High-End Audio: Creative and Terratec

Introduction

Of the cards in this comparative test, Creative's Platinum and Platinum EX have 6.1s channels, Terratec's Aureon Sky has 5.1, and Terratec's Aureon Space has 7.1. The range of available products spans classic Dolby Digital through advanced multi-channel sound. Comparatively, few DVDs offer more than five available channels.

Sound card capabilities also depend on software. Sampling sound at a 192 kHz frequency, for example, requires the Windows XP Service Pack 1. Sound cards that offer 7.1 channels require Windows XP. Older software packages limit sound card performance to 6.1 channels..