Sound-Card Reviews

Installation on a WindowsXP machine was as simple as simple can get. Simply plug the USB device into the machine, then plug your desired cable into your home theater a voila... music is sent to your theater as it should.

This product performs exactly as advertised. Only downside is that all computer sounds get sent to your home theater, so if you are listening to music at a high volume and you get mail... everybody knows.

This solved my problem of how to get digital sound out of my laptop and into my stereo setup (Panasonic receiver and 6.1 speaker set). I was pleasantly surprised that the Windows XP installation is true "plug and play": plug it in a USB port and seconds later it's recognized and ready to go. All sound goes out the link when connected, when unplugged reverts back to my sound card/internal speakers.

All included cables are high quality 30'. I opted for the Toslink optical; also included are a co-ax (rated at 75 ohm) and two RCA. There is DVD software as well I opted to not install.

This was a little pricier than I was looking, but I really have no complaints about it's performance and consider it worth the cash. According to the manufacturer it will pass on a Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 signal with the DVD software; I did not test this ability.

ONE NOTE: If you are planning on plugging it into a USB hub, ensure the hub is a USB 1.1 spec powered hub.

This product is very simple and does exactly what it says. It plays all my mp3's on my receiver in digital format. There's not really any software associated with the device itself (but dvd playing software is included). It's just a usb device. I've never had any problems at all with it's reliability. However, at first I thought the sound was a little tinny. But I adjusted the Eq settings on my computer and now the thing bangs.

At first I was going to use the digital output on my soundblaster audigy. But I heard in some messageboard that this output was not meant for receivers because it was a different voltage than the digital coax a receiver would accept. That was the main factor in my purchase. Plus I didn't want to use a crappy Y-cable.

Pros:
- Play mp3's all day long with digital quality
- Simple setup (just plug-in and change sound device)

Cons:
- Must adjust Eq settings
- More expensive than a Y-cable
- All of your computer's sounds (not just mp3's) play through your sound system

If you are attempting to build or upgrade a computer on a budget, Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Live! Value card is more than worthy of your consideration. I've recently moved up to a better sound card, but the Live! Value card gave me three years of quality audio on my old computer. It is more than capable of providing true 3D sound depending on your speaker setup. The Environmental Audio options feature preconfigured settings for a number of popular PC games, and they also make for some interesting types of audio atmospheres for your CD music, featuring such options as padded room, forest, hallway, arena, etc. I did sometimes run into a problem playing music CDs in Windows Media Player or Real One Player-sometimes my Environmental Audio settings seemed to override my individual player settings and sometimes they didn't. Overall, though, music CDs will sound quite good with this sound card and will suit the needs of most users. All but the most intense gamers should also be happy with this card's performance. If you want better audio, you naturally need to pay a little more for a more technologically advanced sound card. For the average user, this card will more than meet your audio needs without inflicting significant damage on your wallet.

This is an INcredible sound card, supports eax, makes the games sound enviormantal realstic and 3d sound extreme, and is a very realstic and great sound card I'd reccomend for any dvd viewer or musician or gamer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This soundcard is amazing. The sounds you get out of it are so lifelike. From playing games to listening to music, the difference can be heard. Also, if you have a surround sound speaker system, you should definitely get this because you'll definitely be experiencing games and music rather than just listening to them. No wonder Creative says "Sounds so real - it's live!"

I bought this sound card to replace my Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Platinum. I was looking for an external box, plus audio support for the newest games. I had thought the sound quality from my old card was good enough, so I was certainly unprepared for how much better this card sounds. With my speakers, there is almost no audible hiss anymore, and sounds are crisper and cleaner. Whatever shortcomings I encounter in my sound quality now, I am certain have more to do with my speakers than my sound card.

The external control box is quite handy, and very easy to set up. Plus, it looks much nicer than any of Creative Lab's previous breakout boxes. Almost all of the card's inputs and outputs are located on the box. Only analog outs and a game port actually go in the computer, plus connectors to the external box.

Creative Labs has done a good job of cleaing up their act with drivers, but they've still got a long way to go. The new drivers and software are definitely better designed and more stable than the previous ones for my Live!, but if you install any of the additional software, then they're just as intrusive, and require a good bit of tweaking and perhaps uninstalling. Fortunately, there's now a minimal drivers only installation option.

I've had this sound card for more than a month now. I play a lot of games, listen to a good bit of music, and watch DVDs fairly often. I regularly use the ports on the breakout box, so the extra money was well worth it. However, if you have no need for easy access to any of the inputs or outputs, the much cheaper standard Audigy 2 might be a better choice.

I have been into home recording for a decade now and started out with the earlier versions of Creative's flagships (AWE32/64/Gold/Live 5.1).

In my opinion, the Audigy 2 Plat eX is by far the best sounding, all encompassing home recording solution for amateurs and semi-professionals on the market right now.

Here is what you will NOT get from the competition for the price:
1. Sampler on card (Soundfonts) to create great sounding drums or other instruments (check out sonicimplants.com), download Vienna from Creative (not included)
2. Break out box to hook up external digital sound modules, guitar processors and vocalizers and even video cameras (it does not seem to heat up too much)
3. Stable drivers so far (after clean XP installation at least - check Creative forums for bugs first!), I am looking forward to the day the drivers support more simultaneous audio tracks and make extensive use of routabel onboard effects
4. Great sound - crisp, clear, loud, easy MP3 and CD creation of your compositions

I strongly recommend this for people who have researched the product and are into home recording at an affordable price.

Superb job, Creative!

This sound card is by far the best. I thought the other internal sound card was pretty ugly, but when I saw this one I knew I had to have it. I bought it primarily because my computer is black and I didn't want a nasty looking white thing in the front of my computer. Not only does it look good, but it sounds excellent, and it comes with a huge set of programs and selections to pick from, so if you have to money to spare or burn then I would really suggest getting this sound card.

I have had little compatiblity problems with this card on games. Of course I have a top of the line computer from Falcon that is tweeked to perfection. On my other PC with the Audigy 2 I noticed that my 6.1 setting would revert to the primative 2.0 setting in some games, but that is no longer a problem with this card using the 6.1 speaker setting. I have not tried 7.1 yet as I am still raising funds for the Gigaworks speakers(aka robbing banks, bashing the heads of stupid rich people, steeling corperate info, ect.;).
This card does not come with Jedi Academy as the other reviewer said, however. I have been wanting that game and only wish it did! The only complaint I have with this card is that it does little to position sounds properly in some games. I cannot get the speech to come through the center speaker only other sounds but that is the game's fault I think. If you have EAX 3 on a game it will not position sound accurately, you must have an EAX 4 compatible game. Knights of the Old Republic does not position speech through the center channel for instance. My old card(Audigy 2) positioned sound perfectly.

I was going to pick up the regular Audigy 2 for about fifteen to twenty dollars less but when I looked at the bundle that came with this it was impossible to turn down.

I received the games (all full versions as indicated). The training tutorials on the game CDs are pretty good, which was a relief because as expected no manuals for the games.

Picked this up with a T7700 sound system and Far Cry (awesome game) if you have a very solid PC to run it... I am playing it at max settings with my new Geforce 6800 OC and the graphics are simply amazing.

By picking up the sound card, T7700 speakers and Far Cry I also get fifty later to spend on Doom 3 and a fifteen dollar rebate on the T7700 speakers...

Can't beat this deal and the whole package is a very solid deal for high quality sound...

This card includes 5 full version games (all prices are amazon.com prices as of 4/8/04)
1. Halo ($43.99)
2. Star Wars : Jedi Academy ($44.99)
3. Splinter Cell ($29.99)
4. Rainbow Six 3 : Ravenshield ($19.99)
5. Tomb Raider : Angel of Darkness ($19.99)

Just the games on amazon cost $158.95!! It also has built in firewire and 7.1 surround sound. Not bad for a card that costs 133.99! Excellent card all around!

Granted, Creative makes the de facto standard of sound cards. Anyone remotely familiar with computers knows that. What you may not know is it's almost impossible to tell the difference between this card and a $10 no-name sound card unless you use very expensive speakers (i.e. Klipsch ProMedia) or run a line to a high quality home theater system. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and I challenge them to prove otherwise. If you don't have or plan to buy at least a 4 or 5 speaker system, there's no reason you should buy this card over a Soundblaster 16. Even the included games are selling at bargain prices now. Save your money.

I ran into difficulties installing this card due to limitations of not enough free IRQ spaces. I don't have a lot of extra peripherals, just a CD-ROM, a CDRW, a NIC card and an extra hard drive. (Wasn't Win95 supposed to eliminate this problem anyway?) I was finally able to get the card to work under Win98, however the software-based DOS emulation drivers still won't load correctly. Make sure you have free spaces as the installation software won't point this out to you beforehand and it became a real nightmare to install.

The main reason I knocked it down a couple stars is because of the card's unreliability. The old Soundblaster cards used to be rock solid. However, the first Live card I bought started losing one of its speaker channels within the first month. Fortunately I was able to return it for a replacement. The replacement I've owned less than a year, yet again I'm losing the right side. While there is a 1-year warranty, chances are it'll probably be more hassle than it's worth to return it to Creative and I'll probably have to throw it away. It's unfortunate quality control has pretty much gone out the window.

I've been using Creative Labs products since the Sound Blaster Pro I bought in 1993, and still they astound me. I purchased a new chip/MB, and it had all AGP and PCI slots, so my ISA SB AWE64 had to go; I replaced it with this, and after hearing the incredible quality and effects that this card had to offer, I'm certain I made the right choice. If you are into gaming or just high-quality audio in general, this card is the way to go - it's expandable to the nth degree, with both proprietary items (FPS2000 speakers, LiveDrive) from Creative and more standard things such as DVD drives, TV cards, and multiple speaker systems. And you HAVE to hear the immersive 3D sound this can generate in games like Thief and Unreal Tournament. You could always buy a 16-bit generic PCI sound card, but this is worth the money.

O MY GOD! this card is the best card i have used in a long, long time! You plug it in and it works. Its that simple. The software installs fine, and it is Live!Ware compatible, which means you can add new features to your card later. The software itself is worth the price. I bought this card elseware, which means that I paid $100, and I thought it was a great deal then. This card has 2 disks of software for the card itself, and 5 for the games! There are so many features to this card I haven't even found them all and I spent an entire weekend playing with it. And it has support for 5.1 surround sound, so you can FEEL the games when you play them. BUY THIS CARD NOW! IT IS THAT SIMPLE! You wont regret it.

While this product is being faded out with the new Audigy line, there is still a quality sound card here. If you don't have the speakers to support the 5.1 or 6.1 you are better off with this card.

This one is hot and works good with ur dvd player and audio equipment.

I have had a version of this sound card for over 2 years.
I have no compatability problems with Windows 2K or Linux, every game I play sounds great.
The software that you can get from creative's website allows you to do all sorts of fun things in realtime. I've not used the digital out (Sorry, don't have DD receiver just for my computer) but the 4 speaker out works great.
I put these cards in every one of my machines I've built.
If you are a computer builder, this card requires no additional drivers out the box for W2K which always makes windows more stable :)

Great card, but it has compatibility problems with the Abit KT7 (RAID) motherboard and Windows 2000. It works great in Windows 98/ME, and works great in Windows XP.

This sound card is one amazing piece of hardware! Prior to making my purchase, I used Creative's Ensonic, a 128-voice card. I've read everywhere that all one needs to enjoy CD sound from mp3's is a 128-voice card (and the right bit rate recording). Turns out that was a bunch of horse doo. This SB card fills my room with sound, soft highs and smooth lows, and has breathed new life into my entire music collection. If you're using a cheesy old card like I was and you're looking to improve the quality of music coming from your PC (not necessarily video games), buy this card. You won't regret it!

I bought this card to replace my Diamond Monster MX300 which finally gave out on me. I was extremely happy with the MX300 and so I expected at least similar quality or better from a newer card. I am not (so far) disappointed.

I was a little leary about EAX effects after Aureal's 3d effects on the MX300, which were great. After installing the card and all the associated Creative software I put it through some tests. Everything sounded a little deeper... richer maybe. The EAX effects are quite bountiful to say the least, maybe with a little overkill. I have yet to try the digital out, or the 5.1 speaker setup, but I am quite sure they will both be exceptional.

Overall I was quite pleased with the sound, the price is only a little higher than what I have traditionally spent on sound cards, but it's not a bad deal. I do have one exception with this card though. I would have preferred just a bare bones style install of drivers, etc. I have since gone back and pruned down most of the extra programs I installed originally, since I didn't find them to be of much long term use.

I would suggest this card to those who need to upgrade due to hardware failure, or to replace a seriously old sound card or if you just have the extra money and you are upgrading to a 5.1 speaker system this (or any of the SB Live! series) would be the card to go with.

The Xitel Hi Fi Link produces better sound than obtained thru the headphone output of my powerbook G4, however, you will be disapointed if you connect it to a high-end sound system as the sound is very digital and lifeless. It works best for social/casual listening and for that purpose, it's a good value at the amazon.com price.

So you've digitized your CD collection or listen to internet radio, but are tired with the tinny sound of your computer speakers. "Why can't I use my stereo that's located just 15' away," you ask yourself? Having bought a DVD/CD player that can read .mp3 disks was a reasonable stopgap, but what about internet radio?

If this sounds like you, the HiFi-Link is a must have.

There are three items in the box: (1) a USB cable for your computer to the HiFi Link, (2) the HiFi Link, and (3) a 30' long RCA cable for between the HiFi Link and your stereo. Hookup was reasonably simple (I did get a message that a certain file was not found during installation, but the HiFi-Link still worked). The HiFi Link is small - about the size of fat candybar - so you can stuff it anywhere easily out of sight. The sound quality is great.

On the downside, using the HiFi Link requires you to change your multimedia default sound output to "USB device" instead of your soundcard; this means that everything will play through your stereo (computer games etc) unless you toggle the sound output back to your sound card. A minor inconvenience for the overall utility of digital music on your home stereo.

I purchased the HiFi-Link for connecting my laptop to the stereo in my family room while listening to the Rhapsody music service. I read good reviews here so I ordered one - I was not disappointed. I connected the USB cable, Windows XP installed the drivers and I was up in running in seconds.

Originally I was connecting from the headphone jack of my laptop to a stereo, and while the sound was adequate, it wasn't what I would consider 'CD Quality'. There was a very noticeable improvement after connecting up the HiFi link and listening to my first song. The sound quality is great and I had no issues with hum or noise - the device really works as advertised.

Bottom line, for the small investment you can't go wrong with the HiFi Link.

Way back in the day, when SB 8-bit was the coolest thing around.. everyone had one, cause thats what was out. Then a few years back there was some good compition in the sound card market. Creative Labs, and Aureal to be specific. I went Aureal (rip)when I built my last system... and it has lasted me for these last few years. I was never a fan of SB or SB Live! price vs performace, or features for that matter. A3D (i think, and most will agree) kicked EAX right in the pants. My last card, Aureals Vortex SQ2500, I absolutly loved. Music, 3d gaming, all rocked. Matched with Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 I have been totally happy until I upgraded my system (2.4 P4) and to Win XP Pro. Since Aureal went belly up, support for XP just isn't there. I lost quad sound, the great Aureal control panel. Time to upgrade, and i figured SB was going to be the only choice. But I searched around, and found the Santa Cruz. Familiar with the Turtle Beach name, and what info I gathered, seemed wise to purchase one. Awesome. Easy to install, new XP drivers right off the webpage. Music sounds even better to me now. I really like the control panel layout, and a real EQ, like my old Aureal card. Effects sound great, and none of that system hogging, useless software that SB crams on your computer. I reccomend this card for anyone, music lover, gamer.. doesn't matter. Solid card, lots of features, can't go wrong. To top it off, cheaper than SB cards. Only gripe: no games bundled :) Haha, but i can't live with that for sure.

I have had problems with the sound quality of captured video. The on-board AC'97 made it sound scratchy & tinny. Hence I decided to get a sound card. SB live! and Philips cards were no go as they locked up my system. Hurricane Extreme was no better than on-board audio. In a last desperate measure, I installed the Santa Cruz 5.1 card. The installation was unbelievably smooth (W2K + MSI K7-Master) and the sound quality is excellent. I heartily recommend this card to anyone looking for a stable PCI card with excellent audio quality

I recently upgraded from basic speakers to a 5:1 speaker set and discovered a hardware problem with my old sound card, a Creative Labs card that was a standard component with my system. The documentation that came with the card wasn't great, and it took a while to identify the problem, so I was looking outside the Creative family for my next sound card. I'd read several good reviews of the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card, so I figured I'd take a shot on it.

That shot definitely paid off. I have nothing but good things to say about my new sound card: installation was easy (I only had to unhook the microphone connector from my old card and snap it onto this one), the drivers installed quickly and easily, and the accompanying software was far superior to the software that I had from Creative. There are a host of sound options available: your standard volume-by-source controls, a graphic equalizer that can be turned on and off with several presets, options for multiple speaker setups with an accompanying image showing where your speakers should be connected (2 speakers, 4 speakers, 5:1, and so on), and additional applications if you want to get more involved.

I haven't had a chance to put the card through its paces with a decent game, but the difference in listening to my iTunes files is amazing, and the control I have over the music is great. I'd definitely recommend this card to anyone looking for a reasonably-priced, fairly high-powered sound card, and with Amazon's newly-lowered price, it's an even better deal than when I got it. Buy it and enjoy!

This is one of the most talked about sound card these days, above this being the platinum edition. For the hard core gamer, the movie fan & mp3 listener, this card will do the job just right. I purchased this card for a new system I built, and it's performed like a charm since installation.
The quality of the sound is clearly above my old sound blaster live card. If used with high quality speakers, the sound card will really bring out that monster inside. You'll hear music, movies, even games with such clarity, that you may even hear sounds that are there that you never heard before.
One of my favorite features of this card is the EAX Console. Here you can choose from a wide variety of effects for your audio, which, again, if combined with good speakers, can make the listener feel right in the action. Also, included is a creative player, which I do not use, but I'm glad it's there just in case I get tired of my current player and want to test it out.
You also have diagnostics, speaker settings, surround mixer, & other features.
You can easily combined a speaker system with 5.1 speakers; that's going to add a lot of joy to your listening experience.
If you want to listen to your music in a different level, want to experience games & movies in a better way, then definitely get this audio card. It beats the sound from the built-in audio controller that comes with most of today's motherboards.
The difference will be heard.

This card is your choice for games. Not the budget, but your choice! Advanced EAX HD support truly changes your experiences in your current games. Unlike using a regular average onboard sound card or sound card, you'll find amazing sound sporting coming right down your neighborhood! Locating an enemie's location, position, sounds from further distances, and more(all mentioned there was high-spatial quality), hearing incredibly realistic sound vibration and extended voice times and sound effects only in certain environments that it truely contributes to(that's reverb I was talkig there!), full 6.1 dolby digital surround support, DVD support, dream quality high 24-bit sound output support, 196khz play back rate, 100sbdrn! What more do you want? 32-bit play back rate? PPLLZZZ! Don't hold back on this one!

To suggest that this soundcard is a dramatic improvement over on-board sound is a massive understatement. I recently purchased a new computer, one far more powerful and speedy than my old one, but I soon discovered that my media didn't sound nearly as good as I was used to hearing. I'd had a Sound Blaster Live card in my old unit, but I could not install that in the new computer: It was not compatible with Windows XP. Hence, I had to buy a new soundcard, not something super-fancy or compatible with speakers in 100 different rooms: Just something that kicks out good stereo sound for a good three-speaker setup, not to mention the ability to utilize more channels should I ever decide to go that route. The difference in the sound blew my mind: So much richer, deeper, more full in both lows and highs. This thing makes my computer sound wonderful, whether I'm playing it through my computer speakers or running it through my stereo. Helps with cd burning as well, as it allows for full-range copying of discs with 24-bit sound. Highly recommended!