Need New Sound Card!!!!!

Y

Ya CHA CHa

New member
I have been using an old 16 bit isa sound card that was sitting around the house when I built my system. I decided that this wasnt the best of sound cards and I needed to upgrade. I don't need the most exspensive one seeing that I mostly use headphones and sometimes my two Sony Speakers. I was looking for a better pci card that would offer more bass and volume but I dont need all the extras like digital sound and support for 4 speakers. Does anyone have a good suggestion
 
Best sound quality for cheap would be a vortex 1 based card, if you want something more high end, I just picked up a Philips Acoustic Edge and I am very pleased with it.
 
I have been VERY satisfied with the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in both Win2000 and WinMe. But it may be more than what you want since it does have 4 and six speaker support, etc. But it is only about $79 retail. For half that, I have read good things about Guillemot/Hercules MaxiSound Muse series of cards for about $39. Also for consideration might be the Phillips Edge series of cards.
FYI - I was never more happy than when I yanked out my SB Live!
MBS
 
Low cost > CMedia CMI8378 based soundcard eg.Leadtek4X, Herc Muse.
Solid yet more > Herc TheathreXP/Philips AE/Turtle Beach SC.

You guys are so darn lucky having so many options, whereas here in my Porkland, all we have is Creative SBLive! no other else.
 
i replaced my sblive with a turtle beach santa cruz and ive never been happier with an upgrade, its around $80 and has the best sound ive ever experienced(i have never heard the acoustic edge) but comparing my experience with the sblive and santa cruz, get a santa cruz
 
I bought a santa cruz yesterday, nobody carried them here untill last week, then one store got oem models and were selling them for 58$ Canadian!!
I called a few other places before buying yesterday 2 other stores now carry them here one for $129.99 and another for 169.99
so I payed the 58 bucks and I am real happy to have that sblive out of my system!
it has alot of extra options you may not need, but then if you do decide to get a set of speakers at some time you wouldnt have to upgrade your soundcard to support it.
I think for the money santa cruz is the way to go now..
especially if you can get a deal like I did
Wolf
 
Santa cruz

Santa cruz

I am now thinking of getting rid of my SB Live, and will probably get a Santa Cruz. Just One Question, Is this the same as the Sonic Fury (Videologic???) card? I'm in the UK.
Cheers
TheSweeney
 
Yes the santa cruz and the sonic fury are the same card, I would rather have an acoustic edge though if I could get one sent to the UK
 
DO NOT GET THE GUILLEMOT/HERCULES MAXISOUND MUSE!!! :eek:

My friend was hypnotized by the Muse's cheap price ($20-30) and bought one for his second system. Big mistake, it sounds simply awful compared to his Aureal SQ2500. I have had the displeasure of hearing the Muse in action and if I may be so bold, it is a major P.O.S.. The sound quality is among the worst I have ever experienced, for gaming OR music. I would even go so far as to say that the Muse is the worst sounding PCI soundcard in existence. I cannot believe a reputable company like Guillemot decided to make this garbage.

If you're looking for a really cheap soundcard then get an old Turtle Beach Montego II or Aureal SQ2500. If you're really desperate for an even cheaper soundcard then consider an Ensoniq AudioPCI/SBlaster64 or even a SBlaster 128. Back in late 97 I bought an Ensoniq AudioPCI and it was, and is, a good soundcard. Had I not desired full EAX compatibility I might have transferred it to my new 1Ghz system.

I would recommend that you fork over the $70 for the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (www.onvia.com, free shipping if you use UPS Ground). Despite the higher cost the Santa Cruz will hold up nicely over the years and Turtle Beach is excellent abolut updating their drivers on a regular basis.
 
Does the SoundBlaster PCI128 have the same issues on AMD/Via/Radeon systems as does the SoundBlaster Live? I replaced my Live card with the PCI128 and am still getting stutter in my mp3s. I'm wondering if that would occur with any sound card.
 
Himself said:
Best sound quality for cheap would be a vortex 1 based card, if you want something more high end, I just picked up a Philips Acoustic Edge and I am very pleased with it.
Click to expand...


Get real there outa business. The SoundBlaster Live Value for $50.00 is the best deal.
 
MBS said:
I have been VERY satisfied with the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in both Win2000 and WinMe. But it may be more than what you want since it does have 4 and six speaker support, etc. But it is only about $79 retail. For half that, I have read good things about Guillemot/Hercules MaxiSound Muse series of cards for about $39. Also for consideration might be the Phillips Edge series of cards.
FYI - I was never more happy than when I yanked out my SB Live!
MBS
Click to expand...

I agree! I'm getting rid of my SoundBlaster Live and getting a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz! I like the Live card but its time for a change! Games just seem to not do as well as they should with it.
 
Definitely the Santa Cruz, excellent features at an excellent price (hopped on over to Detroit and picked one up for $79US). Everything is very stable and sounds great (even better that my MX300 (Vortex 2), which sounded great!), I would highly recommend it.
 
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NEVERLIFT said:
Get real there outa business. The SoundBlaster Live Value for $50.00 is the best deal.
Click to expand...

Erm, I'm sure people would be able to pick up a V1 card for $10 somewhere, very good signal to noise. I think the key word was cheap, as for driver support, yeah, no more drivers, but that applies to the live! as well. :)
 
I've got a SoundBlaster Live! 1024 and I'm very happy about it. It sound pretty good and I haven't had any problems with it. But then again... I don't really care about high quality audio, as long as it sound good to me I'm happy, I'm more a graphics person :)
 
I am going to get an Aureal Vortex 2. I found someone on ebay selling 50 of them and I got one for 15.00. I can't wait till I get it.
 
Re: Santa cruz

Re: Santa cruz

TheSweeney said:
I am now thinking of getting rid of my SB Live, and will probably get a Santa Cruz. Just One Question, Is this the same as the Sonic Fury (Videologic???) card? I'm in the UK.
Cheers
TheSweeney
Click to expand...

Yup, the Sonicfury and Santa Cruz are identical. The only difference is the software bundle and the brand name.

If gaming is your primary concern Santa Cruz and Hercules Game Theater XP are the best 5.1 digital solutions since they use Sensaura audio processing.

Philips Acoustic Edge is a better solution if your primary cocern is the best 5.1 digital DVD audio output and excellent 3D gaming sound as well.
 
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