EIV
  - Lost the Rossum Analog Board
  - No Gain Scaling Chip
  - Lost the Analog Devices SSM2142 "Line Driver Chip" on the outputs
  
• 3# E5000 Ultra, E6400 Ultra, E4XT, E4 Platinum 'the Ultras' (99-2003)
  (3rd Choice - still great)
  - Lost the Rossum Analog Board
  - No Gain Scaling Chip
  - Lost the Analog Devices SSM2142 Line Driver Chip on the outputs
  - Changed the DAC from the hotter Analog Devices AD1860 to a Crystal CS4329

* END OF TECHNICAL SECTION *

CONDITION :

The unit has been tested and functions great and sounds warm and detailed. All the of parts that normally need service have been swapped out for new components as listed above, so this unit is future-proofed and running "better than new" as it's operation is now silent due to the Fan & SSD upgrades. As mentioned, the front face is in nearly MINT condition with the exception of a very minor mark under the EIV logo. Other than that, the unit cosmetically looks practically brand new and works great.

WHAT'S INCLUDED :

• EMU EIV (1st Gen) 128 voice Sampler with 128MB RAM & All Upgrades Listed Above
• An SD card for the ZuluSCSI drive formatted and setup with 6 individual empty 4 GB SCSI drives is included. As mentioned this SD Card just pops out using the front interface for a new SD card, providing unlimited storage for your samples. The actual SD card is formatted to FAT32 for ZuluSCSI, but the drive images are EOS format as required by EOS v4.62. I can provide a generic image with 6 EOS drives upon request as a template for new SD Cards.
• Standard IEC Power Cable
• HP PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 to DIN5 adapter.

Also as a side note...the YouTube clip included at the end of the pics is just a simple demo someone made using only the 1st gen EIV for all sounds and using the internal mixer...no computer. He states, "This is an instrumental demo track i made using only the E4 sampler! Everything from all samples and the internal 48trk sequencer was used for this, no computers! Here i am using the emu systems Emulator IV 1994 version."

Please Note :

Please check out my previous reviews on sales here on Reverb and purchase with 100% confidence. I'm meticulous about caring for my gear as well as all sales.

Please ask any questions you have on this EIV prior to purchase, I will respond promptly.

Also feel free to make an offer to purchase, but understand I have already priced this EIV $300 under my personal cost for the original unit purchase and upgraded parts. I am saving you both money and time if you purchase at the asking price as all the research and upgrade labor has been done for you.

I am only shipping to the continental US.

As this is a vintage piece of gear, I cannot accept returns for any reason and the EMU EIV is being sold "As Described".  That being said, it is working great and it will be packed very well to ensure no damage is sustained in shipping.

Thanks For Looking! :)