Drivers and software goodies
As far as hardware goes, the Ultimate Edge doesn't offer anything particularly unique. However, Philips has incorporated a number of interesting features into the card's drivers that give the Edge an, er, edge.

Active filters and 3D effects galore

The Ultimate Edge's most hyped driver feature is a pair of audio frequency response modifiers dubbed QRumble and QSizzle. Foshizzle. Unlike static response modifiers like bass and treble, which blindly apply a fixed change to audio signals regardless of content, QRumble and QSizzle apply dynamic changes to audio based on the nature of the audio signal. Instead of using the same bass and treble settings to modify all audio streams, user-defined QRumble and QSizzle settings are treated as guidelines for how audio output should sound.

QRumble and QSizzle's adaptive natures should result in a more consistent sound when playing back audio content with varying levels of high and low-end content. It doesn't seem right to apply the same level of bass boost to a guttural, drum-driven industrial screamer as to a wispy, acoustic-dominated ballad, so adaptive modifiers certainly make sense for those with varied playlists. Philips also claims that QRumble and QSizzle can make compressed audio files sound better by "effectively compensat[ing] for the negative side effects of digital compression in a natural, content-dependent manner." Intriguing. We'll see how that pans out in our listening tests.

In addition to QRumble and QSizzle, the Ultimate Edge is packing a handful of other QFeatures to handle virtual 3D audio. First, we have QMMS, which creates virtual 3D audio from 2D audio sources. Rather than simply mirroring front output channels to the rear, QSound approximates the location of incoming sounds and plays them back accordingly. On the other side of the coin, QSurround takes six-channel audio sources and creates a virtual 3D audio experience through normal two-channel stereo speakers. QXpander also virtualizes 3D audio for stereo output, but given how affordable 5.1 speaker setups have become over the years, I have to wonder how useful all this 3D-to-2D audio virtualization is. If you can afford to drop $70 on a sound card, you can surely afford a set of 5.1 speakers.

The requisite equalizer

That's it for the spicy stuff, but we're by no means finished with the Ultimate Edge's drivers. Alongside all those fancy active filters and 3D effects is a standard equalizer, a mixer, a speaker configuration tool, and support for all the presets you can dream up. The drivers also support virtual environments to simulate auditoriums, halls, and the like, if you're into that sort of thing.

A handy mixer

Speaker setup options

Presets galore!