Terratec Aureon PCI vs. the X-Mystique

[glObalist]

http://sounduk.terratec.net/modules....rticle&sid=237

Hi, I was wondering, is this Terratec card any better or worse than the X-Mystique?

http://www.bluegears.com/xmystique.html

I'm currently looking for a SoundStorm replacement for my new Neo2 board but I couldn't find any reviews of the Terratec card.

The reason I'm considering the Terratec is that the HDA/Bluegears offering doesn't exactly shine in some of the reviews (CPU usage- and sound quality-wise), plus it's almost imposible to get it in this part of the world (Slovakia). I could get the Terratec for 30 Euro less too from a local retailer...

Any advice would help.

[Áedán]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Terratec card might also use the cmedia chip? I haven't been able to confirm this however!

[glObalist]

Yes it does AFAIK, but would that mean the cards really sound and perform the same?

[Áedán]

If the CMedia chip has the ADC/DAC on it, then it'll set the upper limits for sound quality. In terms of performance, the it's likely that both vendors would use the same base drivers, possibly with minor tweeks.