High-End Audio: Creative and Terratec

Terratec: Pure Cards

Unlike Creative, Terratec chose to stick to the pure-and-simple PCI card formula. Moreover, the Aureon Sky and Space are very similar to each other. The components and installation are identical, with the exception of the outputs, which vary with Sky's 5.1 and the Space's 7.1. Three analog inputs and one digital are available for internal connections.

On the connection bracket, on 3.5 mm jacks, the standard elements are consisting of microphone and line inputs. There are six output channels for the Sky and eight for the Space. There are also digital input and output sockets on Toslink connectors. Making the form factor any simpler would be difficult without nixing essential features.

Terratec assumes that the joystick port is now redundant, and does not offer the necessary port. We have to agree that connecting a joystick to a sound card is not something a typical user would want to do.