Turtle Beach Riviera 5.1 Channel
by TURTLE BEACH SYSTEMS
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List Price: Our Price: $42.99 You Save: $1.48 (3%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Turtle Beach Riviera 5.1 Channel
Customer Review: Waste of Money
Summary: 1 Stars
This is my first review of a product I've ever written. I usually do my research up front, make my choice and in most all cases am happy with it. This is not the case here. I would concider myself an audiophile and was unable to find a card that offered good 2 channel sound without all the bells and whistles I didn't need. And I was tired of the bloated buggy Creative Labs software. Had used Creative in the past with Cambridge Audio speakers with acceptable results. Upgraded to Windows 7 and the Creative drivers would not load so I replaced it with the Turle Beach card. Thought the cost the technology had driven costs down and for stereo would be acceptable. I was wrong !!! In a simple 2 channel setup you can hear a phase shift between the speakers, dull high end, weak bass, an absolute disappointment for such a simple request.
Even though I am lover of good sound even an untrained ear can hear the terrible performance this card purduces. Do not buy this card !!!
After much research I have found that Asus manufactures that is a sound worth of audiophile status for around $200.00. Needless to say, I placed my order today.
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card
Customer Review: It Just Works
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this card three weeks ago instead of the Audigy 2 ZS. I was told by a friend that this one was just as good for the average user. He was right. Unlike the Audigy 2 ZS this card requires no configuration to work properly. The drivers were found and installed by Windows XP automatically with no problem and no conflicts either during or after the install. The sound is excellent with no line noise or artifacts.
Unless you have to have the latest and most elite or you are an audiophile who doesn't play MP3's because you can tell the difference in sound quality between them and CD's this card is an excellent buy. And it's far less than half the price of an Audigy 2.
Pros:
Super easy installation
Great sound quality
Price isn't beaten anywhere for a product of this calibre.
Adjustable environment controls (movie theatre, padded cell, concert hall and others). Unheard of for this price.
Software to replace and enhance the anemic windows volume control
Cons:
Lack of a real manual (not needed, really)
Funky software based setup of jacks for 4-6.1 channel speaker systems. Could cause some confusion.
No hardcore certifications like THX.
Customer Review: Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS through fiber optic
Summary: 1 Stars
After 2 hours of changing settings and reviewing the FAQ on the turtle beach webpage, I am unable to pass 5.1 sound through fiber optic to my 5.1 stereo. I know the 5.1 works as my dish receiver passes 5.1 without issue. I was using Nero 7 to playback a DVD and was only able to produce 2.0 sound through my system. Funny thing is the turtle beach webpage states that if you want 5.1 decoding you should buy a standalone DVD player and attach it to your stereo. The FAQ states that you set the software driver for the card to 2 channel SPDIF to get the fiber optic signal to your stereo and it will pass the 5.1 signal. This turns out to be untrue. I could set it to output 5.1 through copper wire connection but that would defeat my purpose of having minimal cables behind my home theatre. I intend to keep the card installed as I can still have Dolby Pro Logic sound through the 2.0 fiber optic. In closing I made adjustments to the turtle beach mixer, and windows control panel, all without success.Customer Review: Product has a great software suite, as well...
Summary: 5 Stars
The card does come with Audio Surgeon LE - as it is clearly advertised. If that's not what you wanted when you bought the card - you could have always returned the product. And if the user wanted Audio Surgeon, why wouldn't they simply buy that product?
This is a great card with:
Optical S/PDIF output for pass-through of Dolby Digital® and DTS® multi-channel DVD sound to external A/V receivers
Selectable 2, 4, or 6 analog line output channels
External line input
Internal CD and Aux inputs
Supports Game Surround Sound APIs such as EAX, A3D, I3DL2 and DirectSound 3D support
Converts stereo sound sources to multi-channel format
Environmental Effects
Game port for dual analog joystick connection
You can't get a software suite like it with other cards, and for under $30 (the cost of Audio Surgeon by itself, by the way) you get a great product.
Customer Review: The CD does not contain what is listed on the box
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this sound card because I wanted to use the Audio Surgeon software which was listed on the box and on their website. After I installed the software I discovered that it is not AudioSurgeon, but it is AudioSurgeon LE. When you click on a feature it says something like "This feature does not work in this version, you must purchase AudioSurgeon for this feature." I wrote to tech support and their response was "AudioSurgeon LE comes bundled free with the Riviera sound card." They also changed the website to say "AudioSurgeon LE"I called Voyetra which seems to own Turtle Beach and they said "we can name the software anything we want. You can bring the sound card back to the store and if you don't want to do that you can get a lawyer."
Don't expect tech support, or customer service with this product.