RichardG

Keep in mind that the Phillips Acoustic Edge may be great but it has the following problem Windows 2000 and they aren't planning to fix this - wish it weren't so. I had to return mine because of it. From Phillips: "The PSC706 Acoustic Edge sound card is compatible with the Windows 2000 Professional operating system. However, there appears to be an issue with the way the operating system handles the surround capabilities and quad expander technology. Therefore, you may only receive 2 channel sound from the card on the system thus defeating the purpose of the 5.1 channel technology. It is not know at this time if updated drivers will be developed to correct this issue."

Paragon: I probably have the latest LiveWire as I just got the SB card. Do you know how to check the version? Baz: The speakers might indeed be the culprit, but for what they are the quality has been darn good. That's why I was surprised by this. I can wait though.

Baz: This type of S*$& drives me crazy too. I figure that some day - probably not too long from now - I'll go over the edge from one of these experiences and totally lose it. I agree that it sounds like some sort of software/driver conflict with the EAX drivers. I'll go to the Soundblaster web site to see if I can dig up any support. In the meantime, any tips on how to go about this or what exactly what to replace? Thanks again... Richard

I'm only using the card to play mp3s - that's it. Whenever I apply an EAX effect it ranges from a lot of static to distorted (badly - no effect, just garbled sound) audio. Should it be different?

oops - user error, The SB EAX feature was set at something like underwater snowshoes. Once I disabled it everything seems fine. EAX seems pretty useless though - every effect I tried ended up with distorted sound, althoug I suppose that could be from the speakers Im currently using. Now I can't wait for those 4.1a fwiw, graphic card is the Matrox dual monitor and on-board sound is disabled. Thanks Paragon!

...and the nightmare continues... Got the Soundblaster Live! card, installed it just fine, and now my mp3s sound like crap - much flatter and with static. No amount of messing with the creative mixer or Winamp can make it sound as good as the DELL sound chips (disabled along with driver prior to SB install) did. And this is with my Cambridge Soundworks el cheapo 2.1s (which for the price are actually pretty remarkable). Should I just give up and go with the DELL audio and get a Y-cable when the Promedia 4.1s come out? bummed..

Well, it all became moot when I finally got a reply from an e-mail I sent to their tech support folks long before I bought the AE card asking if it would work on my system. They said: "The PSC706 Acoustic Edge sound card is compatible with the Windows 2000 Professional operating system. However, there appears to be an issue with the way the operating system handles the surround capabilities and quad expander technology. Therefore, you may only receive 2 channel sound from the card on the system thus defeating the purpose of the 5.1 channel technology. It is not know at this time if updated drivers will be developed to correct this issue." On calling to verify this, another tech agreed and said that it was unlikely the drivers would get fixed, so sending the card back was my only option. I just wish I had gotten this email reply before I bought the card, sigh. Next, checking back with DELL, they support the Soundblaster if purchased from them, so I have one on order and hopefully that will be the friggin end of all this once it arrives. aargggg...

Movie Freak: - Thanks for your help! Given I'm just using it to listen to mp3's and want to simulate surround sound as much as posible from stereo on the 4.1s when they come out, will a SB card really do that? Which model do you recommend? Baz: I agree about DELL - it's a great PC and the support is excellent, but it's not as versatile as I'd always like. I tried everything & nothing helped. The card is going back, sigh. Sure glad I got it from Outpost, they're great about returns. Thanks!

I just bought and will probably return a Philips Acoustic Edge card because of install problems (as described in the "Best soundcard for 4.1s & MP3s?" post) I'm looking for the next best thing for the promedia 4.1s to generate 3d surround sound from stereo mp3s (which will be my sole use of the speakers one I get 'em). DELL says the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card IS compatible, but I really need to know what people think of this card before I put myself through this process *again*. Any reports of experience with the TBSC would be greatly appreciated! Thanks...

WARNING: The Acoustic Edge may not be all it's cracked up to be. I'm going through finger pointing hell right now with Philips & Dell trying to get this &*#$(&* thing to install. IRQ issues (despite calling each company prior to purchasing the card to clear compatibility issues etc) Question: Can anyone recommend the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card? NOW Dell is telling me to buy a card they officially support and that's one of them. (Soundblaster is the other). Doesn't look as though the TBSC card is as sophisticated as the AE is supposed to be, but it seems to have more than the SB for simulating 3d sound on stereo output. Any comments on the TBSC card would be greatly appreciated!

"...Are you saying you'll get some kind of better surround sound effect with the Promedias using a AE compared to a Live?" In NO way am I any kind of expert on this, but according to what I've read in reviews etc. this is supposed to be the case. That's why I chose the AE (which arrived today but I've not yet installed)

thanks!

I've seen mention of using an equalizer several times on this board to adjust outputs to Promedias. Are we talking software? If so, what's recommended? If hardware, what kind & how would it set up with the 4.1s? I just can't resist the idea of tinkering with things for 'perfect' sound output once I get the speakers. thanks! Richard

Hey Seb: Well, I'm interested in the surround sound "feel", even if it isn't true 4 channel. So what appeals to me about the AE card is that it can (supposedly) take stereo output and synthezize 4 channel surround from it, making up for playing plain old stereo mp3s. As far as games go, I'm a pretty dull guy and really bad at 'em . Since I spend inordinate amounts of time at work on my pc I'm looking for the BEST audio experience I can find to help enjoy my time on the computer... thanks!

I forgot to mention that I'm running Win2k. Any idea if the AE has any Win2k compatibility problems? (I sent them an email asking this so once they respond & I'll post the answer here too) How serious is the driver bug? Thanks!