|
Conclusion
The Santa Cruz is truly a powerful sound card that's loaded with features. Pound for pound, it matches every feature that the SoundBlaster Live! has, a card that most users think is the best sound card around, plus a little extra on the side. With support for 2-speaker stereo, headphone surround, 4-speaker surround, 6 speaker surround and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround, it allows anyone with any type of speaker set up to enjoy high quality stereo or surround sound. Sensaura technology allows this card to support all of the popular 3D API's for enhanced gaming, such as EAX 1.x and 2.x and A3D 1.x. The technology also includes a few extensions to DirectSound3D such as MacroFX and ZoomFX that should, if developers use them effectively in the future, put this card ahead of the SoundBlaster Live! in terms of raw features.
Unfortunately, though, the Santa Cruz does have its faults. The fact that drivers for Windows 2000 were not included on the CD shows a lack of support from Voyetra-Turtle Beach on their product. Furthermore, the only drivers that are available for Windows 2000 and Windows ME were the beta drivers that are available on their website. This is a huge downside to the Santa Cruz in my mind, because many people will be turned off by the fact that the only available drivers for Windows 2000 and ME are test versions that are known to be less than 100% reliable.
Nevertheless, the Santa Cruz still outputs some of the best quality sound around. Comparing it with the SoundBlaster Live!, the sound output from the Santa Cruz is ever slightly clearer and brighter. Audio for 3D API's such as EAX were also implemented very well, with EAX sound quality noticeably identical to Creative's own sound card.
Finally, the software package included with the Santa Cruz is one that's completely targeted towards music composers and music lovers. If you're into music composition, the software package will be extremely valuable, but if you're just into gaming, then the lack of any game bundles sets the Santa Cruz a pace back for a lot of users out there.
All in all, though, if you're in the market for a quality, feature-packed sound card at an average price and you're looking for an alternative to the Creative SoundBlaster Live! series of cards, the Voyetra-Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is a great choice. Would I choose this card over the SoundBlaster Live!? If the driver problems mentioned above are eliminated, this card can easily beat the SoundBlaster Live! pound for pound.
Pros
- Supports all the popular 3D API's for gaming--EAX 1.x and 2.x, A3D 1.x, DS3D (with Sensaura extras), etc.
- Supports 2, 4, 6 speaker set ups
- Supports 5.1 digital out
- VersaJack is very innovative
- Sound quality is top-notch
Cons
- Only drivers available for Windows 2000 and ME are beta drivers
- Included software package only appeals to music composers and music lovers--no games
|
|
|
