tranCendenZ
01-05-2005, 07:09 PM
The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the best digital soundcard I've ever owned, and I've owned a ton of cards. I had the original Sound Blaster, the SB16, Aureal Vortex 2, the SBLive, and even some straight MIDI cards (Roland LAPC-1, Roland SCC-1, Roland SCD-15). Overall, the Santa Cruz has just been a great card with excellent drivers, performance, and sound quality.
That being said, Cirrus Logic has now stopped producing the chip that the Santa Cruz uses. So the Santa Cruz is being phased out while the Catalina and Riviera are the newer cards. Except I think both of them suck, I'd take the Santa Cruz over either of them anyday. Looking at TB's website, I can see that they are pricing the Catalina now at the same price as the Santa Cruz (it used to be more expensive), likely because many probably feel the same as I do, that the Santa Cruz is superior.
So has anyone heard plans of TB releasing a new card based on a different chipset? What else is out there aside from the VIA Envy?
That being said, Cirrus Logic has now stopped producing the chip that the Santa Cruz uses. So the Santa Cruz is being phased out while the Catalina and Riviera are the newer cards. Except I think both of them suck, I'd take the Santa Cruz over either of them anyday. Looking at TB's website, I can see that they are pricing the Catalina now at the same price as the Santa Cruz (it used to be more expensive), likely because many probably feel the same as I do, that the Santa Cruz is superior.
So has anyone heard plans of TB releasing a new card based on a different chipset? What else is out there aside from the VIA Envy?