First of all dont kill your EMU 0404 USB Its conversion is very clean and very accurate. I actually purchased mine here after hearing some great raves about the A/D D/A conversion it had. However being said i use a Audio Upgrades pre going into it and it sounds amazing But stock mic pre, its not bad the gain does suffer a bit with some dynamic mics. Some choices MCA-sp1 modified by Audio Upgrades you can get then cheap brand new from
PSSL.com ProSound And Stage Lighting - Buy DJ, Lighting Equipment, Musical Instruments then send to Audioupgrades.com for $125 to get moddied or a Modified Oktava Mk219 from Micheal Joly at Oktavamods.com either way you will get mics that sound wonderful on a variety of sources. Ebay mk129 is about $100 basic mod $150 but the mic will sound like as close as you can to a Neumann without spending 1000's
Although I have tried some of the less expensive Mics the cad 179 and ADK A51 They lack that 3 dimensional sound that a great mic gives you. Try the modified ones and trust me you will get that and not spend a fortune. I also Suffer from sibilence as does my writing partner. The Modified mics work well to tame this nicely. Also Dont Discount some of the older EV Dynamics do some research and Ebay you can get some nice ones
I have a EV666 and a EV665 both over 35 years old that sound great on my voice full no sibilence included
One more place to check out pretty cool mic tests
VO Mic Tests# they have Dynamics and Condensers all price ranges sampled