NX 2 USB Soundcard

Advantages: Good price, fanastic card, a real boost over onboard sound !
Disadvantages: Sound recording problems with 3rd party software ..ill explain later...

...Audigy NX 2 USB Soundcard. Specs: USB Plug and play (with correct drivers installed. comes on cd with product and also updates from the manufacturers website) For use with 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers Comes with own IR ( infa red ) hand control!! (How sweet is that???) Very good as well, you can access and change a lot of the settings right in your own hand, as well as exploring your computer for music files to play! And selecting them from your media list (not windows media, but the included media program that comes with the card.) With USB 2.0 it will work with sample rates up to 96 KHz, where normally only 44.1 or 48.0 KHz are used. (The standard on this card is 48.0 KHz and it doesn?t really cater for 44.1 KHz although I have not had any problems with this. NOTE USB 1.1 only allows upto 48.0 KHz! ) It also allows...

JaYmEZ 03.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX

Hercules - DJ Console MK2 - Mixer and Soundcard

Advantages: Lot of fun, yet a serious device at the same time.
Disadvantages: Jog/Scratch wheel not placed in the best position on the device.

...This is a great item for the amateur/semi pro DJ. Not just limited to mixing two MP3's, this unit also allows you to mix with a variety of sources such as turntables and CD players. This is because you can attach various external hardware to the device via the extra connections you have available, including optical and RCA. There are two sets of master outputs as standard, meaning you can output to two separate amplifiers as an example, or record with one output and then monitor your sound through the other. Acting as a standard soundcard as well as the MP3 mixer, you do not need an additional soundcard to use the DJ Console and it can act as the main soundcard for your computer. The device also has beat matching capabilities, this is automated so you are always in sync with your mixes(bpm) There is also the ability to use...

bmandalia 08.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hercules DJ Console Mk2

Extigy takes the sound out of the PC

Advantages: External so no opening of the PC needed
Disadvantages: Documentation is non-existant almost

.... In games it utilises EAX if available and adds a major sound improvement on my old soundcard. I would recommend this even though the documentation was awful. The install was easy (USB does it for you really), and the fact I can just unplug and re-plug if I get a new PC is well cool. (If you unplug the old soundcard just takes over again) If you want an easy upgrade to your system and listen to music, play DVD's, or play games this is a good alternative at the price. A few problems have been reported on newsgroups so may be worth checking these out first to check you are not effected. Must go, have to enter my soundscape again!!!...

rowemg 28.08.2002 · Read review
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Review of Creative SB Extigy External Soundcard

A great soundcard, though not for entry level

Advantages: Front drive bay for added connectivity, extremely high quality sound, remote control loads of very good bundled software
Disadvantages: too many control panels, not compatible with Macs (what the majority of the entertainment industry use this format)

...on but no-one was home. I visited the Creative Europe site and did an online chat with a support technician who sorted the problem in minutes (if the creative splash screen is not disabled on startup it can prevent the front bay from working) so the technical support is extremely good (and free unless you count the internet call charges or monthly subscription to your isp). Overall a very good soundcard with loads of extras, but not suitable for the begginner or a person who wants high quality sound for DVDS and music but who isn;t really interested in music creation or editing, in that case i'd reccomend the plain Audigy 2- same PCI card no front bay and less software. This card is aimed at more advanced users that can understand and make use of its advanced features (and can afford its price tag - Its not cheap!!!!!!)...

lxmike 22.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum

Aztech noSoundcard, by CW666

Advantages: Not too bad sound
Disadvantages: Doesn't respond sometimes

...I have recently put this soundcard into my computer and most of the time it seems to work fine, but if it being used for long (10 minutes or so) my computer throws up an error message saying the card is not responding, I have been to the Aztech website but there seems to be no mention of this soundcard which is very worrying. When it is working the sound quality seems okay, but there is a background buzz from inside my computer that is very annoying. The way to get rid of this is to turn my speakers down, but this reduces the sound volume. The soundcard seemed to work fine in the other computer but just not in this one. It may have a compatibility problem with something in my computer but this is very doubtful. Most of the time this error occurs when I am playing a game, it doesn't seem to be affected by Napster/Realplayer playing songs...

ChrisWar666 29.01.2001 (30.01.2001) · Read review
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Review of Aztech 2316R

Perfectly formed, perfect sound

Advantages: Beautiful, cool, perfectly formed speakers
Disadvantages: moths fly into the subwoofer and die

...I saw these, slightly phallic speakers in a shop a LONG time ago, and loved them to pieces immediately. But there was no way I could spend that much (nearly £200) at the time, on speakers for my PC. Anway, I invested in a high quality soundcard some time ago, as I was doing a lot of work with music. Since then, I'm doing less "professional" music stuff, and decided I wanted to get those awesome speakers I saw a few years back. After some searching, I found them for just over £100. I looked at the beatiful lines of the speaker satellites, and the amazing curves of the subwoofer. I COULDN'T RESIST! I bought them, and I haven't regretted it since. The box they come in is so exciting to look at, I think I must have sat staring at it for about 10 mins before I tore into it to retrieve my new equipment. It was so exciting. They were...

JamieA 25.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

Cheap and cheerful

Advantages: soild sound, even at louder volumes, compact and attractive design
Disadvantages: Can sound slightly tinny

...Labtech's Spin 85 speakers provide a clear and rich treble sound and a pretty good bass sound, although they can sound slightly tinny at times, but given their size the overall sound is very good. They go up fairly loud too, especially considering their compact size, and with very little reduction in sound quality. They come with a standard 3-pin adapter and have a standard audio in-jack, making them compatible with any computer's soundcard, whilst their sleek, modern-looking grey and black design makes them very aesthetically pleasing. They come on their own little stands, and their individual dimensions of 19cm heignt by 7cm width by 5cm depth mean that they can be slotted away snugly into any available corner or space. Ive found them to be wholly reliable and they are stocked by most supermarkets and electrical outlets, whilst...

Burning_Darkness 30.07.2009 (31.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Labtec Spin 85

Highly Impressive 2.1 Soundsystem

Advantages: Superb sound, excellent build quality, appealing design, easy to set-up
Disadvantages: Bass adjustment may be out-of-reach for some

...some size comparisons: - The subwoofer is about the size of 6 large hardbacks stacked side-by-side (approx. 23cm x 15cm x 23cm) - Each speaker is about as high and wide as the average TV remote (approx. 21cm x 6.5cm) - Each speaker is about as deep as a mobile phone is high (approx. 11cm) I'd say the perfect use for these is as an upgrade to your laptop's sound, as they're fairly small and easy to configure (not requiring a sound-card upgrade like 5.1 systems might). All in all, a very impressive set of speakers, and a very much worthwhile investment for your PC's sound. These babies will handle your music, your games, your films and anything else you'd care to mention a mile better than any monitor speakers....

tech-review 17.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Logitech X 230

Harman Kardon Soundsticks, awesome sound quality...

Advantages: Rich sound, super clarity, deep base, look great, robust, high quality
Disadvantages: Simply none!

...My Harmon Kardon Soundsticks are plugged into the back of a Mac and have certainly livened things up. I haven't needed to upgrade soundcards or do anything technical whatsoever in my pursuit of fantastically rich sound quality. Firstly, these sound better than anything else on the market within the price bracket. The sound is rich and deep with ample adjustment for either volume or base. The two sticks and base unit come with an instruction manual, but these really are so simple to use that you can throw the manual in the recycling bin. The speaker set simply plugs into the jack socket of your PC/Mac/laptop and have their own power supply which connects to the base unit. Seperate cabling attaches the sticks to the central base unit. Once plugged in you get a cool blue underlit main unit which looks really stylish. The sticks...

Speakeeze 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II

Very impressive

Advantages: Look good, sound good, feel good.
Disadvantages: No so good at playing MP3's

...I got this as part of a bundle deal from ebuyer.com - it came free with a creative 7.1 fatality soundcard, but i understand they are worth in the region of £20-£25. The headphones look stylish and sit very comfortably on your ears, completley covering them and allowing you to experience the full sound. The microphone is extremely manaeuvrable and will stay in any postition you set it without moving again. The is an in-line remote which allows you to turn the microphone on and off and adjust the volume of the headphones. When using the headphones in games, they are absolutley immense. Sounds are crystal clear, you can hear thing as if they are behind you and they don't distort too much when turned up high. They allow you to completley immerse yourself in whatever game you're playing. The bass is pretty impressive too...

Eazy_Rider 10.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Creative Fatal1ty Pro Series Gaming Headset Headset