Live 5.1 Platinum is Golden
Written: Jul 22 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: On board hardware AC3 decoder. Live Drive 2 w/remote. Hardware full-Duplex. Super software bundle.
Cons: Some chipset problems are known. The price is not worth it for a general gamer.
The Bottom Line: Looking for a top notch audio system? Get this card and combine it with the DTT3500 from Cambridge. Once you hear AC3, you will be thankful.
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| badhmash's Full Review: Creative Sound Blaster Live! Platinum |
Being that I have always been an owner of the Sound Blaster series of cards, I decided that I would add their latest and greatest model to the new computer I have been building for myself. I decided to purchase the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Platinum with Live Drive 2 because of the many reviews I have read here and on professional sites.
Most people, including myself, will tell you that if you are just a gamer, stay away from this card. There is no need to shell out the extra money for nothing. You can pick up a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 X-Gamer or MP3 model for much cheaper and they come with the same card (minus the software extras and the live drive and remote, of course). But if you are one of those people, like me, who just has to have the best of everything and you have the money to blow, then go for it.
The meal ticket for Creative Labs' Sound Blaster products in recent history is the EAX audio extensions that simulate real life audio physics in games. You can even add these effects to your MP3 and WAV files. For games that are programmed for it, like Half Life, you will really notice and more importantly, appreciate the difference EAX makes. To fully experience these effects, I strongly recommend purchasing a 5.1 speaker system (ie: DON'T buy this card if you are planning on using only 2 or 3 speakers). I purchased the DTT3500 from Cambridge and I cannot tell you just how incredible everything sounds. The AC3 dolby digital sample files are just outstanding. Lets take a look at the card overall:
Input/Output
There are a LOT of connection possibilities here. Upon installation of the card, which was a breeze by the way, I noticed that there were a few more inputs and outputs that I did not see on my previous Sound Blaster Live! Value card (NOT 5.1). This card, for instance, has a Digital Out (Orange) right on the card itself. Some of you will recall that there used to be a separate Digital I/O card for Live cards previous to the 5.1 models. This is great because you save an additional PCI slot. Then of course you have your standard analog outputs to speakers and microphone inputs and game/midi inputs. Where the difference occurs is on the Live Drive panel. This unit allows for MIDI I/O, optical I/O, headphone out, Microphone 2 in, SPDIF I/O and RCA Aux inputs. There is also an IR receiver for the included remote control. I was impressed with the optical connection which will allow me to connect my minidisc player directly to the Live!. Additionally, you can connect a PlayStation 2 directly to the computer through the optical cable as well.
Features
Well this is pretty standard if you have owned any type of sound card in the past. But just to be complete, the Live 5.1 comes with the 32-Bit EMU10K1 DAP chip that we first saw in the original Live! card. The EMU processor is flash upgradable and is the brain center for the EAX open standard. The card is also known for its exceptional hardware acceleration which is really not noticeable if you have a respectable system but it's nice to know you have it. As mentioned previously, the card comes with on board, on the fly AC3 Dolby Digital decoding. This feature works really well, but I noticed that if I disable it and use the hardware decoder in my DTT3500 amplifier, the sound is louder, clearer, crisper and more enjoyable. But both the sound card and the physical DTT3500 decoder are very good and separate the sounds equally well. The card also comes with a microphone.
Software Bundle:
The software bundle is really nice. Creative has given you enough software to get you started. In fact, the software bundle included with the platinum is actually a combination of both the X-Gamer and the MP3 versions of the 5.1 cards. With my card, I got several sound applications including the Creative Launcher and demos, as well as several games like Thief 2, MDK2, and Deus Ex. Some bundles come with different games.
Not happy about...
Basically the price is the only problem that I have with this card. Although the software could probably have sold for the same amount alone, I really would not have bought all that software. So that excuse is very limited. The Live Drive is also not very useful unless you really have a need for it. I only have a use for the optical connection but I could have added that directly to my DTT3500 decoder as well so even that was somewhat useless. The Remote control is almost completely useless because it is incompatible with almost every sound program NOT included in the Creative bundle. I was under the impression that the remote was able to control all other programs on the computer. That would made sense I think. The microphone is also useless because anyone who has a computer will have a microphone if they need one (they are only $5).
Conclusion
Other than the above, I love the card. It sounds magnificent. I cannot tell you how amazing the AC3 streams sound. DVDs are out of this world. Incidentally, you should be aware that the DVD player included in the Creative bundle actually DOES NOT output in Dolby Digital. Upon calling Creative and Cambridge, I was told that the only two software players capable of outputting AC3 audio from DVDs with the Live 5.1 are WinDVD2000 and higher and PowerDVD 2.5 and higher.
I strongly recommend this card to people who want a top notch system and are looking for a sound card. There will always be people who will attack Sound Blaster because they are on top. People always attack the quality of products that sell the best and are the most popular. But don't listen to them.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 140
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Epinions.com ID:
badhmash
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Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 12 members
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