Extigy and X10 for home audio from PC
Written: Apr 06 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Quality sound, variety if ins and outs, easy USB hook-up
Cons: Mini-jacks instead of RCA
The Bottom Line: Good sound, easy installation, flexible connections. This one fits the bill for an easy sound upgrade that you can bring to your next PC.
|
|
|
| jeffmull's Full Review: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Extigy Sound Card |
I'll admit up front that I'm not an audiophile. But I was a DJ for 15 years so I definitely notice when music sounds bad. I just don't go to great lengths or expense to get that last 10% of audiophile quality.
I like to listen to music primarily as background during the day. I also have a hot tub and speakers around it to create a nice atmosphere.
My goal was to get music from my PC, on the second floor, to my stereo on the first floor. And I didn't want to run wires through walls or have them hanging all over the place. Seems to me that this is a common problem. I accomplished this goal by purchasing an MP3 Anywhere unit from x10.com for around $60. This unit uses the same 2.4 gHz frequency range as the better cordless phones to transmit sound out of your PC and into your home stereo. It's a two-piece system, transmitter and receiver. Range is claimed to be 100 feet, but I use it much closer, probably 30 feet or so, and it works fine from there. I will note, however, that the MP3 Anywhere unit is susceptible to interference if you are using a microwave or a 2.4 gig cordless phone.
Once I had this installed, which was simple, I had mixed feelings. It worked, but the sound quality was pretty bad, and that lack of quality was much more noticeable coming out of the home stereo than the little PC speakers. I knew I'd be trading some fidelity for the wireless connection, but I wasn't happy and thought that perhaps it was time to upgrade from the internal, PC sound card.
I did some research and purchased the Creative Labs Extigy. The Extigy is an external unit which connects to your PC via USB. Installation involves loading software through the CD. One nice thing about the Extigy is that if you unplug it, you can immediately go back to using the built-in sound card without reconfiguration or messing around with software.
I'm not really using the software the comes with the Extigy , so I won't go into that. The Extigy comes with a variety of inputs and outputs including line in and out, mic in, headphone out, midi in and out, digital in and out and optical in and out. I'm using the line out connectors and although I'd prefer RCA connectors, the Extigy uses stereo mini-jacks.
Bottom line: I notice superior sound quality through the Extigy. Built-in sound cards like the one that came with my HP Pavilion are low-cost OEM models which are not properly shielded. They can and do pick up static and interference from the electronics inside the PC. Moving the circuitry outside, like the Extigy does, is an excellent idea. Plus, Extigy simply use a better grade of electronics. The difference is noticeable. Oh yeah, and it looks cool, too. It has a volume knob on the front that makes it easy to adjust your volume without picking up the mouse and/or switching applications.
Summary: For around $200 I accomplished my goal of getting decent sound from my PC into my home stereo without running a bunch of wires. Is the sound of audiophile quality? No. And to be clear, this is because of the X10 unit, not the Extigy. The Extigy sounds far better than the internal sound card does through my existing PC speakers (Altec Lansings with a powered sub-woofer.) But the new system is good for background listening, entertaining, and the hot tub. Another bonus is that when I upgrade my PC, the X10 and Extigy will easily move to the new PC.
If you are looking to get MP3 sound from your PC to your home stereo, and improve the quality in the process, consider the X10/Extigy combo.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jeffmull
|
|
Member: Jeff Mulligan
Location: Merrimack, NH USA
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
40 father of three. VP Marketing for a software company. I'm on the left.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.