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Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Sound, Not for gamers
Review: Good sound cards offer hardware acceleration using DSPs (digital sound processors). The best ones keep CPU utilization to a minimum and handle audio natively. CPU speeds have reached 3Ghz+ and there has been a move to utilize some of these undertaxed CPUs. The M-Audio does exactly this; providing sweet 24-bit sound using host based processing. There are no FireWire, optical, or game port jacks. The M-Audio supports 7.1 analog speakers and supports recording up to 24-bit/96kHz with ASIO drivers (something only available on the expensive Audigy 2 Platimum EX bundle). The M-Audio provides pure sound in 24-bit/96kHz comparable to the Audigy 2. However, the Audigy 2 can play higher resolution DVD audio (24-bit/192kHz). This card gives chores to your CPU. This is bad for gamers and they suffer frame rate hits. Your CPU should be left alone to handle game physics, AI, and other tasks. This souncard sounds as good as and possibly better than the Audigy 2. But, there is a frame rate penalty. The performance won't win over gamers but I recommend it for audiophiles and PC musicians. The bundle comes with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, MixMan Studio, VJ Lite, WinDVD 4 Dolby Digital EX version. PC and Mac supported.This soundcard was also reviewed in Maximum PC June 2003 issue (Page 61).
Rating: 
Summary: M-Audio, or how about....
Review: I just purchased this product and installed it on my PowerBook running Panther. While the bundled drivers were a bit buggy (volume control didn't work, etc.). I dind't have any kernal panics, however after looking through M-Audio's webisite a bit, I found an updated driver for Panther which is now working perfectly. The sound quality is great (although turning on the virtual surround mode decreases quality) and the product configuration options and features are as good as you'll find in any external card at this price.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product
Review: I just purchased this product and installed it on my PowerBook running Panther. While the bundled drivers were a bit buggy (volume control didn't work, etc.). I dind't have any kernal panics, however after looking through M-Audio's webisite a bit, I found an updated driver for Panther which is now working perfectly. The sound quality is great (although turning on the virtual surround mode decreases quality) and the product configuration options and features are as good as you'll find in any external card at this price.
Rating:
Summary: A Bloody Revolution of Sound!
Review: I recently bought the Revolution; in fact I have had it for three hours. To be honest this thing sounds much better than anything I have ever heard from Creative. The last sound card that I upgraded in my old machine was an Audigy mp3+. The Revolution easily surpasses that in sound quality. I hear every little detail. As for games I played a couple of games of Warcraft 3 online and it sounded just like my old Audigy, so no let down in terms of gaming imursion. But as for music this thing kicks a#@!!! The sound is soooo clear; I love it. And on my Logitech 680's, this thing really cranks out the tunes! So if you are looking to buy a new sound card I highly suggest this one. It sounds much better than the Audigy, sounds better than even the all-famed Audigy 2 and for 100 bucks who can beat it. Go ahead read the reviews on all the computer hardware WebPages and you will come to the same conclusion as I did. It's a must have!
Rating:
Summary: M-Audio, or how about....
Review: I've been looking around for an el cheapo sound card, and I came across this M-Audio 7.1 card (I know, not exactly cheap). Anyways, this is not so much a review as it is buying advice and information. If you look at the used products for this card, there is a Chaintech 7.1 card being offered under this product listing. This sounded fishy to me so I looked into this card. Turns out, the M-Audio is very similar to this Chaintech sound card, using the same audio processor; the Envy24HT chipset. However, the M-Audio supports true 24 bit sound on the analog outputs, whereas the cheaper Chaintec is limited to 18 bit on the analog outs. (the analog outs are where the typical PC speakers are connected to). But, this gets more confusing. First, the Chaintec can support 24 bit/192 khz sound on analog, but only in 2.1 speaker mode, whereas the M-audio can do it 2,4,5,or 7.1 speaker mode. But this is only for the analog output. Why you ask? Well, the analog signal must pass through a DAC, or digital to analog converter in order to translate the audio signal for playback, and the M-Audio uses a better DAC than the Chaintec for channels 1-6. However, the Chaintec uses a better DAC on channels 7-8 (the Wolfgang DAC) hence it can support true 24/192 sound on these two channels. Aside from this analog issue, the M-Audio is known to have problems on its SPDIF output (this is the output on the card that connects to a digital connection like coax or toslink). So, for people who want a sound card to connect to your receiver or an amp, this becomes a drawback (although M-Audio is working on a fix for this problem through soon to be released drivers). Practially speaking, it's not a huge problem, but it'll bug audiophiles because the digital output on the M-Audio does not have native support for ASIO. (ASIO is a high end feature that playsback audio without any resampling; hence it's pure and unmolested). The Chaintec uses a toslink digital out which fully supports 24/192 sound just like the M-Audio. Using the SPDIF on the Chaintec also supports ASIO mode for bit-perfect playback, although you need an external software wrapper like ASIO4ALL to do this, plus it requires a good amount of configuration. (This can done on the M-Audio as well). For the really ambitious, there's even a bios flash program for the Chaintec that can change its native drivers into a Prodigy 7.1 card, hence full native support for ASIO without the need for a third-party wrapper. (But if you figure out how to flash the card into a virtual Prodigy 7.1 card, you lose all analog functionality). So, while the M-Audio may be a better card for analog use, it still costs about 5x the amount of the Chaintec and the digital out is no better than the Chaintec. If you only need the digital output on a sound card, the Chaintec is by far the best bang for your buck. All in all, the research I've done points to the Audiotrack Prodigy 7.1 as the best overall consumer card. (But all of these cards based on the Envy24HT chipset lack hardware acceleration, so hardcore gamers may want to stick to Creative). The Prodigy is about the same price as the M-Audio and it has all of its strengths, but it also has full native support for ASIO. The Prodigy also has better DAC's for analog outputs than the Chaintec. So, in summary this M-Audio is a good card. But I'd go with the Prodigy 7.1 instead as it's about the same price. For those who are especially cheap or poor or only need the digital out on a sound card, then the Chaintec is the way to go. I ordered it online for under 25 bux with free shipping. Don't be fooled by its generric brand, this is a powerful card with many options, but don't expect much documentation or support on the Chaintec; internet forums notwithstanding. In conclusion, I think it may be worthwhile to do some research on the Chaintech and the Prodigy before shelling out big bux for this M-Audio or any other brand.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Mac Compatable as you may think
Review: If you are running Panther on a Power Mac system, then I would not get this card. The crappy drivers causes kernal panics within a few minutes of starting the system. I contacted their "Tech Support" and got nowhere fast. It seems that they are more interested in making excuses and finger points to oters as to why their card doesn't work. Then they go on to basicly say "Tough luck for now. We will have new drivers for you soon" but they don't say when, if ever, that they will have them.
It has been two weeks since Panther has come out and there has been nothing from them. All their other products have Panther updates, why not the Revolution?
Rating:
Summary: Not Mac Compatable as you may think
Review: If you are running Panther on a Power Mac system, then I would not get this card. The crappy drivers causes kernal panics within a few minutes of starting the system. I contacted their "Tech Support" and got nowhere fast. It seems that they are more interested in making excuses and finger points to oters as to why their card doesn't work. Then they go on to basicly say "Tough luck for now. We will have new drivers for you soon" but they don't say when, if ever, that they will have them.
It has been two weeks since Panther has come out and there has been nothing from them. All their other products have Panther updates, why not the Revolution?
Rating:
Summary: Music - WOW! Games - NO!
Review: If you're primary concern is music and you don't play any games AND you have a FAST (2Ghz processor +), this is the best sound card you can buy for the $$. If you play any games which need EAX support, don't even think about buying this card. Buy yourself an Audigy 2 ZS and be happy. Finally--your PC needs a fast processor--this thing takes some speed.
I upgraded from a SB Live 5.1 to this card and my Logitech Z-560's sound amazing now...they were good before, but now there is so much more depth and clarity, its amazing!!
Rating:
Summary: Great sound and helpful tech support
Review: This card has done wonders for the sound on my computer, even with my mediocre Altec-Lansing 5.1 speakers. I did have some difficulty with the install, but not because of any problems with the card or its drivers. However, conversations with M-Audio's tech support helped unravel a problem with how my HP Pavilion was configured and what it would take to fix the problem in spite of the rigid Windows XP configuration. I am enjoying this card, and I got it at a great price.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Get No Better
Review: This is best card going.I knew about the company from recording
school.It will be awhile before people catch on to the fact that
M-Audio makes proffesional sound cards and audio interfaces for
digital multi-track recording.Creative is just dabbling compared
to these people.There is no break out box or midi game port,you
will need usb controller.Every current sound format for games
and dvd is covered!192khz is well beyond Audigy 2 and it is far
superior in audio output than any other card going.Easy as sin
to get up and running and yes it runs on XP.Make sure you got XP
service pack 1 installed and you will have zero problems as long
as you properly disable your on board sound.Don't load the dri-
vers on the disk,go to their site and download the current XP
drivers and then shut down and install the card.The digital coax
and mic/line inputs will allow you to run external equipment in
and then out through the card,that's why there's no need for the
break out box and also how they can offer it so cheap.Believe me
the sound is beyond compare.Do yourself a favor though and buy
quality speakers...The sound will smoke your digital home thea-
ter receiver and that is no B.S.
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