SRS Audio Sandbox is Worth Buying

SRS Audio Sandbox is audio enhancement software for PCs, especially usefulfor enhancing 5.1 or 6.1 speaker systems.The good news is that your computer speakers really can sound better, andAudio Sandbox is the software to do it.The bad news (and it's not so bad) isthat even though the advertising makes it sound like this plugin will turn yourspeakers into the sound system at Carnegie Hall, there's only so much softwarecan do if you don't have quality equipment.I found Audio Sandbox when my new computer speakers sounded as small andlimited as they looked.I noticed the difference right away.Through AudioSandbox, the sound is fuller and larger.I can turn the speakers up louderbefore they start sounding like someone is rattling rocks in a tin can.When Iturn Audio Sandbox off, my speakers sound sickly in comparison, like I justswitched to an old Victrola.My speakers still don't sound nearly as good asI'd like, but they do sound significantly better.I usually seek out freewaresolutions when I need software, but in this case it was more than worth the$19.95 purchase price to have better sound.Audio Sandbox is especially designed to enhance 5.1 or 6.1 speaker systems,but it also makes 2.1 speakers (what I have) sound better and less twodimensional.Audio Sandbox has several presets and adjustments you can make so the soundsuits what you're listening to.You can enhance it specifically for music,games, movies, or voice.There are also presets for different styles of musicfrom Rock to Hip-Hop to Classical, or you can adjust the levels manually to getthe sound you like.I personally haven't seen much need for changing thepresets.I put mine on Rock and everything else sounds fine too.The negatives on this software mostly have to do with installation.I'mpretty computer savvy, but I had trouble getting this to work right away.Therewas something with my computer's configuration that kept the software frominstalling itself in the usual way, and the troubleshooting guide wasn't much help.After much fiddling with it, I finally got it to work, but it did take sometime.I suspect this won't be a problem for most people, but I'm including ithere so you can be prepared just in case.The other negative came when my hard drive crashed and I had to reinstall.SRS has all kinds of security measures in place to keep people from stealingtheir software, and these can be an annoyance if you need to move it to anothercomputer.They're not like other companies who simply give you a key you canre-enter.You have to be online and register the software through their siteany time you reinstall.The process doesn't always work correctly, which thenrequires you to get a code from the software, leave it open while you emailthe code to customer support and then wait for their response.To the company's credit, their customer support people responded withlightning fast speed, and after going through this process with them twice dueto various problems, they finally just send me a registration key to end thedifficulties.Dealing with the security measures was definitely a hassle, butdealing with customer service was not.If you're looking for software with goodcustomer support, SRS definitely comes through.