Customer Reviews

Creative Labs Ensoniq 16-Bit PCI Audio Card

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I build computer systems for sale, and use this in all of my lower end systems. The driver setup is simple and straight forward, and I have had no trouble with any of the cards I have purchased. It is a great bargain for people who don't need any advanced features but still want quality stereo sound.

Installed and got up and working in less than 20 minutes. Markedly better than the old "came with the system" soundcard. Has no trouble playing other sounds while you're listening to music (a big problem with my other card. Highly recommended.

Great audio card - however I have the misfortune to find out that this card does not work correctly with the non-usb Sidewinder 3D Pro. ...Installing the DirectX 8.1b, Lastest Sound Card Drivers, and Sidewinder 3.02 drivers doesn't help. The controller is listed as not-connected. You can use it in analog mode, but you loose much functionality.

...

This card came with my Dell, but I'm going to buy another one for another computer with a proprietary unsupported card. This card works great in all situations, from listening to music to playing games. This big advantage (for me) is that it works great in Linux, which is why I'm buying another one.

I plugged mine in and it worked perfectly the first time. It's not the best sound card in the world, but you would have to spend much more to get a noticable improvement. For the price, it's one of the best, if not the best, availible. I'd recomend it to anyone who doesn't want to spend much money on a sound card.

I'll recomend this card if you just want a 16 bit sound card. what you'll miss is the 1024 midi voices that a SBlive has... but if your goal is not to play midi music then buy this. You'll get a 32 voices polyphony soundcard with multitilmbral capabilities! as the original Ensoniq, this should be the choice of anyone that wants to make music with trackers. You'll be able to mix 32 digital channels without losing quality as in other soundtracks. To give you an example, how many times did windows told you that another app is using your sound card? Well, with Ensoniq you can hear other windows sounds while listening to an MP3. Well, that is posible with the original Ensoniq.

I have a dual boot system, and neither 98 or win 2000 like this card. I have tried everything to get it working. Has IRQ problems, for no apparent reason, I riped out all my cards and installed one by one, still nothing. Spend a little more, get a little more. I will post a follow up if Tech Support is able to help me. If you see no follow up by me, go with another card.