Product: Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX
From: Creative Labs
Price: C$349
Pros: Big software bundle, full-featured external multi-I/O box for digital and analog I/O, infrared remote control, low latency ASIO driver, front and rear IEEE1394 (FireWire) ports, multi-mode (up to six-channel) audio, fancy audio effects.
Cons: Some minor software bugs. Mild Popping noise on some systems when computer boots.
As noted in our review of the C$99 Audigy OEM card elsewhere in this section, our initial experience with the Creative Labs Audigy was a bumpy ride. However, for this test, we bypassed Windows Me in favour of Windows XP -- and our experience was much better.
Our test hardware included:
Software
The software bundles are a key differentiator between the various SoundBlaster Audigy models, and the Audigy Platinum eX has the best bundle of all.
It includes:
Here's a more detailed description of each title:
The Audigy drivers for Windows XP include full EAX HD support for multiple simultaneous environmental effects, downloadable SoundFonts (several sound banks are included, including a high-quality 8MB GM/GS set designed for professional MIDI applications) and ASIO 2. Under Windows XP, installation was a strictly plug-and-play affair for everything but the SolundBanks, which must be manually loaded via the SoundFonts option in the AudioHQ control panel..
Vienna SoundFont Studio allows you to build or customize your own sound libraries. (This app is not included on the disk included with the OEM Audigy.)
Oozic Reactor is a trippy 3-D lightshow generator. It's not really my cup of tea, but my one-year-old is sure fascinated by it. The "Reactor" version included with the Audigy eX is dramatically improved over the limited edition bundled with the OEM Audigy. Both versions appear to have memory leaks, however, and thus aren't well-suited to running for extended periods of time.
FruityLoops is a soft-synth sequencer, but it can be used as a drum machine or TB-303 type "bassline," for almost any type of loop-based music.
Acid has long been one of our favorite programs -- and remains one of the most innovative applications to emerge during the past decade. This release is slightly stripped down from the full 3.0 release (it lacks support for MIDI files, for example), but is still a lot of fun to work with. Basically, you load in multiple tracks of audio, which the program then loops, matching different tempos and keys seamlessly.
Recycle Lite outputs SoundFonts and MIDI sequencer files from WAVE files, using an innovative beat detection algorithm that essentially breaks up WAV files into individual notes, then outputs a MIDI+soundfont file that sounds identical, but can be played at any tempo.
MixMan is another loop-based tool, designed for the "techno DJ." You load in up to 16 loopable waveforms (beats, riffs, etc.) and then stack 'em up.
MixMeister is a bit of a one-trick pony, but it is simple and works well. It allows you to produce playlists of songs that smoothly fade from one song into the next, with optional beat-matching and variable crossfade settings.
We've discussed the Steinberg Audio suite, Creative applications, Unibrain's Firenet and Ulead VideoStudio software elsewhere on this site, so we won't repeat that information here. There are, however, a few issues worth noting here.
WaveLab Lite and the WaveStudio app are both waveform editors, but unfortunately, neither is particularly good. WaveLab Lite lacks MP3 support entirely, and WaveStudio saves MP3s with a maximum bit rate of only 64K/sec.
The Audigy supports Windows 98, 98SE, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP. We downloaded the newest XP drivers from the company's website (www.soundblaster.com) and installed them for these tests.
We also downloaded and installed Creative's SoftPC-DVD driver (based on WinDVD), in order to test the remote control's capabilities for controlling DVD playback. We successfully configured the PlayCenter to play DVDs, as well as CD- and hard disk-based audio tracks. The RemoteCenter application included with the Audigy Platinum eX also supports other players (and, in fact, can be custom-configured to control virtually any application), so it is likely that you could configure it to work with PowerDVD or other third-party decoders or players.
As noted in our Technical Overview of the Audigy, one of the most exciting features of the card for musicians is its super low-latency ASIO 2.0 driver. This driver, which supports latencies as low as 2 milliseconds (that's a mere 1/500th of a second), allows analog or digital audio input to be processed with effects and output without any significant delay. Although it seems you'd require an exceptionally fast computer to achieve glitch-free playback at the 2ms level, we were able to record and play nine audio tracks with Cubasis, with added reverb and EQ effects with only a 7ms latency requirement -- still amazingly good, when one considers that much higher-priced cards, such as the Korg 1212 or Creamware Pulsar (both are about US$1000), have significantly higher latencies. And pity the poor owners of the once-popular Yamaha DSP Factory or Guillemot Maxisound ISIS cards -- both chugging along at latency values ten times as high as that of the Audigy.
And, aside from a noticeable popping noise on some (but not all) systems when the computer starts up with speakers connected to the sound card's outputs, the Audigy sounds great. Sure, there are high-end cards with signal-to-noise ratios even better than the Audigy's 100dB rating, but its support of 24-bit audio, SPDIF and optical I/O connectors and 96KHz recording capabilities definitely place it in the field of professional players.
We made a number of recordings with the Audigy under Windows XP, and the quality was never less than excellent. We encountered none of the pops and glitches that beta testers of Windows XP often reported with the SoundBlaster Live, and the XP drivers and software components proved trouble free during our tests.
Attention to Detail
The Audigy Platinum eX package includes everything you need to install and configure the card except a Philips screwdriver. The package includes many small touches that give an overall air of quality and a sense of attention to detail. It includes:
Conclusion
The Audigy does a good job at addressing the needs of several different market segments. It's a solid gaming card, delivering full support for the multi-channel surround sound environments used to excellent advantage in many of today's games. although the company's less expensive Sound Blaster Live card(s) also delivers support for EAX environmental audio extensions, the Audigy's capability to render multiple effects simultaneously makes it capable of more realistic acoustic simulations.
It's even better as a home entertainment card. When combined with a graphics card such as the All-in-Wonder Radeon we used in our tests, a suitable DVD drive and a Dolby 5.1 compatible digital audio system -- and perhaps even a few FireWire devices or MIDI instruments, the Audigy is, hands down, the best card in this category we've ever tested. The remote control utility was the part of the system that took the longest to successfully configure, but we encountered no unpleasant surprises during our efforts. And being able to select and control applications or pause and "rewind" DVD movies or audio discs from across the room is a pleasant change from the usual mouse-oriented controls employed by most PC players.
The Audigy is a good choice as an audio card for musical applications, although, as noted in a Mar. 2002 review at Tom's Hardware, its lack of true 24/96 recording makes the card better suited to general-purpose multimedia applications. Its ASIO driver lacks "direct monitoring" capabilities in programs such as Cubase VST, but otherwise provides excellent performance. The card's capabilities for up to 48 discrete MIDI channels, downloadable SoundFonts and WDM (Windows Driver Model) and MME (Microsoft Multimedia Extensions) compatibility makes it one of the most widely compatible card on the market for audio applications. While we'd recommend the purchase of a better waveform editor that either of the two included in this package (even Sonic Foundry's US$59 Sound Forge XP is a big step up from WaveLabs Lite or WaveStudio in terms of capabilities), the rest of the package is well-rounded and easily recommended.
Until we received this package, we tended to recommend the OEM Audigy as the best performer in terms of value. However, in light of the eX's excellent software bundle and the outstanding quality of the card, it's external module and the other extras in the package, we've changed our tune. The Audigy eX is our Editor's Choice in PC audio cards for 2001.
Post new comment