Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro
As shown: $29.95
See manufacturer site for availability
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Nathaniel Wilkins
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
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.
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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"Excellent and compact sound adapter" By usuallydead
Pros: Very small. Top-grade audio quality with no adjustments needed.
Cons: Mine came with some silly software for the surround sound, but I didn't need it, so I didn't use it.
Summary: I've owned mine for three years and it still works perfectly. It provides HIGH END audio quality just by plugging into any USB port, laptop or desktop. I actually find myself using mine more on my desktop than laptop, especially late at night when I want to blast some ... Expand full review
"Worth the money" By JerryHughes
Pros: Great sound and inexpensive
Cons: If this were an expensive card, maybe I could think of some but at that price, no cons!
Summary: Great little sound card. You can pick the environment (concert hall, auditorium, etc.) from many choices and unlike what you would think, these choices do make a big difference. You can also adjust the direction of sound and the sound is much louder than the original, on board card. I ... Expand full review
Specifications
See full specsQuick Specs
- Audio output interface type: USB
- Operating system: Apple MacOS X or later Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition / Windows ME Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3 or later
- Min Processor Type: 450 MHz
