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Poll: Turtle Beach Santa Cruz or Philips Acoustic Edge

N

Noriaki

Lifer
<EDIT>
A good Question sd, Win2k is my primary (only) OS (I have Win98SE/Win2k/Linux, but I don't remember the last time I booted Linux or 98).

How is Win2k support?

This poll is still tight....
</EDIT>

Ok, I should be getting a 4 month extension on my work study, and if I do I'm going to upgrade my sound systems.

My SBLive! Value is alright, but I was quite pleased with the cleanness of the sound on the AE...makes me wonder why people worry about Digital PCM output.

So that's getting replaced.

And my 90watt stereo RCA shelf system has A) really really bad midrange....I'm not sure what's wrong with it, but I really have to muck with the EQ to be able to hear voices at all in DVDs, and even then explosions and gunshots are way to loud and voices way to quiet. I'm very unhappy with this system for DVDs.

I have my speakers picked out already and they are 4 channel analog inputs (I'm sure those of you that participate in any speaker threads no what those are, but I'm not going to open that can of worms here).


I use my PC for lots. DVDs, Gaming, and MP3s. So I want a good soundcard for all 3.

DVD playing will be courtesy WinDVD 2000 2.3M with 4 channel downmix, so really all I need from the card is good quality 4 channel output that's compatible with WinDVD 2000. I think that both will work here.

MP3 playing, this is one thing I'm worried about, with that wierd QMSS thing the AE has...playing a stereo source in 4 speaker mode..what does it do to the sound? I'm not a big fan of processed music..I like it flat and clean...(my friend only had 2ch speakers so I couldn't test this feature).

Gaming, well which supports gaming better. EAX and A3D support? How is Q3D vs Sensura3D in gaming?

And headphones are important to me too...I am frequently up later than anyone else in my house, so the distinct headphone outjack on the Cruz is nice. But right now I'm just using a splitter so I could continue to do that for the AE.


So...which card do you think I should take, AE or Cruz?
 
Depends what is more important to you. The AE is probably a bit better on the music and movies end, the Santa Cruz is the superior card for gaming.

I personally prefer high-end music reproduction, so the Philips would be my card if I had to choose one of these 2.

The ultimate setup would be to have a card such as the Delta Audiophile 2496 for 24-bit music playback with the MAD decoder in winamp, and the Turtle Beach card for gaming, but hey, money is an issue. 🙂

I think you'll be happy with either card, but decide which is more important to you to make your final decision.

dm
 
I've read the 3dss.com reviews, thanks for the links though.

Mark and Mikeal are definite Audio Gurus, but it can never hurt to get opinions from more people.
 
I just got the AE, haven't installed it yet so can't tell you from experience, but I've only seen rave reviews. by the way, you can pick one up at buy.com for ~70 (80 - 10 for new customer + free shipping). I think they are not in stock now, but you can probably buy now and wait 1-2 weeks until they get it back in.
 
sensaura 3d technology is by far superior to q3d...

all in all, the santa cruz is a better card...the quality of audio is on a par w/ the acoustic edge, live, etc....

etc.

 
I've had the AE for over a month now and I couldn't be happier. I had an SBLive and a SBLive Value. With my speaker setup the AE Blows the SB cards away. Klipsch V400s with updated control pod and Klipsch 2.1s =6.2 setup actually 5.2🙂 is my speaker setup. My music, games and I couldn't be happier.😀
 
wow that must be a hell of a speaker set up...

My old complaint about the v.2-400s is the midrange for vocals in DVD...but since most of that is center channel and you are using a 2.1 sat for that there goes that complaint.

Damn...that must make the house shake 😀
 
Since I have only seen the possibility of Linux support for the Santa Cruz, I'd have to give it the edge in overall OS compatibility. I mean, that's the only non-Windows mention of getting either of these cards to work.

-SUO
 
Noriaki
Yes the house does shake.😀 I am using the 2.1s as my center but I only use one of the speakers. When you have both speakers hooked up only bass comes out the right speaker causing havoc with my monitor. SO I disconnected the right one and it sounds great. Both bass modules rumble big time. I'm just glad I don't live in a apartment. Police would be coming by every night. LOL
 
divinemartyr... the jury is still out on how good the AE is with music. Not that I've heard the AE, but some don't like the way QMSS affects the rear speakers. Although I have heard that QMSS is awesome for DVD's.

Not that I'm a huge audiophile, but I can't see how the Santa Cruz's gaming or music sounds can be improved.

Btw, I love my Santa Cruz card and can easily recommend it.
 
I'm sure Neoseeker has a fairly extensive list of reviews for each card. Neoseeker = ReviewClick on steroids.

-SUO
 
never heard the AE, but the Santa Cruz I have in my system sounds pretty sweet. Right now I have it hooked up analog to my Kenwood receiver and Infinity 10&quot; &quot;bookshelf&quot; (although they're over 2.5 feet tall so I don't know what bookshelf they would fit in) speakers. it sounds pretty damn good but I am in desperate need for a new receiver. Gonna go Dolby Dig with a Denon AVR-1801 I think. I hope my tax return comes soon!
 
My friend had to choose between the two recently, read a bunch of reviews and he just told me that he was going to grab the Santa Cruz over the Acoustic Edge... trusting his opinion there's my vote.
 
I just got a SB Live! 5.1 X-Gamer to replace my Monster MX300. The MX now sits in my second box. I am so tempted to get the Philips after hearing so much about it. I have heard some of the Santa Cruz but it seems from reviews and word of mouth that Philips edges it out. I think that the biggest thing to learn from all this is how amazing it is that Creative seems to have been taken off their throne. Don't you love competition!
 
I don't think it's that surprising, as Creative has basically been just rehashing the same card for a few years now.
 
Wingznut PEZ - My point exactly. It's about time! I shouldn't be talking so much sh*t about a company I just shelled $90 out to.
 
It has been my understandling that the EMU-2K1 (or whatever) chip on the Live! series cards is reprogrammable. So, *I'm* thinking that even if you have the earliest edition, you *should* be able to download an upgrade from CL and bring you up to speed on the 5.1 level, let's say. But, I guess we know how CL likes to make money, and the rest as they say ...

-SUO, down with the regime 🙂
 
Just installed a Santa Cruz in place of my Live!. I believe the sound is better. I did notice that my Klipschs no longer pop when I turn on the computer so that is an added bonus to me. Big determining factors for me on the Santa Cruz were the headphone jack and stability in Win2K. I didn't care for the disclaimer Philips has regarding Win2k.
 
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