After making sure all speakers and the subwoofer were correctly attached and everything worked I loaded up the Audio rack and tossed in a nice mix of old rock, rap, and trance. You can't help but notice the high quality sound from the tracks with lots of base. Just for kicks I also went through a selection of orchestra tracks from the Telarc Surround Sounds CD, but found that the tracks with very little bass would often sound 'flat'. Since I've recently started playing Croteam's Serious Sam again, I loaded this game up and I also tested out the sound using Quake 3 Team Arena. The 3D positional audio is great, as you can hear rockets whiz above and to the sides of you. One thing I did find, even after tweaking the menu settings and volume/fader control on my speakers was that the sounds, which should make a nice shift between front and back speakers didn't. I noticed slightly less quality in sound when I had all four of the satellite speakers in use, than with my previous sound card. Again, another example showing that this card is really designed for 5.1 sound systems.

Judging by my experiences with the Nightingale Pro 6, I'd have to say this card is put to best use with 5.1 systems. Overall it does a good job with games, but for those hardcore gamers who want a top of the line sound card for their rigs, this probably isn't the best choice for a sound card. Audiophiles will certainly enjoy the card, and if you're looking to annoy the neighbors with incredibly loud base, again this is a good choice. The drivers, bundled software and Optical kit really make the cheaply priced Nightingale Pro 6 a high value.

At a nice price of $40.00 you get your money's worth and then some with the Nightingale Pro 6 package.

• Excellent price
• Optical Kit
• Gold Plated Connectors
• Support for multiple OS
• Full version of Win DVD

• Not as easy to find and buy as Soundblaster and Turtlebeach Cards
• You won't get the same level of support on the Zoltrix web site as on larger companies' sites.
• No Dolby support

Vangie "Aurora" Beal
News & Interviews Editor