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Turtle Beach/Voyetra TBS-3300-01 Sound Cards
Customer Reviews for Turtle Beach TBS-3300-01 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Montego DDL Sound Card - Retail
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Price: $59.99
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Review Summary (131 Reviews): Rating + 4
OverallLast 2 WeeksLast 6 Months
Excellent Rating + 5 70ReviewsExcellent
newegg
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Good Rating + 4 19ReviewsGood
newegg
15%
Average Rating + 3 16ReviewsAverage
newegg
12%
Poor Rating + 2 12ReviewsPoor
newegg
9%
Very Poor Rating + 1 14ReviewsVery Poor
newegg
11%
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Reviewer Product Review
Kaicho
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/25/2010 8:18:01 AM

Rating + 5 Great Card


Pros: Good price. Easy install. Amazing Sound Quality and Options. Tweaking your sound to be perfect has never been easier.

The Optical In/Outs are great! My PS3 connects to my card and I receive sound no problem... granted, it's only 2channel sound. Nonetheless, it's sound from the beasty Subwoofer I have.

Cons: The software that comes with it is NOT friendly to windows7... HIGHLY reccomend going to Turtle Beach website and downloading the CMedia drivers instead. They are much better and have versions for 64bit Vista and Win7.

Other Thoughts: Great card and much happier that I bought this instead of a friggety Crea***e brand card. Theirs are too expensive, and can have issues with certain programs... whereas Turtle Beach has made an amazing card that does everything I want... including having sound that rivals truely high-scale systems!

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Laramos
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/22/2009 8:03:24 AM

Rating + 5


Pros: Works as directed

Cons: regular sound output doesn't work when doing digital output. vice versa

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/9/2009 4:02:38 AM

Rating + 5 Very noticeable difference from 5.1


Pros: Easy install, high quality sound.

Cons: The drivers that come with the card are very bad. Get the reference drivers.

To get them, go to http://www.cmedia.com.tw/drivers.html and download the latest drivers for your operating system. Install like normal.

Other Thoughts: You can go inside the CMedia control panel after you install the drivers and choose your settings. Make sure you choose the settings that match your audio setup. I use a headset, so I chose the headphone setting. Also, if you have a 7.1 sound capable audio device, you can click the 7.1 Sound button on the main page of the drivers and enable it. There are tons of options to choose from such as heavy bass, low bass, or whatever you prefer. Very user friendly.

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Maestro73
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/13/2009 12:07:40 PM

Rating + 5 Good Sound Card for the Money


Pros: Nice sound; possibly a little more detailed in the high end and clearer in the mids than my X-fi.

Cons: Last I checked Win7 drivers weren't available.

Other Thoughts: I like the card. I'm using it in a 2nd PC so I can't comment on any gaming use/issues with it. But it does sound pretty good listening to music.

Downloaded the C-media drivers and they worked for Win7. As far as I can tell, the TB driver pack just uses a prettier interface; otherwise they seem identical. No issues with it so far.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

avrat
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/4/2009 7:18:49 AM

Rating + 3 Hardware OK but no Win7 support


Pros: Card works well in Win XP. Good Price. Sound decent.

Cons: No Win 7 support. This is outrageous to me. I updated my theater system where I have this card and can't get drivers for it. They said they may have them buy mid November. This will be my last purchase of a Turtle Beach card. It tells me they aren't serious about supporting their products.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Slovak
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/3/2009 6:13:34 AM

Rating + 5 Another wiiner


Pros: This is my 5th purchase on this series. I am a HEAVY gamer (COD series) and for my use this card rocks. I CANNOT speak to the music side as I do not listen to music through the PC. But, if you are a gamer and a movie watcher via the PC, buy this card. For the money, and for what I need, this is the best card out there.

Cons: None. However, I was blogging about this card and I found that the driver that comes with this card is junk, and it is. The best driver for this card is called HT Omega Striker 7.1. Very easy to config and run.

Other Thoughts: I also bought new head phones. I bought the Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset. Newegg has them for $49.99. So if you buy this card and use it on older technology head sets, DO NOT BLAME THE CARD. BTW the head sets totally rock with this card. While playing COD everyone said i needed to turn my mic volume setting down.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

splintereddoor
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/2/2009 5:25:24 PM

Rating + 5 Wow this card is back for sale, good card.


Pros: This thing produces great sound for a great price. It had been unavailable for quite a while but it looks like now they have some back, and now I can write a review (can't write a review on deactivated items).

I'm still using this soundcard. Started out in Win XP 32bit and it worked amazing. But when I switched to Vista 64bit I had a lot of problems. I've had this card over a year and it's been pretty good.

First off, there's no official driver support. I tried the HT Omega striker 7.1 drivers with no success, then I tried C media drivers, which got it to work, but I always had weird problems, like internet videos stuttering, and Steam wouldn't work (Valvle's game download service) unless I deactivated the card, but then of course I had no sound.

Well the problem was the wrong drivers, what you want for this card to get it to work on Vista 64 are the C-media "CMI8768" version 8.7.33 drivers for Vista, which work fine and are stable.

Cons: No official support for Vista 64.

Other Thoughts: Once you get this baby going properly, you will be satisfied with sound and connectivity options. If you're on XP then you're good to go, but if you have Vista or Windows 7 you will probably want to use the C-media drivers.

It's a shame this card got so many bad reviews due to lack of Vista support. It really brought the rating down, and shame on the company for not supporting this product with their own drivers.

It truly is a remarkable product and I can't believe they dropped support for it, for the price you get a pretty high end sound from it, and it has connection options even some more expensive cards do not.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Theo
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/25/2009 6:56:34 PM

Rating + 5 Great


Pros: Works great sound great can't get much better

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: do not use the driver it came with use the Striker 7.1 drivers instead they work great and works on vista 64 bit for me with those drivers.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/25/2009 5:19:50 PM

Rating + 5 Works with vista 64


Pros: Low Price, High Quality Sound, Digital out. works with vista 64bit.

Cons: Drivers that ship with product is lacking at best. However, I downloaded c-media drivers and have been happy for over a year now. I have no problems with driver issues at all.

Other Thoughts: This is a great sound card. for HTPC

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Rum Runner Ron
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/25/2009 4:19:38 AM

Rating + 5 Worth every penny


Pros: The price and features. Blows the onboard sound I was using away. Equalizer has more range than onboard chipset. Fiber optic connections are awesome. The sound is amazingly clean.

Cons: It didn't put itself in my computer. Is that a con?

Other Thoughts: I bought this card so I could play my audio files through my HK receiver with out all the distortion and hum that I was getting from my onboard sound. I was hesitant because of some reviews, but I understand that like with any thing there are just going to be some people who have bad experiences. There are way more good reviews of this product than bad and that's why I went ahead and purchased it. For those who say to throw the cd away and use another driver,what ever. To me that's a challenge and yep I used the cd. :) Every thing is working just fine. Any time I replace a component like a video card or sound card I prefer to do a CLEAN install of Windows and start from scratch. I wipe my hard drive with K!LL D!$K before reformatting and installing Windows. I've been burnt too many times to count by not reloading or just throwing my Windows disk in. It just doesn't do the job it should. If something doesn't work right after all that then it goes back.

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Angry at Turtles
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
8/18/2009 11:27:48 PM

Rating + 1 Vista 64 - Does not fully work with any drivers.


Pros: A sticker on the front of the box warned me that it's "Not supported for Vista!" It would have been nice to have that warning earlier, like before I wasted money on it, but oh well.

Cons: Is not fully functional with any drivers in Vista 64. C-Media Drivers allow for speaker-out, but not SPDIF Out. Turtle Beach drivers do not support SPDIF either.

However, SPDIF Out does work with the community-created open-source drivers. The trouble with the open source drivers is that they require fake signing, which means you have to turn off UAC and *always* run Vista in safe mode - kind of a pain.

None of the drivers support DDL, which is why I bought the card, so back it goes.

Other Thoughts: Note to other reviewers: before claiming a card is "fully" functional, be sure to test all of its functions.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/11/2009 1:55:31 PM

Rating + 4 no more SB for me!


Pros: amazing sound with Omega Striker driver. After reading other reviews i didn't even bother with the drivers on the disc. i was hesitant after being a creative costomer for so many years getting a sound card not made by them but im SO glad i did.

Cons: my settings will sometimes go back to default when i first start up my comp nothing serious though

Other Thoughts: you can't beat it really. sounds amazing and it's not a SB.

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Tommy
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/25/2009 7:55:04 PM

Rating + 3 Not so great.


Pros: 7.1 surround sound support

Cons: It was difficult to setup for the first time. It wouldn't even put out any sound until I messed around with the settings.
Also, when I first played some music on iTunes, it sounded like it was changing the volume at certain parts of the songs to make it all even across. I turned off all effects and settings and it wasn't as obvious, but still sounded strange.

Other Thoughts: Don't buy this card if you just play music and video games, because chances are the card you already have is fine.

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Tang
Tech Level: somewhat low
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/18/2009 11:19:46 AM

Rating + 3 Only For 7.1


Pros: Offers 7.1 audio for a good price.

Cons: Only spend your money if you plan on using a receiver and 7.1 home audio system. I bought this to use with some headphones hoping that the virtual 7.1 would help with detecting enemies' movements in an FPS game. For this purpose, It is not as good as the on-board HD audio I was using before. Not really the products misgiving, just my lack of knowledge about what this product would and would not do.

Other Thoughts: If you want this for gaming with headsets, save your money.

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m4dioses
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/2/2009 9:51:45 PM

Rating + 1 Newegg dissapoints..


Pros: Nothing.

Cons: Lack of Vista x64 support.

Other Thoughts: So I read the reviews, I read online, I read everywhere. Supposedly you can install the reference drivers for Vista x64. Wrong. You can not. I installed the soundcard, disabled my on-board sound and booted into Windows. I've tried several (4 different driver sets) that involve the same chipset as this card. Nothing, every driver says there's no device connected that uses that chipset. I've done a lot of business with Newegg and while it's not really their fault, it's sort of disappointing there's no real forewarning this card does NOT support Vista x64. Now I have to go through the hurdles of returning the card. Which requires my time and my money. So not only do I have a poor experience, I have to pay for it. I've never left a review before, but this really irked me.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Vike
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/2/2009 4:54:10 PM

Rating + 5 TurtleBeach TBS-3300


Pros: This card works much better for me than any of the Creative SB cards have. Creative has just way too much bloat in their software.

Cons: DO NOT USE THE DRIVERS ON THE CD..........I used them and they seemed to work but they did cause conflicts with one of the games I like..........I switched to the HT Omega Striker 7.1 Drivers and all was well.......and they sound much better than the supplied TB drivers............

Other Thoughts: Here's a link to get those great drivers.......scroll down to the bottom of the page.........these are a must do......

http://www.htomega.com/downloads.html

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hosebee
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/19/2009 6:27:26 AM

Rating + 5 vista 64 drivers


Pros: really nice audio.

Cons: no vista 64 drivers on install cd.

Other Thoughts: so here is where you get them.
http://www.cmedia.com.tw/drivers.html
I hope this helps save some misery!It comes with 3d audio rack,really very nice!Enjoy.....

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Kalier
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/27/2008 7:47:10 AM

Rating + 2 Useless SPDIF


Pros: Sorround works

Cons: Windows XP would not recognize the device. The SPDIF recording is a nightmare. Can't monitor the input.

Other Thoughts: I bought this thing to record soundtracks off PS3 games. Unsuccesfull. If you want this thing for the purpose of recording via the optical input you might be in for a ride. Good luck.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/23/2008 7:35:02 PM

Rating + 3 Not for Xbox 360 through PC


Pros: Good card that supports a lot of different set ups.

Cons: The SPDIF In is for RECORDING ONLY. It does not allow you to pass the signal live to your speakers. I realize this is a very specific CON, but it is what I bought the card for and obviously disappointed me greatly. I have yet to find any software that can record and rebroadcast fast enough to not be noticeable. Also the signal it records is stereo not surround of any sort.

Other Thoughts: Had I done a little more research into the card I would have saved my self the price of the card and the cable to connect it. Not a bad card but not for 360 or VISTA use, not even 32 bit, it cripples the card regardless.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

SOONER_COD
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/20/2008 5:24:41 PM

Rating + 5 Get this!!


Pros: First off, I'm using Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

Second and most importantly, this card produces absolutely amazing sound with the HT Omega Striker 7.1 drivers! Don't bother inserting the Turtle Beach driver cd in the package. With the Omega drivers installed, I can't imagine anything sounding better. I only have the Logitech X-530's, but they have never sounded better than they do now.

Cons: Included Turtle Beach drivers sound very washed out and dull. They really do a disservice to this card. Almost worth a knock in the rating, but with the other drivers, this thing is a steal for the price.

Other Thoughts: I was very dissapointed after installing the drivers off of the bundled cd. I was overjoyed after uninstalling those and installing the Striker drivers. My sound is now as good or better than my old TB Santa Cruz.

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Sturm
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/18/2008 12:24:43 AM

Rating + 5 Great Card


Pros: Fantastic sound quality, works great with TB 5.1 surround sound headset. Some reviewers complained about the drivers, but after tweaking the sound quality is better than out of a very expensive home theater system. Cheaper than the other major brands out there.

Cons: none, it does what i wanted it to do and surpassed expections

Other Thoughts: Unfortunately I cannot compare this to the other major brands, I was upgrading from onboard sound... but it is one heck of an upgrade

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N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/11/2008 5:10:21 PM

Rating + 2 Does not work for Vista 64


Pros: Seemed straightforward, has 7.1 capability, which was the primary reason why I purchased the sound card

Cons: Driver's do not support windows vista 64. I learned it the hard way. Their website claims that they are working on it, but I'm not willing to keep a sound card that I can't use. Fortunately, I found that the built-in sound on my mobo works perfectly fine (beyond my expectation) so I can get away without a dedicated card.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Figglet
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/3/2008 1:43:44 PM

Rating + 4 Great card for x86 users


Pros: works great under both XP and Vista. 32 bit only though. superb sound quality in a reasonably priced sound card.

also, it's not a soundblaster.

Cons: no support for 64bit Windows. TB doesn't seem to have any plans to support 64bit on this card either. major letdown since i'm switching to vista 64 when i finish my Core2Quad system.

Other Thoughts: if Turtle Beach would only support 64bit on this card, it'd be perfect. i don't know if it's a limitation on the card's hardware itself, or just TB being lazy and trying to push a more expensive card on 64bit users, but if you're a XP64/Vista64 user, don't get this card. if you run XP32/Vista32, then i highly recommend this card.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

hosebee
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/25/2008 12:55:18 PM

Rating + 5 IT ROCKS


Pros: Buy one ! you won't be disappointed !!!!

Cons: NUN

Other Thoughts: My sys Yamaha m-80 Yamaha pwr 'amp yamaha cx-800 preamp 18 in. 5 way speakers X-2 23 in.x 24in. x 72in.

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Raya
Tech Level: high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/23/2008 4:04:19 AM

Rating + 5 Sweet


Pros: Channels 7.1
Sample Rate 96KHz
Digital Audio 24-bit
Hardware Decode Dolby Digital, DTS
Front Out, Surround Out, Sub/Center Out, Rear Out, Line In, Mic In, S/PDRIF Digital Out, S/PDIF Digital In

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: Turtle Beach has and does maintain high quality when it comes to their sound cards.

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D Rock
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/15/2008 4:12:57 PM

Rating + 5 Absolutely Fantastic!


Pros: Amazing! The sound is incredible. I had been using and old Audigy 2 that I purchased years ago and thought that the sound quality was good. I had no idea how MUCH of a difference changing the sound card would have on the quality of music I was listening to. I have a 5.1 surround setup with quality powerful components and speakers. No matter how much I tweaked settings on my system I just could not get it to sound good at high volume levels. Bass was muddy, highs got scratchy and midrange was just poor. I could not figure it out. I knew that since all of my music is in MP3 format from my PC , and that I was using analog RCA connection that some sound quality was being lost. Just by changing to this fantastic product, and switching to Digital Optical, it improved the sound quality so much it's hard to explain. I wish I could give this 6 eggs! Spending over 2k on my home audio system (not including PC) , this was by far the BEST addition and the best upgrade for the price!

Cons: None. It installed easily the first time. Using the drivers on the CD work perfectly. Sound quality improvement was noticed immediately! The software EQ has a 30hz and 60hz adjuster, much better bass management than other EQs that only go as low as 70hz. Digital Optical is the only way to go! I've had 3 Cre@tive cards in different machines....never again!

Other Thoughts: LISTEN. For the users who don't bother to read the product description carefully, it's not the Montegos fault that it has compatibility issues with your machine. It clearly states support for Windows 2000/MCE and XP. It does NOT state that it is supported by Vista or 64bit editions. And if you have Vista or XP 64bit, then you should be used to compatibility issues with hardware, and you may want to look elsewhere. If you are using XP Pro 32bit (rock solid OS), then you WILL NOT FIND a better sounding device anywhere near this price range. If you do, consider yourself very lucky! Newegg ROCKS!

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/6/2008 8:18:52 PM

Rating + 4


Pros: I debated for weeks about buying this card. I don't have any complaints. 'nuff said?

Cons: None worthy of mention at this price.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

jewbee
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/20/2008 11:01:55 AM

Rating + 5 Completing the Media center computer


Pros: Great sound. Perfect for my Media Center Computer. Works with 5.1 and my 7.1 Surround sound system.

Cons: Had a conflict with my video capture card. Had to buy a new capture card, which was a pain. Their tech support sucks, no phone number all over email.

Other Thoughts: Once I got it working properly, I have been very happy with my purchase. Again love Newegg, they have a great selection at a great price.

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Jayce
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/10/2008 9:32:36 AM

Rating + 5 Ubuntu Users...


Pros: I bought this card specifically to work with Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 and ALSA. I have used this card with both 32 bit and 64 bit.

32 bit - Works perfectly out of the box. I had no issues with it whatsoever. I am running a desktop stereo system through auxillary to my sound card, so I have not experienced the full blown 7.1 surround sound, but I have heard rumors that it works fine. I just know that it gets my desktop speakers rockin!

64 bit - Ehh, aint such a pretty picture. It seems to work... I mean I hear sound... however it doesn't appear to be as stable as 32 bit.

Cons: 64 bit support isn't all there yet in Ubuntu, but they're working on it! I don't want to even dream of what it's like with 64 bit XP/Vista...

Other Thoughts: Great card for the money. Absolutely no distortion even with all volume settings at full bore. Blows my onboard Realtek audio card out of the water!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

creeper19792002
Tech Level: high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/8/2008 5:10:49 PM

Rating + 5 THIS IS THE BOMB!!!


Pros: none i have no complaints it has been good to me for over a year now and i used the oem drivers. some people say that it is quite, but its not i love the fibo out for my home theater system it is like night and day vs. the anolog sound movies/games sound like a movie theater in my room.

Cons: none no new drivers so far BUT WORKS FINE WITH OEM DRIVERS ON PROB AT ALL.

Other Thoughts: the freq on the EQ is 30hz,60hz,120hz,250hz,500hz,1khz,2khz,4khz,8khz,16khz that is the bands for EQ so u kinda know before u buy. i have XFX 780i MB and the on board sound starts at 100hz witch is not as low as 30hz thats why i use this card very full sound.

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digitaljunkie
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
8/5/2008 6:22:22 PM

Rating + 5 Great Card but not 64bit compatible


Pros: Newegg has the best price around on this card and it sounds amazing in my setup ... my Dj computer that is. I bought it for my HTPC and found out the hard way that it is not 64bit complient, not just Vista 64 but XP64 as well.

I put it in my Dj computer because I didn't really want to return it and wanted to see what she could do .... WOW!! I can utilize the optical imput on my mixer now and it is a night and day difference from the Creative card that was in there. This thing sounds amazing ! !

Cons: Bought for the HTPC but ended up getting the HT Omega Striker instead and it is working out very well. The drivers out there do not support 64bit OS so be aware of that when buying it.

Other Thoughts: This card is probably the best bang for your buck out there right now if you're looking for quality in craftsmanship and sound quality. It has an optical output for under $60 !! I have tried them all (Xfi etc.) and this blows them out of the water hands down.

Bottom line ... if you have a 32bit OS -> BUY IT ! !

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/5/2008 7:29:52 AM

Rating + 4 Turtle Beach


Pros: The Card supports DDL which allows all games to be surround sound capable for your beautiful recievers. The SPDIF allows for the output for the Dolby Digital direct signal along with DTS.

Cons: Does not work with Vita 64. If they planned on having a new driver for this thing it sure doesnt seem like it. Their driver support on new up coming operating systems lacks a lot.

Other Thoughts: Once Turtle Beach comes out with a new card they generally dominate the sound market with it for a short period of time... Yes I said "short" due to the fact they do not always update their drivers to the most recent operating system out there hurts their revenue by quite a bit but then again they are not as large as other companies.

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IMCAmodRacer
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/30/2008 6:31:30 AM

Rating + 1 GREAT! unless you like gaming


Pros: All the sound quality and ease of install I have come to expect from Turtle Beach

Cons: CRASHES MY SYSTEM WITH A CRITICAL ERROR/ BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH/ MEMORY DUMP ORDEAL EVERYTIME I START A GAME. The only game I have been able to play with any success at all has been Medal of Honor Airborne, and having this card cause the video card to continually lock up and reset is really not good. Being frozen while being shot at, not to mention loosing the immersion in the game, is not a good thing.

Other Thoughts: I tried downloading other drivers for this card as some have suggested, no my system freezes at the welcome screen. I will never buy another card from TB. Their idea of customer support is to email them ONLY, and they don't even have a link to click, you have to open your mail program and cut and paste the address. I guess they don't want my business, so I won't give it to them.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/23/2008 12:58:45 PM

Rating + 5 This Card Rocks


Pros: Great sound and great sound controls.

Cons: The drivers froze up on install the first time. Not really that big of a deal

Other Thoughts: My main reason for purchasing this card was for the optic out to the TV. After installing it I realized how horrible the sound from the Creative card I had in there really was.

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WaroDaBeast
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: more than 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/16/2008 8:22:17 AM

Rating + 3 Hard to find better at this pricetag


Pros: Cheap and better than my onboard sound.

Cons: The jack plugs are too close to each other. I'd get malfunctioning channels at times and had to unplug then replug some jacks.

Other Thoughts: The Turtle Beach drivers suck. First because they sound too "boomy;" secondly because the EQ settings are reset everytime you launch an application, so you have to keep the sound panel minimized. And it doesn't even minimize in the taskbar. Go figure.

Then you can use the generic C-Media drivers. They sound better, but they'd give me BSODs if I used a programme that was set to s/pdif and my speakers (Logitech Z-5500) were set to analogue output.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

GiLTBM
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/25/2008 8:10:22 AM

Rating + 1 Waste of Money


Pros: Great sound. Easy to install.

Cons: Crashed every time I played FSX. Cant be rid of CMI drivers- I bought this card to replace an old SB Live! card. The install was easy. No problems. I played Crysis and it sounded great. Then I tried MS FSX and that is when the nightmare started. It would crash the system with Bad Header Pool errors. I contacted Turtle Beach tech support (only available through email...which is pretty lame) and they told me to try a different PCI slot and the OEM drivers. I did all of that and it made no difference. I took the Montego card out and now the drivers wont un-install. I get an error message everytime my system boots. Very frustrating. It's too much of a hassle to send it back to Newegg and get ding'd for a restock. I guess I'll just hold on to it until I build another system that wont be running FSX. I should have listened to my gut and just got a SB card. Never had a single problem with an SB card but the Montego was cheaper and had alot of features. Big mistake.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Erick
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
6/15/2008 8:42:14 AM

Rating + 3 Decent sound


Pros: Makes decent sound. Supports different matrix modes with Logitech speakers.

Cons: Don't lose the driver CD, I could not find the drivers anywhere for this card online.

The sound was more quiet than normal. I looked through all of the settings in my computer, in their control panel, in all of the windows settings, I could not find it anywhere. Also, even though I played with the equalizer, the voices were very quiet, and you could rarely tell if someone was singing or not. Switched to a Creative X-fi, and all my problems were solved. I could now place the volume at half, and it would be equal to the turtle beach at full. Rear speakers with a lower bit rate of sound would play like you were under water. Also fixed with the Creative X-fi.

Other Thoughts: I personally thought it was a decent card, but not for the price, maybe if it was about $20. Id just go with a Creative sound blaster.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

BubbaZap
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/6/2008 5:07:43 PM

Rating + 5 Home Theater Heaven


Pros: This card has given me just what I wanted. Spdif optical out to my new Samsung Home Theater. Perfect 5.1 sound with MCE 2005. Dolby Digital Live has added a whole new dimension to my digital music collection with synthesized surround that has to be heard to be believed. This card puts my previous Sound Blaster Audigy 2 to shame. No problems installing - pulled out the old card, put in the new, stopped "found new hardware", installed drivers from disk and BINGO! it worked!

Cons: Took a little digging in the manual (on the disk only) to find out how to activate all 6 speakers with spdif out (choose DDL 5.1 encoding on Spdif menu). One little bit of weirdness is that the MCE remote no longer mutes the sound...it switches between surround and stereo. Still activates closed captioning though.

Other Thoughts: I wish I had this card in all my computers...after buying 5 Sound Blaster Live! cards and several Audigy and Audigy 2 cards I will probably never buy Creative again.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

NukesGoBoom
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
5/17/2008 5:55:29 PM

Rating + 5 An Excellent soundcard with its own drivers on the cd


Pros: This soundcard works great! the included drivers have been updated to may 2007 which i noticed, there is no need to use the cmedia drivers at this point in time as people previously had mentioned, because turtle beach finally updated thier software on the included disc. i actually tried out both sets of drivers and i found the included 2007 turtle beach ones to sound better! the 10 band equalizer works great, and the settings STAY even after you reboot and disable the sound manager from loading with windows. the sound quality is excellent with all kinds of music such as hard hitting techno. classical, or video game music. It all just sounds awesome, turtle beach has won me as a customer now, i will never go back to creative after this upgrade from my audigy 2 zs.

Cons: the only con i can think of is that the equalizer doesnt affect the analog line in, for example i have my xbox left and right composite audio cables going into an adapter that makes them output as a single 1/8" male for the analog line in on this soundcard, and it sounds great but the equalizer just doesnt affect the line in. there is a work around for this, you can download winamp and a plugin for it called Line In v1.80 and then have it route the line in sound through winamp and then your equalizer will work, but there will be a very small ~50ms delay but its hard to notice.

Other Thoughts: i uninstalled my on board audio drivers, then turned off my computer and put the turtle beach montego ddl in a pci slot, turned the computer on and installed the drivers right off the disc and everything works very, very well. im extremely satisified with this purchase and i will definitly be a turtle beach use from now on.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/11/2008 8:04:09 AM

Rating + 3 works best with XP


Pros: The drivers work only for XP. I have Vista 32 and they caused 3 BSODs, had to repair and recover, constant crashes. Even CMedia drivers are for XP, no help there.TurtleBeach technical support is great, using their Vista drivers didn't help, gave up after a month, and bought the Bluegears sound card. Montego even did not uninstall properly, used their pciclean.exe on their site. With the Bgears, absolutely no problem installing, and it works great.Right from the start you can hear the difference.

Cons: Don't buy if you have Vista, there is no support for Vista 64, and 32 bit version is limited, not signed drivers, but its great IF you have XP.

Other Thoughts: Only for XP. They say "try to roll back to XP, if possible".
Digital Rights Management problem. They referenced me to articles about this, with Vista, Microsoft reworked the entire sound scheme. Its a good card, but appears to be made for XP. (Having a HDMI motherboard doesn't help the matter either.) Never even opened their software envelope, total waste of time unless you have XP. You learn alot with Vista, never encountered so many BSODs as with this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
4/6/2008 3:46:56 PM

Rating + 4 Optical Cable Makes Poor Fit


Pros: I purchased this card to for my Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) installation. Integration was straight forward. I particularly like the MCE control panel which allows me to adjust the card's settings via the MCE remote.

Cons: As noted elsewhere in these reviews, the optical cable makes a very poor fit. A little Mylar tape (like plumbers use) helped snug it up.

Other Thoughts: There was a significant improvement in the my system's sound, particularly at low frequencies. Bass notes are now noticeably crisper.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Niklas
Tech Level: average
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/28/2008 5:21:44 PM

Rating + 3 Not Sure What To Say


Pros: Not really sure what to say. Can't really hear a difference in sound but then again I'm just using two speakers rather than some surround sound system.

Cons: none so far.

Other Thoughts: Microsoft Vista seems to now install the correct C-Media drivers on its own so despite the instruction telling you not to, let Vista choose. (This is for 32-bit only!)

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Lovebug
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/18/2008 6:42:48 AM

Rating + 5 Update - Vista 64 Drivers


Pros: Great Card, Great Price. Now even better it can function under vista 64. The vista drivers that support this card perfectly is "HT Omega striker7.i" found under www.cmedia.com.tw hope this helps all suffering vista users.

Cons: Turtle Beach drivers are not current. Xp and vista users dhould not even bother to open the included driver cd.

Other Thoughts: This cmedia driver sounds absolutely beautiful. WOW! Fantastic! GREAT. Did I say It's Great. I tossed my $130.00 + Sound Blaster card to attic graveyard of parts.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

lovebug653
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/15/2008 9:07:57 PM

Rating + 4 Vista 64 Drivers


Pros: Price and Sound Quality Under XP. I searched the web for drivers baised on the cards chip for vista and found this: http://www.htomega.com/downloads.html hope this helps

Cons: Company has limited or fair quality support. Web site is dificult to navigate.

Other Thoughts: Great card under xp. sad set of drivers. I will continue to test vista 64 drivers and report back soon

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/12/2008 1:58:20 PM

Rating + 3 wish i could play oblivion


Pros: price, music quality

Cons: can't play oblivian

Other Thoughts: got this to improve my music quality. music sounds great but when i play oblivion i get loud distortion, pops, and clicks. went to FAQ on website, moved it to another slot, re instaled it(several times), tried cmedia drivers. if i could play my game i would keep it. sending this one back.

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candyman2x
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/12/2008 10:26:48 AM

Rating + 5 great card


Pros: I was initially dismayed when I found I couldnt use the card in vista x64, but I found a work around to that issue. Hopefully I any potential buyers or current owners will see this and itll help them too.

Just go to this website and download the drivers:


Just follow the install directions on the website.

After installing reebot your computer and make sure to press f8 on start up. Scroll down to disable digital driver signing and click enter.

Your card should now be working fine. Make sure to go into sound properties and set the spdif as default if you want Dolby Digital and DTS pass through.

Cons: Having to press f8 every time i boot up. Not really a con of the card but ehhh. There is supposdly a permanent workaround I havent gotten it to work though. Other than that its just crisp clean sound.

Other Thoughts: Hope this helps anyone running a 64 bit os!

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S2759
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/8/2008 9:26:48 AM

Rating + 4 Good and Bad


Pros: This card worked great with optical out to my A/V 5.1 reciever under Windows XP. Games had real surround sound, very cool to near the sounds move around while playing. Took me awhile to get the settings right though.

Cons: I installed Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit and to my suprise there is no Vista 64 driver support.
Checking the website offered some insite. Turtle Beach/Voytreya thinks XP is the only OS you need. So, if you are running a 64 bit Vista OS, stay away from Turtle Beach products.

Other Thoughts: I am looking for a new sound card that supports Vista 64. I wish I had known sooner that their support is lousy, I would have purchasedsomething else.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/4/2008 11:28:54 AM

Rating + 5 best card to date


Pros: Easy to install easy to use sound is great tried 3 other cards a this one was the best by far.

Cons: had to go into bios and shut off on board but thats the same with most cards

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PJ
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
2/21/2008 1:54:48 AM

Rating + 3 Think twice


Pros: Great sound quality and price. Easy to use. I was really impressed. Unfortunately, I returned mine because of the Cons below caused by a driver conflict with other software I use. Otherwise, a truely fine sound card...

Cons: Uses the C-Media driver set which causes a conflict with Perfect Disk 2008. Will not be able to perform an off-line system Defrag. Tried all work arounds with the help of perfect disk and no joy. Only fix was to go into the registry and change the start value of the cmuad3.sys from a 3 to a 4. Then back to 3 after the defrag. Even so, this caused other problems when the computer restarts by not allowing the dll to run. Would have to reinstall the audia drivers each time. Little much just to do an off-line defrag. Bottom line, if you use Perfect Disk 2008, stay away from any sound cards using the C-media audio drivers.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Ski
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
2/10/2008 6:54:08 PM

Rating + 5


Pros: Good price, optical connections.

Cons: Had to turn on the optical connection via the software.

Other Thoughts: Use this to connect my desktop to my reciever via the optical connection, works great. I don't notice any problems with the sound, but I also don't consider myself a sound expect ;)

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Four20AllDAy
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: more than 1 year
1/7/2008 12:23:14 PM

Rating + 5


Pros: Works great crisp sound. The driver software offers alot of options for dif. room setups and speaker arrangements dolby decode and SPDIF out are very nice features. I have this hooked up to my surround sound.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Had this in a p4 system and when using the dolby SPDIF out I used to have issues with the sound getting choppy if other stuff was running in background. Put this in a new dual core system and no problems what so ever. Sounds great.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Motoken
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/4/2008 1:02:49 PM

Rating + 4 Its ok


Pros: Its a cheap but good sound card, support for the card is extensive on their website. The largest faq I've ever seen. lets you use a receiver to pump up your sound and also lets you direct S/PDIF in to out. good quality sound and 96khz is quite a high quality. built in EQ and the effects lets you upmix stereo to 7.1.

Cons: It does NOT let you hear incoming S/PDIF sound, and the S/PDIF in is labeled as a recording source, the only was to hear sound is by using other software the lets you listen to a recording source, its somewhat annoying. Also, i needed an extra cable to get 7.1, otherwise it wont work. The EQ will only start if you start up the software, even when the icon is in the tray. It wont let you upmix Line-in audio.

Other Thoughts: i used this to get some quality sound from my Ps3, but it did require a lot of research to finally find a way to listen to S/PDIF in.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/26/2007 3:35:30 PM

Rating + 1 What a stinker


Pros: none

Cons: After getting burned by Bluegears dummy me bought this---it has the same chipset; the C-Media CMI8788--sound is awful----choppy---and uneven. It saddens me to see the company that made the Santa Cruz card which was so good has sunk to this. They should have given Vista support to the Santa Cruz!

0 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

im goin deaf !
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/13/2007 8:56:18 PM

Rating + 5 GET THE REFERENCE DRIVERS!


Pros: Insanely awesome sound. I have been watching a ton of movies and playing games on my HT system now that I finally have dolby digital on it!

Cons: The Montego drivers are horrible. I was really upset with the sound card, until I remembered someone in the reviews suggesting the reference drivers. The difference was night and day. The Montego drivers make it sound like it's being played out of a kids boombox. The Cmedia reference drivers make it sound like you in a hurricane!

www.cmedia.com.tw is where I got them

Other Thoughts: get the reference drivers! they should be included out of the box

37 out of 38 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Brett
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/2/2007 6:41:56 PM

Rating + 2 It was only OK


Pros: SPDIF in / out.

Cons: Card didn't preform well enough in Vista. To get many essential features, the manufacturers solutions were nothing more than "Workarounds", therefore not actually solving the problem. Software for the cards, as others have said, is not very robust or intuitive. The quality of the sound was flat when in direct comparison to another computer with onboard audio plugged into the same speakers.

Other Thoughts: Some smaller complaints with the card include the spacing or the jacks. They are close enough toghether that when three or more are plugged in, they push on eachother, causing them to bend out. Really, there should have been a dongle or breakout. Additionaly on an aesthetic note, the packaging seemed too cheap for this level of card. Upon opening the standard retail glossy box, you are presented with a sheet of cardboard wrapped around your card, CD, and two sheets of paper. I think for the average Vista user, this card isn't ready yet. I've made the switch back over to Creative and the improvement is drastically noticeable.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

creeper19792002
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/27/2007 5:18:30 PM

Rating + 5 Turtle Beach TBS-3300-01 7.1 channels 24-bit 96KHz pci interface Montego DDL Sound Card


Pros: This is the first sound card i have bought,always had on board sound.The card easy to install so is the software. only 3 steps 1.install card
2.install software
3.Reboot and use.
it's that simple.
I bought this card cause it has fiber optic in/out or 2 outs or 2 in's however your config needs this card is very dependable. I have owend this for 3 mo 12 days worth every penny.

Cons: I did a lot of reserch on sound cards and the best bit rate i could find is 192KHz.this card is 96KHz not the best but only one step down from the top.

Other Thoughts: My brother and 3 other friends have same card all work flawless. If u play fay cry,half life etc... this card is a must. When i LAN party with my friends I can hear them before they hear me big advantage in Half Life/Far Cry

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

The Poobster
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/27/2007 1:27:00 PM

Rating + 5 Quick, Easy, Awesome


Pros: I was up and running within 3 minutes of opening the box. Unistall onboard sound drivers, disable in BIOS, plug in new sound card, install drivers from disk. Restart....Bam! Whoa Black-Betty Bam-bah-Lam! Sounds awesome, the bass on my RAZOR 5.1 headphones is now off the charts, my head is shaking as I write this...Digital output to my home theater is just what I was looking for. Now I can play 'puter games on my home theater!

Cons: Didn't come with free beer or a $50 gas card! Darn.... As for people having problems, sometimes you just get a bad piece o' hardware...Send it back and give another one a chance! Or maybe you have some other hardware or software problem. This card works if you would just give it a chance.

Other Thoughts: A helluva step up from the shittie onboard EVGA 680i motherboard audio. Blessings on Turtle Beach, may the sun forever shine upon its shores. Oh, and Newegg? I love you guys...I mean it. I've had one RMA in the thousands of clams I've spent with you, and it was so smooth I almost slipped and fell on my azs!

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Wes
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/24/2007 2:30:03 AM

Rating + 4 Quiet


Pros: Good sound, no grainy or popping noises, easy install, good software and programs, good price.

Cons: Really quiet, I turned all my sounds to max, and was REALLY quiet, the biggest problem with it that most people didn't figure out is in the settings it has volumes for every speaker channel defaulted at 60%, once changed its louder but i like really loud music. My speakers (z5500) are loud enough but my headphones (steelsoundvh2) aren't very loud.

Other Thoughts: Mic is also fine, i dont know what people are talking about with mic, there are just certain settings for mic to be adjusted.

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N/A
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
11/23/2007 7:44:54 AM

Rating + 1 My Experience


Pros: Price

Cons: This is just my experience with this card, was looking for Optical Hook Up for my Receiver from the reviews it looked like a good card for that. After installing it I came across some error messages the software actually said to ignore the Windows warning and load software, also said "It will NOT make your system unstable" why put that in if it wasent for a reason (Like Complaints about Unstable Installs) anyways this card was "You get what you pay for" Cheap! I also Re-installed windows Twice to try out this card still got a lot of popping and crackling out of it. To me not worth it.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

NapalmRain
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/25/2007 8:46:42 PM

Rating + 2 You get what you pay for


Pros: Cheap(er) than other 7.1 cards, sound quality etc. better than my motherboards on-board audio, Optical I/O, Hardware Dolby decode that works (depending on what player you use), no trouble setting it up/ or with the utility in XPsp2

Cons: Cheap, audio gets grainy/poppy at higher volumes, PAINFULLY obvious channel changes (i.e. large jumps when sound moves from center to left) EAX isn't up to par, MIC signal is weak you practically have to swallow the MIC to be heard for all games/VoIP (that I use anyway), Un-installing was a pain.

Other Thoughts: 2nd time I've bought from them, 2nd time I've been disappointed... I feel that several of these things could be solved with better drivers but there was nothing helpful from TB and I shouldnt have to mess with it to get it to work. Have since bought a different brand, first MIC test on the first boot with the Turtle Beach settings hurt my ears it was so loud

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Jheric
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/23/2007 2:56:15 PM

Rating + 5 Wow!...and I was worried...


Pros: Moderately easy install.
Easy EQ tweaking(as always)
Nice control panel.
Crisp and clean audio.
Installed easily on XP PRO SP2
Opteron 185 on an ASUS A8nSLI mobo

Cons: none so far...living up to its Santa Cruz lineage...

Other Thoughts: I had to disable the onboard audio (like the manual said) and the rest went smoothly. I've owned a Santa Cruz prior to this and it was a great card. I almost didn't purchase the card after reading all of the issues and probs the reviewers have been having, but I've had no problems...it was the best choice for me. I use it for games, music, and movies. I have it hooked into a receiver with 5.1 through the S/PDIF and it makes the music and games really sound great! I tweaked the EQ a little and the music really shines! I played Oblivion for a bit and the positional audio sounds fantastic! I've owned several Sblaster cards in the past and they both sounded like cheap junk with popping, crackling, and hisses in the recordings and playback. I'm sure they have gotten better, but I'm a Beach fan for now! Thanks again, TurtleBeach!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Red
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/7/2007 11:09:51 PM

Rating + 4 Great for the price


Pros: Digital input and output. If you want to make an interference-free connection between your computer and receiver, this works perfectly.
No sound quality issues. I've had a lot of sound cards that always have a little buzz or static or can't handle high frequencies, but this one is perfectly clean.

Cons: You can't have it pass along analog signals (line-in, microphone, etc) to the digital out without setting up a program to basically record it and immediately play it back. Not a big deal, but annoying.
The SPDIF keepalive option in the config program doesn't work, so when nothing is playing it turns off the beam. Depending on the receiver (mine does) this means it might click and drop half a second of audio after each time there's no output. I was able to work around it by opening a second player and having it loop a blank audio file, but it shouldn't require that.

Other Thoughts: For the price you're probably not going to find anything better, and the issues with it can be worked around. If they fixed those couple of annoyances this would be about perfect, but depending on your other equipment and how you hook it up they might not even effect you.

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Dave
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
10/2/2007 12:15:56 AM

Rating + 5 Great Improvement


Pros: This card is a great step up from my on-board VNF4. The sound quality is definitely noticeably better. The optical in/out (out especially) is great for connecting to my home theater system. Also, I love Turtle Beach's control panel for it is easy to use and PACKED full of features and tweaks.

Cons: When shopping around I failed to realize that I could not connect my front case audio to this card. However, this is not really a con of this card in particular, just something to think about.

Other Thoughts: I have not tried the full functionality with more than 2.1 sound on this card as of yet.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

daqron
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
9/3/2007 1:04:26 PM

Rating + 5 Great sound; works on Linux


Pros: Digital optical output works under Linux but it may take some work. For those of you who, like me, are not Linux experts, the doom9 forum has an excellent tutorial (Google 'doom9 linux av' and read Part 8, #5). The key step for me was to enable the IEC958 output on the command line alsamixer tool (using Ubuntu 7.04).

Cons: No complaints yet.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

sined
Tech Level: average
Ownership: less than 1 day
8/29/2007 2:07:40 PM

Rating + 5 More than satisfied


Pros: I bought it specifically for Linux. Easy set up (ALSA is great).
So far I tried analog output, microphone and optical SPDIF output - they work perfect.

Cons: I have nothing to say yet.

Other Thoughts: Inside: CMI8738-MC8.

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SibSpi
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: less than 1 day
8/28/2007 8:42:48 AM

Rating + 3 misinformed poster


Pros: The previous poster seems to be under the impression that EAX is a form of digital output which should be used with a receiver for processing. This is not true. EAX, or Environmental Audio Extensions is a partially software and partially hardware based effect, which makes use of software effects, or presets, present in games (and almost exclusively games), which are then processed by capable hardware, which is NEVER outside of a computer system. Examples of this include this card, or the native versions that exist on creative's cards, since they pioneered the technology.

Cons: Dolby Digital and DTS (digital theater system), are digital audio components that require, again, a separate decoding system, most often found in home theater receivers. These components, regardless of their degree of integration, are always a separate component, not an integrated or 'native' component, such as EAX processing hardware on a creative sound card.

Other Thoughts: Because of these two separate technologies, it is unreasonable for a user to assume that their home audio receiver should be able to receive EAX, as EAX never leaves the computer system. EAX is mixed into the audio signal then prepared for further digital or analogue output; either through the various 3.5mm stereo jacks on most sound cards, or through an optical or coax s/pdif connector. Therefore, the previous user is giving misleading information on a product they do not know how to use properly. Don't believe me? Go google and/or wiki for the different technologies yourself.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/20/2007 1:27:27 PM

Rating + 1 Not for 64bit Vista users


Pros: No idea, does not work with Windows Vista 64

Cons: This card does not support 64bit at all, will not funtion at all. Took going to the manafactures website to find out that they do not, and do not soon anticipate supporting 64bit.

Other Thoughts: It would have been nice if the fact this card will not work for the 64 bit systems was placed in biold so that others would not run into the same problem.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/18/2007 10:40:11 AM

Rating + 2 NOT FOR 64 BIT SYSTEMS


Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: This card does not currently support 64bit windows. Found this out after install, and going to turtle beach site looking for help.

Other Thoughts: For now, if you want to run 64bit, just avoid this one.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Max
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/10/2007 11:04:43 PM

Rating + 2 Windows users BEWARE!!!!


Pros: Outstanding sound and operations under Linux. Can't say enough good things about it under Linux.

Cons: Does not run well with DirectX. BSOD if you set acceleration over basic. IRQ conflicts too. Change slot and it will run ok for a couple of weeks then whamo BSOD. Add more hardware...BSOD and time to change slot again. PITA.

Other Thoughts: Darn shame, but if you run windows this card is NOT what you want.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Viss
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/10/2007 8:35:32 PM

Rating + 1 Cant work on WinXP Pro 32 Bit SP2


Pros: Has a pretty box, cheaper than the big "C" competitor. Looks like it is made well

Cons: First off, the instructions tell you to install two different ways. One tells you to install drivers, then install card and restart. The other is the opposite. Either way, even after a complete reinstall of WinXP, tech support didnt pay attention to a SIMPLE and SHORT email for support. After TWO replies, they stopped talking to me. It took me so long to get support, the rebate expired and so did my time to return it.

Other Thoughts: Tech support cant understand simple English "No microphone from device, drivers on CD do not function properly. Need updated drivers for WinXP Pro SP2, (mobo model) (chipset) (comp specs). Response was "BE SURE TO DIBLE MOBO SOUND". Second email was "IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE PROBLEMS FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US" They never said they would respond again, just that I could contact them. They never did respond again.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
8/1/2007 6:26:21 PM

Rating + 4 Turtle Montego DDL


Pros: Excellent quality sound at affordable rates. Easy to install and use with minimal time installing drivers. Also minimal installation of unnecessary "extras".

Cons: Some may prefer to have more sound processing done on-board as opposed to on the cpu.

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N/A
Tech Level: average
Ownership: more than 1 year
7/28/2007 7:45:51 PM

Rating + 3 Works well .. for a while ...


Pros: Worked for my Windows XP setup. DDL via SPDIF to my receiver.

Cons: Stopped working after a few months. Went stereo analog. Then it started working again after a few weeks.

Other Thoughts: It has stopped working again and this time I am going to get rid of it. I suspect it is the drivers.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Bzhjedi
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/12/2007 9:37:53 PM

Rating + 5 Great For Vista


Pros: Digital Out
Great Sound
Works great under Vista

Cons: Some advanced settings don't work under Vista

Other Thoughts: It is a great add-on to any HTPC

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Chris
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
7/6/2007 7:53:43 PM

Rating + 4 my bad


Pros: Outstanding sound, fast rebate, the knowledge base had the answer to my questions.

Cons: tech support

Other Thoughts: My previous review too hasty and the only accurate thing about it was tech support. This is really a fine card.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Chris
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/21/2007 1:51:29 PM

Rating + 1 lame on install and support


Pros: Turtle Beach used to be a good vendor. Package comes with a drink coaster. Card produces sound.

Cons: After installing card and software, all said software reports the card is not installed. Tech support scores lower than the software.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

PO
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/20/2007 6:12:22 PM

Rating + 1 Lame on arrival


Pros: Turtle Beach used to be a good egg. This card functions like any other $5 dollar sound solution plus you get a CD full of nonfunctioning stuff.

Cons: Drivers don't work, refuse to work and when you ask tech support a question they ignore you. They respond, just not to your questions. Right now, I am listening to jazz through the card which claims it is not installed. While there is sound being generated through this card there is no utility which is one reason I bought this card.

Windows default drivers picked up TB's slack and carrying the load.

Other Thoughts: If you are seriously looking at this card, save yourself some money and browse the $4-5 range because that is all it is worth.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Viss
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/18/2007 8:21:34 PM

Rating + 1 DOA


Pros: DOA. Microphone port doesnt work. Had trouble getting WindowsXP to see the card...spent hours on it, tech support useless. They insisted the card was good without even hearing the diagnosis, once they decided to answer the phone.

Cons: I guess everything. Didnt work. No instructions. Software slows down other apps on the computer, like MSN Live Messenger (And I have 4GB RAM and E6600 CPU!)

Other Thoughts: I wanted something besides that other big company that makes cards, seeing as their lifespan is 14 months for support. I guess I'll go back to onboard.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: less than 1 day
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/18/2007 3:00:20 PM

Rating + 5 Great all around card


Pros: Great HiQuality sound via optical out...simple installation of drivers...really wanted it because of Beta Vista drivers for Dolby 5.1 Sound and it works just as I wanted it to :D

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Awesome Buy!

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Brian
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/15/2007 9:18:22 AM

Rating + 5 Great Sound card


Pros: Installed easily and sounds great. I am was looking for a soundcard with an optical output for my MCE PC and this worked great.

Cons: None so far.

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The Truth
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/11/2007 12:18:09 PM

Rating + 3 Not compatible


Pros: read below, I'm not bashing the card, I'm just warning you about its compatibility.

Cons: WARNING! Before you buy, be aware that the Montego DDL sound card isn't compatible with a 64-bit OS. I emailed the company and they said that there isn't any information on a future download to make it compatible.

6 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Grynch
Tech Level: average
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
6/8/2007 12:37:09 PM

Rating + 1 Doesn't work for my OS...


Pros: it didn't work for me so I have nothing positive to say about it.

Cons: Well, I use Windows XP Professional x64. Yes, so there really isn't too many things on the market that are compatible with it. Althought, there are not a lot of compatible products with it, the manufacturers try to help my adding downloads to their site that assist in making the product compatible with Windows XP pro x64. Well, this sound card is not compatible with Windows XP Pro x64, and the manufacturer(Turtle-Beach) has made little attempt at making a downloadable fix on their site. The most they have done is write a vague FAQ article about how some things aren't compatible with Windows XP pro x64. I think they did a poor job keeping up with the market, and thus, appealing to customers.

Other Thoughts: I thought it would be a cheap alternative to the Creative cards, but I kinda wish I had gone with a bigger company because they would be more likely to release a patch.

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

d0sitmatr
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
5/28/2007 4:00:43 AM

Rating + 5 TB products, great as always


Pros: this is the 2nd product Ive owned from TurtleBeach, first was their Santa Cruz model, and while nothing will ever replace that, this card is as close as you can get, excellent quality sound, very easy setup, and running 8 spks... surround is intense !

Cons: paperless manual, while I agree with not wasting the paper, it does make it kind of inconvenient.

Other Thoughts: Turtle Beach has arguably the best sounding cards on the market (for the price)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Crimson5pheonix
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
5/17/2007 6:55:08 PM

Rating + 5 Not the best for recording


Pros: Great sound quality. Easy to understand. Easy to install.

Cons: When I tried to record with it using S/PDIF, one setting would let me hear my instrument through the speakers but not what I had already recorded, and another setting let me hear what I recorded but not my instrument.

Other Thoughts: Either setting let you record so I just set up an external monitor and let the recorded music play through the speakers on my computer so it wasn't that big of a problem.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Drew
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: more than 1 year
4/19/2007 9:13:03 PM

Rating + 2 Meh


Pros: 7.1 or 5.1, Optical in and out, I got mine dirt cheap at a going out of buisiness sale.

Cons: Turtle Beach doesn't seem to have everything together, their website is horrible and their support is even worse. They've said outright they won't support XP x64, so I don't imagine they will support Vista x64, if they even support Vista. I haven't checked in a long time so maybe something has changed, I hope. I'm pretty sure it's not any of my systems, but I always get a little background noise when I use the optical output. Analog output is really quiet when you aren't using powered speakers or headphones.

Other Thoughts: It's and acceptable card, but not for the full price. At the price I payed I'd give it another Egg, but not at full price. They would get another egg for a better website and support. And at my price, with better support, and if they came out with Vista x64 drivers I'd be close to five eggs, maybe 4.5. Just don't buy it unless you find it really cheap and just use x86 Windows.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

xXLegendAssXx
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/30/2007 1:21:37 PM

Rating + 4 Not bad Sound card


Pros: Its a nice looking thing and also it has 7.1. I had this card so that it free up some FPS in some games. IT worked!! Not bad for its price!!

Cons: It was really weird install...I dont like it. It takes a while to get it going or to figure it out but once you do its all good. One reason i gave it a 4 eggs its cuz they drivers and its picky. It wants to work some times meaning if u moved it from PCI slot to another it doesnt work its not my PCI slot i tested it. It might be the IRQ number. You might have to install it about 1-25 times for it to work correctly. its really not that bad of a card so dont let it let the reviews scare you.

Other Thoughts: My computer XFX 7950 GT, ASUS m2n SLI-Deluxe, 320 seagate PTS SATA, Centroiun 5 case Cool Master, Turtle beach (this card) AMD Athlon 5200+, ACER 22" wide screen this is my 11 Computer that built from newegg I never once had to return a item or had proplems I must be that good with computers or I just have luck

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

brkr12002
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/28/2007 9:42:19 PM

Rating + 5 Great Upgrade from Onboard Sound


Pros: Great price for a card that has optical in/out. I have no problems with any of the games like some have reported. Games sound great, especially coming through my sound system. Also have some logitech speakers hooked up as well and they sound great. Have hooked up to my receiver for DD5.1. I do not have any cracking or popping sounds like some report. pretty good EQ built in the software.

Cons: None really. I guess lack of EAX support, but that's proprietary anyways (plus the optical more than makes up)

Other Thoughts: My first dedicated sound card and very happy. Games run a little smoother due to not have onboard audio. Install of card easy and undating/installing drivers easy. Good driver support. Love card, would buy again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Vader.
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
3/21/2007 7:00:15 PM

Rating + 4 The Land of Turtle Beach


Pros: As others have mentioned this cards Digital out actually works in Surround mode unlike our XFI products from Creative Labs. This is a plus. The sound quality is outstanding. This is not unusual for Turtle Beach products. I owned a Turtlebeach Back when Creative was peddling the AWE32-Wavetable. Also one of the other reviewers said there were no drivers online. here is the link: http://support.turtlebeach.com/site/kb_ftp/588.asp#drivers
Please actually look through the site before saying it isn't available.

Cons: No EAX over 2.0.
No VISTA Driver Support.
No Beta Vista Driver Support.
Turtle Beach is relativly quick to put products it makes into the "Discontinued products section of its website and end support."

Other Thoughts: Creative Labs has just now discontinued support for the Sound Blaster Live. They even made a Vista Driver (beta atm) for the Audigy 1. Turtlebeach has discontinued all products between the Audigy 1 and 3 era already. Turtle Beach = massivly high quality products with limited long term support. Depends on what your looking for.

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DrKayak
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
3/13/2007 2:39:14 PM

Rating + 5 Perfect for HTPC


Pros: I bought this as an upgrade for my HTPC from an old SoundBlaster Live with a SPDIF daughter card. I could never get the SB to pass Dolby Digital to my Yamaha receiver. After a few hours and an upgrade to PowerDVD 7 I had it working. Sound quality playing non-Dolby Digital MP3 from the hard drive to the Yamaha over SPDIF is excellent. Much better than the SoundBlaster Live.

Cons: Turtle Beach drivers disable the analogue output when using the optical out. This was a bummer because I ran the analogue to the TV’s speakers so I could use the HTPC as a DVR without having to turn on the Yamaha receiver. Even the old SoundBlaster Live could use both outputs at the same time. THE C-MEDIA DRIVERS FIXED THIS ISSUE! They allow both outputs to be active at the same time.

Other Thoughts: I paid an extra $20 for this over the Diamond version because everyone said how lame the Diamond drivers/support was. Then I ended up not even using the Turtle Beach drivers.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Bobby Roberts
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/12/2007 2:16:46 PM

Rating + 5 Just what I needed


Pros: The fact that you can run inputs and outputs for digital lines is GREAT! works 100% 5.1 with my Samsung setup. Easy to setup, Great tools!

Cons: No drivers for Vista...yet

Other Thoughts: I bought this for my Vista box but then found out it will not work. So instead I downgraded to XP MCE 2005. Once i did that this thing just rocks!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

xmanf14
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
This user purchased this item from Newegg
3/1/2007 8:25:00 PM

Rating + 5


Pros: You can't beat the card for the price. What's phenomenal is that the card comes with an optical output. You can't find anything similar at this price. The nearest card you can get with optical capability will cost you another hundred bucks.

Cons: Followed the advice of other customers on this card but was unable to install aftermarket drivers to give me its full capabilities. However, the warnings regarding OEM drivers didn't seem to pan out. The card works fine although I don't have its full range of sound capabilities, but I don't do much gaming, and I use the optical output to transfer data into a stereo receiver. In that respect, it works fine.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

KnuxTE
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/31/2007 1:51:50 AM

Rating + 5 Sound Card goes beyond expectations


Pros: Im not really good when it comes to sound, but this soundcard is unlike anything I have ever owned. Not only does it Decode 5.1/7.1 sound, but It ENCODES! that means if your in a video editing program and it doesnt let you use SPDIF Optical out for surround, this card will force it!

Cons: Absolutely none.

Other Thoughts: only 1 disadvantage I faced with this product. is my lack of knowledge in audio

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Kent
Tech Level: somewhat low
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
1/15/2007 6:22:03 PM

Rating + 5 Perfect match for Logitech surround sound speakers


Pros: Plugged this in, used the install disk that came with it and a digital optical cable. I could not believe the sound quality that came out of my computer. I had been using direct sound to my Logitech speakers before, and this is a hundred times better. I did not have any driver problems at all like others described. I like the suite of programs that comes with the retail box also.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: These work great with Logitech speakers!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

snoopus
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/23/2006 8:41:55 AM

Rating + 3


Pros: It does do DD off the card (with some help from the CPU), and the optical output does work well with a digital speaker setup (I'm using Z-5500). When hooked up to the speakers, it recognizes the audio input as Dolby Digital and does pass through sound optically.

Cons: There are two reasons why I have taken this card out of my PC, and will not be putting it back in. First reason is that it does pass DD digitally to the speakers, but it does not auto-switch speakers based on the input sound. For example, if there is a two-channel PCM source, then it mixes it up to 5.1 by default. It does 5.1 well, but if one wants two-channel (if that is the source), then you have to mute the wave mixer setting to "turn off" the DD 5.1 upmixing junk. I wanted it to auto-sense, and it doesn't do that. Second reason is that there is about a +200ms delay in the audio delivery from card to output. DD passes well, but a video file with an MP3 for audio has to be "converted" I guess, so there is a delay in audio delivery. Which, imo, is very annoying. Also, the optical only outputs when there are active sounds, so, if there is a short sound, then you won't hear it since the delay is in there. The card works, but just not very well.

Other Thoughts: I did *not* ever put the CD that came with the card in my PC. I used both the C-Media reference drivers and the latest montego drivers from the turtle-beach website. I also did *not* use this card with any analog outputs. Both drivers and their control panel GUIs were poorly designed and were very limited. The C-Media ones did require one to put the control panel in startup, or settings will be lost in reboot. The latest montego ones address this nuance, and settings are saved.

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George
Tech Level: high
Ownership: less than 1 day
12/22/2006 8:06:12 PM

Rating + 4 Great Value (Digital Toslink Optical Audio 5.1)


Pros: Low price for 5.1 digital out.

Cons: Maybe the drivers... Went with C-media per recommendations below and it works great.

Other Thoughts: Make sure you remove old sound card and un-install drivers to make sure you avoid any hdw or IRQ conflicts. I got this card to be able to output MP3 music on my Home Theater. So I use the optical SPDIF out with a toslink optical cable. My case was a little bit more complicated since my H/T only has digital PCM (coaxial) Audio in. So i had to buy a digital converter for $15. All worked as expected.
One think to note is that you can use BOTH digital out and analog out if the digital is set to 2 Channel. If you switch the digital to 5.1 Dolby, then you need to disable analog out. 7.1 only works for analog out.

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jAYmAN
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
12/12/2006 6:32:09 PM

Rating + 5


Pros: Good analog output. Highs are crisp and clear, but the bass could be just a LITTLE bit better, when compared to a Axxxxxxxh XPxxxxxn 7.1, but then again this card is about half the cost. SPDIF optical in/out is a beautiful thing, enabling recording or using an external LD/DVD player and this sound card for playback through SPDIF/analog looping. The board is aesthetically pleasing, with black PCB and a gold colored PCI bracket.

Cons: 16-bit DACs. No SPDIF coaxial. Bundled recording software didn't work. Bundled driver isn't that great, so I decided to use C-Media reference drivers. Not really a con, but this board looks pathetic compared to high-end sound cards, and their 2934872 billion capacitors.

Other Thoughts: I only use the analog output, but I wish I had a receiver I could use the SPDIF optical with. Don't get me wrong when I say 16-bit DACs is a con. Yeah, its a disadvantage when comparing to high-end sound cards, but this card doesn't need it due to its SPDIF optical out, which is 24-bit/96kHz. People who buy this card buy it due to its DDS and home theater capabilities, which uses only the SPDIF optical in/out. Also, 16-bit DACs only change output quality when audio is recorded in 24-bit. The majority of mp3s out there are recorded in 16-bit, and all CDs are in 16-bit. So don't fret over 16-bit/24-bit DACs, because the bottom line is it doesn't matter. The recording capabilities on this card are pretty good. I recorded a few LaserDisc tracks and they sound pretty good.

This card covers all my needs. I recommend this card for its features and bang for the buck.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

(OBC) LOS
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
This user purchased this item from Newegg
12/8/2006 1:38:37 PM

Rating + 4 $ Good for the price $


Pros: this sound card is not bad at all aslong as you look in other review ther is a differant drive you need to get c-midea this will help you out a lot!goggle! optical is why i but this card and im injoying it.

Cons: turtle beach need to put better instruction in there product more over they need a more easier web site . to this day i cant find there update driver page!!! c-midea is the way(google)

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Stngray
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
11/2/2006 7:47:57 PM

Rating + 5 Perfect for MCE with CMedia Drivers


Pros: Perfect DTS and DD passthrough after some work. DDLive works well in games. DONT USE THE TURTLE BEACH DRIVERS, USE CMEDIA REFERENCE DRIVERS

Cons: I was dissapointed when I originally installed this card with TB's drivers. I couldn't get DTS or DD passthrough from media center. Switched to CMedias drivers at www.cmedia.com.tw and it works perfectly now.

Other Thoughts: If you are looking for a good optical out card at a cheap price this is it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

xvi
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
11/1/2006 2:44:26 PM

Rating + 5 Great card, okay drivers


Pros: SPDIF Optical, 7.1, 24-bit and 192KHz, awesome for music,

Cons: Lack of EAX (but I wouldn't use it if I had it), no 64-bit drivers (see below, though!). Neither of these cons are a problem enough to bring it down an egg.

Other Thoughts: Turtle Beach does not support 64-bit, BUT the HDA X-plosion 7.1 uses the exact same chipset (CMedia CMI8768+) and the 64-bit drivers for it work very well with this card! Check the x86 control panel for the card's settings (where you can choose to use Optical). Some people say this card is incompatible with some of their games. I have not had any problems. HDA's 64-bit drivers should also work in Vista.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

N/A
Tech Level: somewhat high
Ownership: more than 1 year
10/19/2006 5:30:43 AM

Rating + 4 Cool card


Pros: DD encoding!!, optical spdif

Cons: Funny drivers, new ones r way way better, and crashes my pc when overclocked high, yes i sd causes crashes when overclocked high! But works perfectly at cpu stock speeds and even up to 224mhz from 200mhz. Over that and my sound stops an dthen it crashes.

Other Thoughts: awesome if u want dobly digital

Did you find this review helpful? Yes No

I love NewEgg
Tech Level: high
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
10/17/2006 1:56:47 PM

Rating + 2 No Dolby Digital


Pros: Turtle Beach products are generally very good and they have very responsive technical support.

Cons: I bought this product for 1 reason: to use SPDIF to get Dolby Digital sound in movie playback under MS Media Center. This card does not do that with the current drivers (though it will pass a Dolby Digital signal when using stand alone DVD playback programs outside of Media Center).

Turtle Beach acknowledged the problem and promises a future driver fix to address the problem.

Other Thoughts: Buy the Turtle Beach Roadie, which does pass a DD signal using SPDIF under Media Center.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

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