One of the benefits to running a digital signal processor is the flexibility that is afforded for future software upgrades. Almost immediately we noticed that the "processing power" of the Crystal 4630 (at 420MIPS) is significantly less than the EMU10K1 (at 1000MIPS) or even the hardwired Vortex2 (at 600MIPS). Having said that, it is also important to note that MIPS are theoretical, and somewhat ambiguous, so it is hard to be sure that EMU's brainchild is more flexible for real-world processing.

Turtle Beach certainly did not skimp on expansion options for the Santa Cruz, as this card joins the elite few to offer an S/PDIF input for CD-ROM drives supporting this digital connection. It was to our dismay that Turtle Beach did not include the necessary cable despite the claim on the back of the box saying "Santa Cruz comes with all you need to connect to…CD-ROM drives with digital inputs." Standard auxiliary, CD, and TAD inputs are included as well, matching the Live! connector for connector.

In addition to the typical faceplate outputs, there is also a software controllable "VersaJack," which can function as a digital output, secondary line input, or analog output for playback of a decoded 5.1 signal. Those with digital speaker setups would not be using the 5/6 analog output, and vice versa, so I do not foresee anyone having to fiddle with wires behind their computer system once the Santa Cruz has been set up.

Twin 26-pin headers populate the Santa Cruz to provide support for Turtle Beach's Cancun FX synthesizer card as well as future expansion options.