Finally, a truly great soundcard for the end-user.
Written: Dec 24 '01
Product Rating:
Pros: Great sound, input/output choices galore, IEEE 1394, and did I mention great sound?
Cons: Tiny jumper to select a dynamic microphone.
The Bottom Line: The Audigy is hands-down the best end-user soundcard out today, and with the Audigy Drive, the potential for fun increases tenfold. It's a best-buy in my book.
Shiroth's Full Review: Creative Technology Sound Blaster® Audigy...
I first heard about the Sound Blaster Audigy about 2 months before it came out, and I started getting excited. My first thought was "Finally, an audiophile-quality soundcard at an end-user pricepoint." I bought one the day they shipped to my local Best Buy, and I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed.
The Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum comes with the card, a midi/joystick jack (which takes up one additional slot space, hook a cable in and screw it into the empty slot), the Audigy Drive (which has optical and coaxial digital in/out, an aux composite audio in (RCA jacks), Midi in/out (mini-din jacks but they supply the adapter cables), a remote sensor, 1/4" headphone jack with volume control, a microphone jack (one can use either the jack or the RCA aux in, but not both at the same time) with volume control, and a IEEE 1394 port.) The card itself has a digital din/analog out jack (for center channel), two speaker out jacks (front and rear), line in, microphone in, and another IEEE 1394 port. (For those of you who don't know what IEEE 1394 is, it is also named "Firewire", "i.Link", and in Creative's case, "SB 1394".) It also comes with a remote control.
The software package is nearly as rich, offering iM Tuner, Beatnik's Mixman Studio Remixer, Cubasis VST - Creative Edition, MixMeister 3.0 from MixMeister Technologies, Recycle Lite from Steinberg, Ulead VideoStudio 4.0 SE Basic, and WaveLab-Lite from Steinberg.
I took the box home, opened it up, setup the Audigy drive, installed the card, drive, and software, plugged in my Cambridge Soundworks FPS 1000 (four-channel speaker setup)and was playing around with it in about an hour and a half.
The instructions were straightforward and the installation was pretty simple. The one problem I had was setting up the Audigy Drive to accept dynamic microphones (the ones professionals use, as opposed to computer microphones.) In order for the Audigy Drive to fully support dynamic microphones, one must place a jumper on the drive's circuit board. Under normal circumstances, this isn't a problem. However, the jumper is about a third of the size of a normal jumper, and the place to put the jumper is nearly inaccessible (there is a cut-out, but it's still tough). Other than that, installation was a breeze, including the software and drivers.
Now that I have the sound card up and running, I decided to test it out. I bought a dynamic microphone, some decent headphones, and an extra optical digital cable (my DVD player passes through the drive and back into my stereo).
The sound quality is excellent. I have not heard a sound card that sounds better, and I have had quite a few of them. Whether it is through my computer speakers, or through my stereo using the optical digital connection, it sounds exquisite. I have yet to hear anything that detracts from my listening.
Recording quality is just as clear and precise. I recorded sounds from almost every source I could use, including using the "What you hear" source, which records what is being output to the speakers instead of a specific source (cd, mic, line in, etc.), and I found that every recording I produced was without background noise, hissing, or any other noise whatsoever. Recording from the analog connection on my CD-ROM sounded just as good as ripping the track digitally.
Other than the sound the best thing about the Platinum varieties of the Audigy (Platinum and Platinum EX) has to be the convenience and functionality of the Audigy Drive. Not only does one now have all the inputs one really needs in front of them instead of behind the computer, one has many more inputs than a regular soundcard will give you.
I would review the software more, but I haven't really used it that much, and as such can't give an honest opinion of it.
The Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum is the best soundcard I have ever heard, and at the price, it's unbeatable. I would highly recommend it and the rest of the Audigy family. Their prices are the same as their "Live!" counterparts were, and their quality and speed outmatch any other end-user card in the market. This could be the best investment I have ever made in my computer.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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