Audiophiles may want to pass on this one.
Written: Jan 16 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Packed with features, 6 speaker support.
Cons: Not so hot sound quality, not for the audiophile.
The Bottom Line: If you are about quality, then leave this alone
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| yozey's Full Review: Philips Acoustic Edge Sound Card |
I purchased this card after reading a couple of reviews stating how good this card is, and how well it performs in various environments. However I neglected to find out how well it performs in the audiophile's environment. Mark it, this card has all the features a high-end home theater system would have; all packaged neatly in your computer. 5.1 surround, AC3 capabilities, the whole nine yards; the things that would make your music and movies that much more enjoyable. However it did not do anything close to that. The audio playback quality left something to be desired. The first thing I noticed was an increased emphasis on my mid-range frequencies as opposed to distinct frequency separation with my SB Live! The mid-range, around 1 kHz, was so pronounced that your ears would literally hurt if you cranked it up. Instruments, and voices were jumbled at this range and you could hear marked clipping. That was not in anyway what I expected from this highly touted sound card. And to add to that, volume and pan adjustments, are accompanied by the occasional cracking as if I were using an old analog mixing board in which the contacts in the faders are going. I mean, this is totally digital and software controlled, how could that happen?
My advice to the audiophile is that avoid this one, and look at either the TBeach or the Creative. Leave the Philips for the gamers who really don't care how clarity and separation pan out.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 79
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Epinions.com ID:
yozey
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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