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Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro
Reviewed by
Nathaniel Wilkins
on 12/21/2004

See all Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. products

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$25.55 - $38.67

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  • Quick specs
  • Audio output interface type: USB
  • Operating system: Apple MacOS X or later Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3 or later Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition / Windows ME
  • Sound output mode: Stereo
  • See full specifications

Add to my list Product summary

The good: Compact; includes analog 1/8-inch stereo headphone jack and optical digital-audio jack adapter; Dolby Digital 5.1 pass-through; simulates surround sound through headphones; impressive audio quality; doesn't require power cord.

The bad: Shared analog and digital output jack; lacks hardware volume control; short, 22-inch USB extension cable; limited Mac compatibility.

The bottom line: Plugged into a USB port, the ultracompact Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro affordably adds a shared headphone jack/optical digital-audio output to your PC or laptop.

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CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed by:
    Nathaniel Wilkins
  • Edited by:
    Rich Brown
  • Reviewed on: 12/21/2004
  • Released on: 07/13/2004
A tiny audio output device that connects to a PC's USB port, the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro is primarily intended for laptops, but it can also be used with desktop PCs. Featuring surround-sound simulation capabilities, an equalizer, and digital signal processing (DSP) modes, the $29.99 Audio Advantage Micro affordably adds a software preamplifier and an improved headphone jack/minijack digital audio port to your PC. What's more, an included plug adapter converts the minijack port into a full-fledged Toslink optical digital-audio output, which lets you connect to a variety of digital audio receivers or other compatible devices.

Similar in appearance to a USB flash drive, the diminutive Audio Advantage Micro, which measures 2.5 by 0.75 by 0.5 inches (HWD), comes with a USB jack cover, a USB extension cable, a software CD-ROM and the aforementioned optical digital-audio plug adapter. We were a bit frustrated by the 22-inch USB extension cord; it's not quite long enough to facilitate easy connection with a desktop PC's rear-panel USB port, especially if your computer sits on the floor. The Audio Advantage Micro is also totally devoid of hardware-based controls; the absence of a volume knob, for instance, means you'll have to dive into the software to make adjustments. That can be a real pain when you're in the middle of playing a video game or watching a movie, but it's not a deal killer.

Installing the Audio Advantage Micro was straightforward: we simply installed the software from the CD-ROM, then plugged in the device as prompted. The software serves as a preamplifier and configuration tool, including a 10-band equalizer with programmable presets; more than two dozen DSP environments, ranging from Shower to Psychotic; and a virtual-speaker shifter that lets you tweak the speaker positions of a virtual 5.1-channel system.

The Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro can transmit DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio signals through its optical digital-audio output to a decoder, such as your A/V receiver, but your PC-based DVD player software must support 5.1-channel output. We used CyberLink PowerDVD ($49.95 or $62.95, depending on the version) without a problem.

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Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro

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