Latest from Tom's Hardware in Sound-cards

Orpheus II ISA soundcard returns due to ‘popular demand’ — aimed at DOS and early Windows users, this card includes hardware to support every major audio standard

Mark Tyson — Sun, 31 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

The mighty Orpheus II sound card has returned “due to popular demand.” This is claimed by some to be the ultimate ISA sound card for enjoying real hardware DOS and early Windows experiences. The Orpheus II makers surprised the community by opening up pre-orders for a new batch of these sound cards, which basically support every major audio standard of old - in hardware - in one ISA slot. Want real Sound Blaster, Gravis UltraSound, OPL3 FM synthesis, and MPU-401 MIDI support? You got it.

I tried to sum up the charms of the Orpheus II in the intro, but please check out the specs table to fully understand the offering:

Audio Codecs	Crystal CS4237B (SB Pro / WSS) + InterWave (GUS)
FM Synthesis	Yamaha YMF262 OPL3 + YAC512 DAC
GUS Compatibility	Full InterWave‑based GUS PnP implementation
GUS RAM	Up to 16 MB (SIMM slot)
MPU‑401	PCMIDI (true Intelligent Mode)
Digital Audio	SB Pro 2.0, WSS, 16‑bit playback/record
MIDI Connectivity	External MIDI I/O + internal wavetable header
Wavetable Header	Standard 26‑pin (DreamBlaster, SCB‑55, X2GS, etc.)
Outputs	Line‑out, Line‑in, Mic‑in, CD‑in
Digital Out	S/PDIF
Noise Floor	Extremely low (modern PCB + clean analog stage)
Bus Interface	ISA 16‑bit
IRQ/DMA	Fully configurable (SB + WSS + GUS + MPU)
PCB	High‑quality multi‑layer board (green)
Extras	Mixer utility, EEPROM config, high‑quality filtering

Buyers of this new hardware release will get a green Rev 1.1 board, which includes configuration tweaks such as the change to the ‘classic’ YMF262 OPL3 chip, improved AdLib Gold output filtering, extra MIDI IRQ options, and switches the design to SMD audio capacitors.

If you own the Orpheus I, an upgrade to the II would be beneficial mainly if the AMD Interwave chip, giving the Orpheus II the extra capabilities of the Gravis UltraSound PnP soundcard, is something you must have.

Keropi and Marmes, the team behind several retro computing hardware projects including the Orpheus II, previously signaled that “the very last batch of Orpheus II sound cards” would be the special edition red PCB models that were produced in August 2024. So, retro enthusiasts will surely welcome this new batch.

Please decide quickly if you want to acquire one of these ISA cards. Pre-orders close sometime on Sunday, May 31, though some reports say the dev team is going to add an extra week to the pre-order deadline. Acquiring an Orpheus II is also rather pricey. Buying one card, including worldwide tracked airmail shipping, will set you back €340, which converts to a smidgen under US$400 (half payment up front). Sadly, U.S. residents will need to pay an extra €35 (~$41) for the UPS Express option. Shipments should begin in late July / early August.

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro 7.1 channel sound card: A decent 2026 upgrade for analog audio

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:59:12 +0000

It's been over a decade since I last bought a discrete internal sound card for my PC — and the only reason I purchased one back then was because I had a set of 5.1 surround sound PC speakers (Logitech Z906) that I wanted to use with a motherboard that only had built-in support for a stereo system. (While there were probably several ways this could have been handled, I opted for the sound card because my speakers were already set up and I didn't spend all that time running wires around my home office for nothing.)

Even back then, discrete sound cards already seemed like they were on their way out, as onboard audio, while not wildly impressive, was already at the point where it was decent enough that many users who were just looking for occasional audio playback from their system were... fine with it. And as onboard audio has continued to improve, and headsets and speakers with built-in audio interfaces, as well as external DACs, have become more popular (and more affordable, at least somewhat), sound cards have become more of a fringe add-on than an absolute necessity. That doesn't mean there's absolutely no market for a discrete internal PCIe sound card such as the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro, of course. There is a market, but it's definitely small enough that I think we can call it a niche these days.

Back when sound cards were a necessity, Creative's Sound Blaster line dominated the market. But it's been years since the company's last release — five years, to be specific: Creative launched the Sound Blaster Audigy Fx V2, which featured support for 5.1 surround sound and high-resolution 24-bit / 192 kHz playback in Sept. 2021 (it later launched an add-on daughterboard that added support for 7.1 discrete surround and an optical-out port). But now Creative is back, trying to prove that sound cards and 7.1 surround sound are definitely still a thing with its newest Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro, which became available in March 2026.

The Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro is a discrete internal sound card that supports high-resolution playback (up to 32-bit / 384 kHz) and 7.1 surround sound out of the box. It also features a built-in headphone amp with an output impedance of 4.7 ohms, and has a 120 dB SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) for a clean, clear signal. It's a compact add-in card that the company believes the people need, as "audio remains one of the most overlooked upgrades" (I suppose that's not wrong). And it's priced at $79.99, which is fairly affordable — at the very least, it's less than half the price of many of our favorite gaming headsets, so maybe this is the audio upgrade you're looking for.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro comes neatly packaged in an anti-static bag inside a small, eco-friendly cardboard box. In the box you'll also find a shorter half-height bracket (3.15 x 0.85" / 80 x 21.6mm) for smaller systems — the card comes with a full-height bracket (4.62 x 0.85" / 117.3 x 21.6mm) already mounted (via two screws, at the top and bottom) — and a quick start guide.

From top to bottom, you'll find five ports: SPDIF out/Side, Center/Sub, Rear, Headset/Front, and Mic/Line In. These are all 3.5mm analog jacks, except the first one, which is a combination Mini-TOSLINK/3.5mm jack. The ports are plastic and fit moderately well within the brackets. Plastic ports are unsurprising given the $80 price point of the card; the cheapest Creative card with metal ports is its Sound Blaster Z SE (which costs just over $100).

The card has a PCIe x1 connector, so it can slot into any free PCIe x1 - x16 slot on your motherboard. It also has an HD audio front panel connector on the underside, for hooking up to your PC's front panel headphone/mic jacks. Installing the card is quick and easy, and it's pretty small, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find space for it in your build. The card measures 4.76 x 4.62 x 0.85 inches (121 x 117.3 x 21.6mm) and weighs 2.12 ounces (60g) with the full-height bracket installed, and measures 4.76 x 3.15 x 0.85 inches (121 x 80 x 21.6mm) and weighs 0.46 ounces (13g) with the half-height bracket installed.

Specs

Recording Resolution	PCM 32-bit / 192 kHz
Playback Resolution	PCM 32-bit / 384 kHz
I/O	1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line in, 1 x ⅛“ Headset/Headphone out/Front(L/R) out, 1 x ⅛“ Center/Sub out, 1 x ⅛“ Rear(L/R) out, 1 x ⅛“ Side(L/R) out/SPDIF out combo, 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector
Headphone Amp	4.7 ohm
Software	Creative Nexus
Supported OS	Windows 10 / 11 64-bit
Interface	PCIe x1
Signal-to-Noise Ratio	120dB
Size	4.76 x 4.62 x 0.85 inches / 121 x 117.3 x 21.6mm

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Creative positions the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro as a "clear upgrade over standard onboard audio," but standard onboard audio isn't bad these days. In fact, it's pretty good, especially if you've got a mid-range or higher motherboard. My current motherboard, the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, is a few years old (released in late 2021), but it features isolated audio and uses the Realtek ALC4080 codec. The Realtek ALC4080 is very similar to the Realtek ALC4082, which is what the Audigy FX Pro implements — both codecs offer 32-bit / 384 kHz playback and 120dB SNR, and the only real difference between them is that the ALC4082 natively supports the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) audio format, which is a high-resolution format that works differently from the more common pulse-code modulation (PCM) format. Both the ALC4080 and the ALC4082 are often found as onboard audio solutions for high-end motherboards, though, so at least in the codec sense, the Audigy FX Pro isn't going to give you a drastically different experience.

However, it's not just the codec that matters when it comes to PC sound. One of the biggest issues is how audio is implemented on the motherboard — even when the audio components are isolated on the PCB, like they are on my motherboard, onboard audio can still suffer from a noisy signal thanks to electromagnetic interference from other components (such as GPUs), cable issues, ground loops, etc. Of course, you can still get this interference with a discrete sound card, too, but putting the audio components on a separate card does generally allow for a cleaner, clearer overall signal and a better SNR.

Case in point, despite my motherboard's onboard audio being driven by almost the exact same chip, the difference between the audio from my motherboard and the Audigy FX Pro was immediately noticeable over every analog connection. The sound from the Audigy FX Pro was significantly cleaner, and that's not to say the audio from my motherboard is a mess, because it's not. But there's no question that the signal is clearer — I suppose I'd just gotten used to the relatively mild noise from my onboard audio (or, more likely, I don't end up using the onboard sound very often as I'm always testing headsets and speakers with built-in DACs).

Of course, the question is whether the Audigy FX Pro's signal was so much cleaner and clearer than my PC's onboard audio that it warrants the upgrade, and my answer to that is... probably not. It was noticeable, but it was only noticeable by comparison — I didn't have any real issues with the onboard audio prior to testing the sound card, and I still don't have any real issues. And while the Audigy FX Pro's audio signal is very clean, it's not perfect — I went ahead and plugged in a USB DAC/amp (the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt), and that signal was cleaner and clearer than the Audigy FX Pro's. So it's hard to say where the Audigy FX Pro ends up falling — it's definitely in between onboard audio and audiophile-grade equipment, but I suspect onboard audio is still fine for most users.

The Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro is the first product to work with the company's new Creative Nexus app, which is an audio controller featuring a 10-band EQ with a searchable database of game-specific presets, as well as Creative's Acoustic Engine software enhancements. These include surround (virtual surround and upmixing), crystalizer (enhanced dynamic range of compressed audio), bass (bass boost for those with and without subwoofers), smart volume (consistent volume across media, with loud and night modes), and dialog plus (amplifies and cleans up vocal frequencies).

Tom's Hardware

The 10-band EQ also includes bass and treble boosts and gain (preamp) control. If you click the preset dropdown menu, you'll see the top four most common presets — gaming, music, movies, and footsteps enhancer- and you can scroll or search to find more presets for music, movie, and game genres, as well as for specific games such as Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Baldur's Gate 3, League of Legends, etc. There are around 70 presets total, and you can modify any preset and hit the save button to create your own.

The Audigy FX Pro does not have Creative's Super X-Fi (SXFI) technology, which is the company's gamer-oriented spatial audio tech that uses head/ear-mapping to create more realistic virtual surround sound (it also received an AI-enhanced update a couple of years ago). However, the virtual surround from Creative's Acoustic Engine did an excellent job of widening and repositioning the soundstage in the headsets and headphones I tested (through both the front and back ports). The other Acoustic Engine features also offered well-tuned enhancements that didn't sound too over-processed. The crystalizer did a nice job of separating out details and layers of environmental sound in games such as Uncharted 4 and God of War: Ragnarok, while the dialog plus feature was able to boost voices in games and movies without making them sound shrill or out of place.

The app also lets you update the card's firmware and drivers (it did require a firmware update right out of the box, which wasn't too painful aside from needing a restart).

The Bottom Line

The real question is whether you need a dedicated, discrete sound card in 2026. And I'm talking about the literal you — would your setup actually benefit from a sound card? If you're looking for a way to bring your 7.1 discrete surround gaming dreams to life, then yes, you almost certainly need a sound card. But I don't think that's a huge chunk of the market, given that it's pretty difficult to find 7.1 speaker systems (especially if you're looking for the best PC speakers).

If you're just looking for a way to improve your system's overall audio output, the good news is that the Creative Audigy FX Pro will probably give you a cleaner, clearer signal than your onboard audio chip — even if you have a very high-end, gamer-oriented motherboard with isolated audio. But whether it will sound that much better is where it gets debatable. If you're already rocking a high-end motherboard and you want to put your money toward a big audio improvement, you might be better off picking up one of the best gaming headsets (or best wireless gaming headsets), as these bypass your PC's audio altogether unless they're connected via analog (i.e. plugged into the 3.5mm headset jack).

Likewise, the gaming-oriented speakers on our list of best PC speakers have their own built-in audio interfaces and won't use your PC's onboard audio (or a discrete sound card, if you have one). But if you have a more budget-friendly motherboard and/or you're looking for 7.1 (or 5.1) surround support, the Audigy FX Pro is a quick, easy, and relatively affordable installation that will let you connect your speakers to your PC and offer a noticeable bump in audio performance.

Comparison of $4,000 boutique audio cable to $7 Amazon Basics cable shows audiophiles waste a lot of money — scientific audio equipment analysis with analyzer shows no difference in quality

Mark Tyson — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:18:03 +0000

Should you splash out on those upgraded audio cables to take your music listening pleasure up a notch? Probably not - affordable Amazon Basics RCA cables are more than good enough - confirms audio TechTuber Amir from Audio Science Review. This won’t be a surprise to regular readers. However, it is interesting to see Amir’s $7 vs $4,000 cable analysis using scientific audio equipment – as well as drawing from his personal music listening experience.

RCA has been around since 1919

Amir compared the above stereo audio RCA cables. These are mostly used to link Hi-Fi components. Some PC sound cards and breakout boxes will feature them, as will some home video devices. The RCA standard dates back to 1919, so it is over a century old, and audio enthusiasts connecting older analog gear like certain amplifiers, turntables, and legacy components will make most use of these cables. Due to this, RCA will probably be supported for another few decades in its strongest current niches, like Hi-Fi.

Physical comparison

Back to the $7 vs $4,250 RCA comparison and what we have pitted against each other here are the Amazon Basics 2 RCA cables, 4ft in length, that are actually on sale currently at $6.76 (and up to 15ft in length for $8.96). In the other corner, there are the Kimber Kable KS 1036 Select Series Analog Interconnect (Pair), which we can see at Safe and Sound (US) in 1m (3.3ft) length for $4,100.

Amazon promises “crystal clear audio [and] reliable performance [with its] gold plated connectors.” However, the Kimber product aims for premium with its “Black Pearl solid silver conductors drawn in diamond coated dies and insulated with virgin FEP dielectric under the most exacting tolerances which offer the purest transfers of the most demanding highest resolution signals.” It should hardly be a fair fight.

Our host, Amir, noted that the Kimber product gets off to a bad start, with a totally unnecessary flight (Pelican) case. Indeed, it looks very cheap compared with the cable’s prestige target market.

Probably worse for the expensive product is that its locking cable design throws up as many negatives as positives. Basically, locking isn’t a particularly attractive feature here, and could precipitate accidental damage with someone unfamiliar with (or who forgets) the locking mechanism. Making this worse is the observation that inside the connector are “flimsy plastic tabs,” which is an inferior design feature vs traditional RCA cables.

(Image credit: Amazon Basics 2 RCA cables)

Audio signal analysis

Amir then shifted to scientific audio analysis using Audio Precision analyzer hardware. Is this where the $4,000 cables would at last show their superiority?

Using a constant 4 KHz sine wave transmitted through the cable, a tiny bit of distortion was observed with both cables. There was actually a bit more mains power noise seen with the Kimber cable, but “practically speaking, the two are identical,” Amir said, pondering over this first set of metrics.

Next, we saw the cables exhibit identical response across a very wide frequency range. There was no phase difference seen in the tests. Same with the square wave rise response graph. Even a hugely magnified graph from the Audio Precision analyzer shows that these two cables performed identically.

Last but not least, Amir moved on to comparing jitter spectrum profiles in a bandwidth stress test. It was shown that the Amazon Basics cable shows a slight (picoseconds) increase in jitter. However, our host noted that the cheaper cable was noticeably longer than its boutique rival. And it would cost a lot extra to get one to match the Amazon alternative’s length.

(Image credit: Audio Science Review)

Prestige RCA cables simply unnecessary

The results weren’t unexpected, but from around 13 minutes into the video, Amir explains why no one should be surprised that audiophile RCA cables aren’t worthwhile.

Competent cables like the Amazon model and better have “the lowest noise, lowest distortion, and widest bandwidth of anything in your audio system,” says the audio TechTuber. It isn’t a weak or sensitive part of the signal chain, prone to issues, and audio signals don’t push the ‘capacity’ of RCA cables, so there is little point in investing above a competent standard product like the Amazon Basics.

“Everything else in your system is the bottleneck,” Samir underlines, as far as quality is concerned. He likens the Hi-Fi audio signal chain to two cities connected with a 100-lane freeway (the RCA cables) – traffic problems are in the city, not on the freeway, he says.

To conclude, Amir admits to perceiving differences between cables when enjoying music, but puts the human experience down to feelings, mood, focus, and so on. When actually being clinical about A/B testing – like blind testing, etc - such differences evaporate, suggests the experience of this audio TechTuber.

Creative updates its Sound Blaster PCIe sound card line after 5 years — new $79.99 Audigy FX Pro 7.1 pitched as ‘clear upgrade over standard onboard audio’

Mark Tyson — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Creative has updated its roster of PCIe sound cards for PC desktop DIYers. The new Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro 7.1, launched today, sits atop the Audigy add-in-card line. The new card’s design and features aim to make it a clear upgrade for builders who feel their motherboard's onboard audio is lackluster, but who don’t want to splurge into audiophile territory. This new product is available today, priced at $79.99.

Creative

Creative Labs

Key features of the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro 7.1 include, most obviously, its support for 7.1 surround sound. Current Audigy PCIe stablemates are limited to 5.1 audio. Additionally, PC DIYers will probably appreciate this card’s high-resolution 32-bit / 384 kHz playback, built-in headphone amplification, and “the debut of the all-new Creative Nexus app,” reckons Creative.

The scope for sound shaping and the quality of the new Nexus app, described as a “unified dashboard for PC audio,” can’t be taken for granted. So many component and peripheral makers fall flat with their software offerings. Luckily, we have a Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro 7.1 in the labs for testing, so please stay tuned for our judgment.

Please note that the minimum system requirements only mention Windows PC drivers, and the Nexus app is Windows only.

As for features, the Nexus app offers fine-tune adjustments to audio, or you can just use Auto EQ for quick sound optimization. Sound Blaster Acoustic Engine enhancements are also on tap to suit different content and listening preferences.

Shifting our focus back to the hardware, and physically, this is a low-profile design card, which includes a half-height bracket in the box. It should fit in most systems with a spare PCIe 1x to 16x slot.

(Image credit: Creative Labs)

Though many of the key audio quality specs you see above line up with the best widely available on-board audio solutions, such as the ALC1220 codec, Creative asserts that its hardware will deliver “clearer playback, more immersive surround, stronger headphone performance, and smarter day-to-day audio control.” Indeed, offloading your sound processing to a dedicated card should at least benefit from improved electrical noise isolation, cleaner dedicated power regulation, higher-quality DACs and op-amps, and more.

Creative notes that “audio remains one of the most overlooked upgrades,” and I’d say that’s true, going by my previous experiences of replacing motherboard audio solutions with affordable PCIe sound cards. Thus, it is going to be interesting to see (hear?) if this is still the case in 2026, when our review goes live. Stay tuned…

DIY Amiga sound sampler circuit mystery solved 32 years later — Magazine instructions had key component spec typos

Mark Tyson — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 12:20:00 +0000

A three-decade-old “Amiga mystery” has been solved by an intrepid electronics-focused TechTuber. Rob Smith originally tried to make a DIY sampler for his Amiga computer back in 1993. Despite his best efforts — carefully following a magazine-printed guide and reaching out to geeks at his local Maplin (Radio Shack) — he could never get the finished sampler to work. Now, 32 years later, with extensive experience on his side, he has returned to the project. Spoiler alert: he eventually found and quashed the mistakes in the CU Amiga Issue 039 step-by-step guide.

Smith explains that he was saving up for a pre-built sound-sampler expansion when he spotted the above-linked CU Amiga issue and the step-by-step guide to making your own ‘generic’ model. Typically, Amigans would use these to grab audio samples for developing games, demos, slideshows, and ProTracker (.MOD) compositions. The project appeals as it fused his computer and DIY electronics interests.

The original instructions, including the errors. (Image credit: CU Amiga Magazine, The Internet Archive)

It must have been frustrating to work on this money-saving project and, after his best efforts, have it flop. Eventually, Smith threw the stuff away, as far as he remembers, but kept a hold of the key analog to digital converter (ADC) chip, as it was one of the most expensive components.

With this same component in hand, Smith decided to have another crack at the DIY Amiga sampler, this time with experience, and the huge resources of the internet behind him.

Following the magazine’s instructions precisely, in 2025, ended up with the same result as in 1993. An unresponsive device, which actually crashed the Amiga when it was summoned to do its business.

Capacitor change (Image credit: Rob Smith)

Tracking down the DIY tutorial errors

Having followed the CU Amiga Issue 039 printed tutorial with the utmost care, Smith found at least one glaring error quite quickly. He looked up CU Amiga Issue 040, and found that the Build Your Own Sampler Part 2 tutorial (for a stereo sampler) included a correction for the mono sampler in Issue 039!

Blaming a typo, CU Amiga 040 stated that “C1 should have been a 47uF capacitor.” The magazine printed a month prior has listed this component as “7uF.” Oops. A quick few pokes with the soldering iron and swapping the correct component into place rectified this error.

However, correcting this component mismatch didn’t do the trick, so Smith had to investigate and tinker some more. Eventually, he discovered that the device clock signal, which should be ~30 KHz, was actually just 287 Hz.

Consulting with the ADC data sheet and making an educated extrapolated guess, Smith decided to swap out the clock-regulating capacitor from 470nF to 20pF. That’s a drastic reduction, but it did the trick. The capacitor change boosted the device clock to 1.6 MHz, and the DIY sampler started to work with classic Amiga sampler-aware tools like Audition 4 and ProTracker.

Success - see the audio monitoring waveform in ProTracker (Amiga screen top left) (Image credit: Rob Smith)

Sampler add-ons were popular with Amiga and ST computer owners

I, too, enjoyed sampling on one of my 16-bit era computer. However, I used the commercial Stereo Master cartridge and software package from Microdeal with an Atari STe (it was also available for Amiga). I think it was a £39 deal. Taking on a project like a DIY sampler would have meant quite a lot of expense on components, and electronics / soldering was not one of my hobbies at the time.

More from Rob Smith

Electronics enthusiast Rob Smith has starred in the pages of Tom’s Hardware before. Last time we shared his work, it was because of an Alien: Earth-inspired “fully working M314 Motion Tracker” he had developed.

Creative Labs revives Sound Blaster brand with modular audio hub — Re:Imagine is a tactile Stream Deck competitor, aimed at creators and audiophiles

editors@tomshardware.com (Kunal Khullar) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 09:02:00 +0000

Creative Technology is bringing back its iconic Sound Blaster brand with the launch of a new modular audio hub. The Re:Imagine is designed for users who manage multiple audio devices, offering quick source switching and flexible configuration within a single setup. Currently listed on Kickstarter, the Re:Imagine is claimed to be an open, programmable platform that combines the functionality of a sound card and a stream deck, featuring broad audio connectivity and customizable controls.

The hub is powered by an octa-core ARM CPU with a dedicated NPU with up to 6 TOPS of performance, 8GB of LPDDR4 memory, 16GB of onboard EMMC flash storage and a microSD card slot for adding more storage. It features a hi-resolution 32-bit/384 KHz DAC and amp which can power headphones up to 300Ω as well as large desktop speakers. It also offers wide compatibility with devices including PCs, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, headphones, speakers, mics, and music instruments. The company notes that it can be used as a standalone device as it comes with Linux or can be connected to your PC or laptop using USB to double as a control hub for activating macros on your computer. There’s even support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 meaning that it can connect to wireless audio devices.

Creative Technology

The design is quite interesting as it seems to be inspired by Teenage Engineering, who themselves are inspired by Braun. The company plans to launch two base hubs that differentiate in terms of layout where each unit comes with a set of included modules including a smart screen, a set of four buttons, a knob, and dual sliders. Initially the Horizon Base Unit will be offered featuring a wide layout including a total of five slots where two are used by the Smart Screen and three are open for other modules. The Vertex Base Unit on the other hand offers a taller layout with a total of six slots, although this variant will only be available once the initial Kickstarter campaign funding goal has been met.

As mentioned earlier, users have complete control over its hardware with deep customization options available via the provided SDK and sample source code. This allows users to build their own apps and control connected devices with root-level access. Creative will also allow users to share their creations and benefit from tools and features developed by other users.

Additionally the Re:Imagine includes some built-in apps including a DOS emulator for retro PC gaming, AI-powered versions of Sound Blaster Parrot and Dr. Sbaitso, an AI DJ that creates music based on user-selected themes, and tools for one-tap audio recording and visualizations.

Currently the most affordable pledge tier for the Sound Blaster Re:Imagine starts at $329 where backers receive the core modular audio hub unit, and the above-mentioned four modules. It is important to note that this is a pre-order estimate and shipments are expected to begin in June 2026. If you are looking for similar modular control hubs, make sure to look at the Cooler Master MasterHub and various options from Elgato.

Legendary Sound Blaster ISA sound card gets a driver update 30 years later — patch squashes first bug report after 25 years

Mark Tyson — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 13:40:25 +0000

Linux developers continue to surprise with their dogged support for retro hardware. A case in point is provided by Takashi Iwai’s recent pull request (h/t Phoron) to implement Creative Sound Blaster AWE32 fixes for the Linux 6.16-rc3 kernel. This old ISA slot sound card debuted in 1994 and is probably best known as the launch vehicle for Creative’s SoundFont standard.

Iwai’s pull request outlined what they called a “collection of small fixes,” which we are sure will nevertheless be welcome to enthusiasts cradling older systems. Among the fixes are those aimed at the “legendary SoundBlaster AWE32 ISA device.” A note adds that the fix may have been precipitated after devs got “a bug report after 25 years.”

DMA issues - unwanted noise, freezes

Digging into the fixes aimed at the AWE32 a little deeper, we can see that one is a workaround to a DMA issue. Specifically, it will “enforce the disablement of DMA setups when the DMA setup is changed by the kcontrol.” It thus prevents unexpected (unpleasant?) noises from being generated when the DMA mode is changed.

Another AWE32 commit prevents DMA mode changes when a device is busy playing back a PCM stream. Due to these two bugs, user (s) experienced system freezes.

The rest of the sound driver updates from Iwai address Cirrus codecs, the i.MX8 DSP, AMD quirks with its HD Audio and USB audio, and some minor build fixes.

These kernel fixes may iron out annoying wrinkles in modern Linux desktops packing the Creative SoundBlaster AWE32 ISA sound card. However, as highlighted by Phoronix, modern Linux desktops with ISA slots and running the modern PipeWire/WirePlumber sound stack will likely be rather sluggish. A quick check reveals that, in the consumer space, ISA slot-equipped motherboards were last seen in the LGA775 socket era (approx 20 years ago).

Not every PC component is so cherished

Old-school Creative Sound Blaster cards repaired and demoed

Mark Tyson — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 13:16:24 +0000

Two ancient Creative Sound Blaster cards have been repaired and demonstrated by TechTuber Necroware. The 1994 vintage Creative Sound Blaster 16 (CT2230) fix was a relatively simple affair, with a single broken trace needing attention. However, the Creative Sound Blaster 16 IDE (CT2290) was a much more involved repair, but it still turned out a success after some trial and error. The sound cards were tested and demoed in the DOS Unisound drivers and in games like Descent II and Wolfenstein 3D.

Sound cards aren’t prevalent in 2025 for a number of reasons. Firstly, motherboards for desktop PCs don’t have terrible onboard sound like they might have in the old days. Secondly, there is a larger proportion of laptop users now, and these folks (and desktop users) might find the enhanced audio of their dreams in a handy USB-connected DAC.

The Creative Sound Blaster 16 (CT2230) fix

First, Necroware dug out an old CT2230, which looked a bit scruffy. It had a missing bracket and abrasions to various parts of the PCB. The exposed areas were from previous fault investigations. A post-it note reminded the TechTuber of a broken trace on the PCB.

Now fully equipped with a digital microscope to help with intricate work, Necroware quickly found the fault again and fired up his soldering station. It was a quick repair that involved running a wire across the broken trace, which was easy to see under a digital microscope.

Moving on to testing, Necroware confirmed that the sound card was detected by the system in DOS Unisound drivers. Then he fired up and demoed the audio in Decent II. The Yamaha OPL3 FM synthesizer (AKA YMF262) played the music track nicely, and the stereo digital audio was clear, too.

Lastly, the lack of a bracket was fixed with a 3D-printed replacement. The TechTuber admitted the plastic bracket was thick, but this was necessary for strength, and it still fit OK.

Necroware

The Creative Sound Blaster 16 IDE (CT2290) fix

This sound card repair wasn’t so easy. It had been in Necroware’s to-do pile for quite a while and was used as a donor board for subsequent repair projects. So, there was no doubt that the CT2290 needed a lot of attention to get working again. Plugged in at the beginning of this attempt to reanimate it, the system didn’t detect the Sound Blaster 16 IDE, and basically, there were no signs of life at all.

The YouTuber vaguely recalls issues with the data bus transceiver and buffer—common issues for this model—the last time he looked at this card. But this seems to have been a red herring.

Fixing a line of obviously faulty resistors didn’t get this sound card recognized when installed, so Necroware moved on to investigating some of the larger ICs on the PCB. After some probing, he decided to replace a Bus Transceiver, which was behaving unexpectedly, with a new one. Booting up the old PC with this new chip installed provided the first glimmer of success – the Unisound driver recognized the sound card!

Firing up Wolfenstein 3D also raised hopes, as sound was played in the menu. However, once in the game, it became evident that sound samples weren’t being played back. Descent II audio testing precipitated the same result: OPL3 FM music payback but no sound samples.

Somewhat stumped by now, Necroware unearthed a Sound Blaster 16 hardware programming guide that contained a block diagram. This provided clues to where a fault might lie. Suspicion then fell on a missing CT1748A chip. However, this chip had been put on another card when this one was used as a donor. As it is quite a ‘rare’ IC, Necrowave added a socket where it was missing, minimizing the stress involved in de/re-soldering the chip several times.

Finally, success, and Necroware now has two working Sound Blaster 16 cards for projects. That’s great to see/hear. However, a commenter highlighted that CT1748A chip shenanigans could have been avoided simply by setting a jumper on the PCB (or bridging two pads) to route digital audio to avoid this digital signal processor chip.

Again, a 3D-printed replacement for a missing bracket finished the sound card repair nicely.

How to Add Effects to Audio in Audacity

Jo Hinchliffe — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 12:00:31 +0000

Cleaning up recordings is an excellent use case for Audacity. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the popular audio editor’s ability to manipulate clips. On top of all manner of editing tools there are a heap of audio effects built into Audacity that can be applied to audio recordings creatively to get the sound you require.

Audacity is an amazing piece of free and open source software that is useful for all kinds of audio processing and editing. We’ve already looked at how to install Audacity and how to use it to clean up audio. In fact, in that article, we used effects as tools to clean up the audio recordings and to remove or minimize unwanted noise and other artefacts. In this how-to we will look at applying effects for creative results.

We’d urge you to experiment with all the effects built into Audacity but make sure you don’t export your creatively affected audio over a prized audio recording. You can test and experiment with pretty much any audio file. Making a quick rough recording of your voice to practice on is a good idea.

Selecting an Audio File in Audacity

We can apply effects to either the entire audio file, or selectively to tracks and portions of audio. Both are easily achieved with Audacity.

1. Click on File – Open and open your test audio file. Audacity can handle many different file formats and, for the purposes of testing out audio effects, it’s not too important what type of audio file we use. Alternatively you can click the record button and record a short audio track using your computer's built in microphone.

2. Select the entire clip by pressing Control + A.

Alternatively, you can select part of the audio clip by left clicking and dragging to highlight an area in the audio clip.

Adding Reverb to Audio in Audacity

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Reverb, which is short for “reverberation” is perhaps the most commonly used audio effect. In Audacity, it makes the audio sound like it has been recorded in a reverberant space and you can change the settings to emulate different sizes and styles of reverb “rooms”.

1. Select some or all of your audio clip.

2. Click on Effect >> Reverb. You should now see a window appear which has all the controls and settings for the reverb audio effect.

3. Click Manage and Select “Factory Presets”.

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4. Try each of the presets using Preview. You can now hear the reverb effect applied to your audio track in preview for a few seconds. You can stop the preview to change settings using the “stop” button.

5. Use the sliders to tweak the reverb settings. Rather than explain every setting in the Reverb effect it’s easier for you to play with the sliders and listen to the changes in effect.

A common pair of settings are the “Dry Gain” and the “Wet Gain'' in simple terms the Dry Gain adjusts the amount of the original audio signal without any effects applied. Wet gain similarly adjusts the amount of the signal in the final output. These terms are often included in many of the effects units in audio programs and sometimes are found as a single slider mixing between Dry and Wet.

Adding Silence to End of Clip for Reverb Tail in Audacity

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Often when you apply reverb to a clip, the reverb will end abruptly at the end of the audio clip and you may well want the reverb to trail naturally after the final audio clip contents. To do this in Audacity, we need to generate and add a silent section onto the end of our existing audio clip and then, when we apply a reverb effect, there is room in this silence for the reverb tail.

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1. Open a new test audio file and click the “Skip to End” button on the transport toolbar or press “K” on the keyboard to move the play head to the end of the clip.

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2. Click on Generate >> Silence.

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3. Set the length of silence you wish to add and click OK to add a section of silent audio to the end of the clip in the selected track.

4. Apply a reverb to the entire audio clip. The reverb will continue into the newly created clip and will fade naturally.

Adding a Distortion Effect in Audacity

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It’s easy to presume that distortion effects are all about making audio sound like heavy metal. While distortion settings can indeed create such sounds, they can also be used in many more ways.

Subtly applied distortion can add warmth to recordings or to make audio sound like it has been recorded on tape and other vintage setups. The process of applying distortion is the same as it is for applying all audio effects in Audacity.

1. Select all or part of an audio clip.

2. From the Effect menu select Distortion.

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3. Click Manage and Select “Factory Presets”.

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4. Try each of the presets using Start Playback. Note that, with the Distortion effect, you have three buttons: “Start Playback”, “Skip Backward” and “Skip Forward.” With these three buttons, you can preview the distortion applied to the audio, make changes if needed and skip around the selected audio to hear the changes.

5. Click apply to add the distortion effect to your audio. One thing of note is that adding Distortion can cause your audio to “clip” which is where the audio passes through the 0dB ceiling. This can cause glitches and pops in speakers and headphones which can be uncomfortable for the listener. Within the Distortion dialogue, you can use the “clipping level” slider to manage this effect, lowering the value to decrease the amount of clipping in the affected track.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Fading In and Out in Audacity

As a final pair of Audacity effects that are extremely useful, we have the effects “Fade In” and “Fade Out”. These are useful when creating a clip to go into a podcast or other work.

1. Select a section in the audio. Select a section that would make an interesting segment for a podcast.

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2. Click on Effects >> Fade In.

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The fade effects differ in that you don’t get a dialog box or any user controls. The effect simply creates a volume gradient increasing from zero to the clips inherent volume level across the length of your selection.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Adding a fade out is handled in the same manner.

1. Highlight the end of the segment to fade out.

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2. Go to Effects and select Fade Out. Over the selected length, the audio will now gradually fade out to silence over.

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As you can see from the “Effects” drop down menu, there is a great collection of built-in effects in Audacity. Each of these effects are worth investigating so that you get a practical sense of what each effect does to your audio.

There are numerous “modulation” type effects, for example “Phaser” and “Wahwah,” which can create sweeping filtered effects in your audio. There are straightforward sounding effects that do exactly what they say in the name such as “Reverse” and “Repeat” and there are other effects, some of which we looked at previously, that allow you to effect the equalisation, remove noise and polish your audio.

Armed with this bundle of effects, whether its a subtle ambience, or a distorted sci fi robot voice you now have enough skills to get the sound you need using this excellent free and open source application.

How To Remove Background Noise, Distortion in Audacity

Jo Hinchliffe — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 12:00:56 +0000

It’s useful to have some tools and skills to clean up a noisy audio file. Perhaps when digitizing an old and precious family tape recording or when you have captured that amazing interview for your podcast but there’s an annoying background noise.

Whilst you can’t make everything perfect there are lots of approaches to improving an audio file and, rather excellently, lots of these tools are found already built into the free and open source audio editor Audacity.

Audacity can be used as an audio recorder with multiple microphones, or it can work with existing audio files (WAV, MP3, OGG, AIFF etc). For this how-to we will work on some pre-recorded audio that requires cleaning up.

Installing Audacity

1. Download and install Audacity for your operating system.

2. Click File >> import to bring in your target audio file.Audacity happily handles many audio file types, the common uncompressed WAV and AIFF files, the equally common compressed MP3 files, but also slightly less common types such as OGG and FLAC files.

3. Click the play button to hear your file. The waveform represents your audio file. A single waveform indicates a mono recording, two waveforms represent a stereo audio file (left and right channels.

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Identifying the issues

When trying to clean up audio we first need to consider what issue or issues are causing the audio to be poor. Common faults might include, a high pitched hissing in the background, parts of the track where the audio is so loud it “clips” and causes loud distorted cracks.

Other issues might be background noise in the recording such as wind noise hitting a microphone, a train rumbling by in the distance, or that the audio is simply too quiet. It’s worthwhile listening through your target audio file a few times and making notes of areas and times that have issues you want to try and improve.

1. Go through the recording and press the spacebar to stop and start audio playback. Note that this will reset the playback to the cursor position, so it’s useful if you want to listen to the same little section repeatedly.

2. Pause playback by clicking the “p” button on your keyboard. This pauses the play position and you can note the time position, handy for making a list of places in the file with issues.

Cleaning up audio distortion

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Now we have our potential list of issues, let’s look at approaches to making improvements to our audio.

In our test audio there was a small explosive click in the audio that caused the VU meter to flash into the red section and caused our headphones to briefly distort. You can usually see the point in the audio file and you can use the zoom icons to zoom in on the problem.

It’s unlikely that we can reduce the distortion in the audio at this point but we can simply reduce the amplitude of this part of the waveform meaning that although distorted for a moment it doesn't cause our speakers to pop and create discomfort for the listener.

1. Click slightly to the left of the problem area and drag over the area to the right so you can highlight this small section of clipped audio.

2. Click on the Effects drop down menu and select “Amplify”.

3. Reduce the amplification value either by typing a negative value into the “Amplification (dB):” input box or by using the slider. Try reducing the value to -1dB and click the “OK” button. The highlighted area of the waveform will reduce in height.

4. Listen to the new version and see if that has fixed the issue. Watch the VU meter and see if the problem still causes the output to clip showing the red line in the meter. You can, of course, use control and z to undo the adjustment or you can go back into the Amplify effect and make further reductions or adjustments.

Cleaning up an audible hiss

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For our next audio issue, let’s look at the classic high pitched hiss in the background of an audio recording. This could be caused by wind noise, or an overly noisy AC unit. There are a few different approaches we can try to achieve this. A first approach to consider is using a low pass filter or a notch filter to basically cut the frequency area of the hiss out of the audio file. But before we do that, we need to spot where the issues are.

1. Select all the audio and from the Analyze drop down menu click Plot Spectrum. In the Frequency Analysis window we can see all the frequencies that are in our audio file. We don’t need to understand it fully for it to be useful but the basic premise is the higher frequencies are to the right of the diagram and the left hand side are the lower frequencies.

Most music has some audio information in all frequency areas, but simpler recordings of a voice for example might only use specific parts of the range. This means we might be able to cut out entire parts of the frequency range without affecting the target audio in the file. For a high pitched hiss issue you might also see a stand alone spike in the upper frequencies where the hiss is pitched, you can then make a note of the frequency area the hiss sits in by reading the X axis of the plotted spectrum. This can help you target your filter to remove the hiss.

2. Make a note of which frequencies (x axis) are affected by hiss.

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3. To remove a high pitched hiss, select all the audio file waveform and from the Effect drop down select Low Pass Filter.

4. In the Frequency input field, enter in a value slightly lower than frequency of the hiss then set Roll-off value via the input box. If your hiss was at 1500 Hz you can set the filter frequency to say 1400 Hz and tweak the roll-off value according to your requirements.

5. Listen to the preview. You should notice a reduction in your hiss. If you are happy with the result, click OK to apply. If not, go back to step 4 and tweak the frequency / roll-off.

A notch filter is a filter that reduces all the frequencies in a notch shape in the frequency response. This is useful if you have a recording where perhaps a hiss exists but using a lowpass filter might affect other parts of the audio. For example if you had a recording with lots of cymbals being played by a percussionist, removing a high pitch hiss might well also affect the cymbal sound.

1. From Effect, select the Notch Filter.

2. Tweak the target frequency (which will be the center of the notch) and click Preview.

3. Increase / decrease the Q value for a wider / narrower notch. Click Preview to listen to the audio.The results can always be undone so it’s worth trying the filters repeatedly and replotting the frequency spectrum and listening to fine tune your approach.

Finally on filters, you can use a high pass filter in which you select a frequency and everything below that frequency is reduced but anything above it is unaffected. High pass filters are often a good solution for the rumble of a distant train or other low frequency artifacts in a recording.

1. Click on Effect >> High-Pass Filter.

2. To remove a low pitched rumble, select the audio file waveform and from the Effect drop down select High-Pass Filter.

3. In the Frequency input field, enter in a value slightly higher than frequency of the rumble then set Roll-off value via the input box. If your rumble was at 1000Hz you can set the filter frequency to say 1100Hz and tweak the roll-off value according to your requirements.

4. Listen to the preview. You should notice a reduction in your hiss. If you are happy with the result, click OK to apply. If not, go back to step 3 and tweak the frequency / roll-off.

Adding Noise Reduction

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You may have a recording that has a more complex collection of unwanted noises in it. For these challenging situations, it can be useful to try the “Noise Reduction” effect. This effect is particularly good if you have some sections in your recording that only contain the unwanted noise and not the target audio. In fact, if you are recording in the field and you know a recording will contain unwanted noise it’s very useful to create a good recording of what you don’t want!

1. Highlight a section of your audio file that only contains the unwanted noise. It needs to be over 0.05 of a second long in a 44.1kHz WAV file but it’s not uncommon to select a couple of seconds or more.

2. Click on Effects >> Noise Reduction.

3. Click the Get Noise Profile button. The window will close immediately but you have essentially set up the effect with a sample of what you want to remove.

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4. Select the area of the file you want to apply the noise reduction effect to.

5. Once again, launch the Noise Reduction effect and tweak the values in the “step 2” section. You can click the “preview” button in the lower left hand corner of the dialogue box to listen to the impact of your settings.

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6. Click OK to apply the noise reduction.

Using these approaches, you have a good basic toolset to clean up many different issues with audio files. When you are happy with your results, use the File – Export to create your new, cleaned-up audio file.

EVGA Nu Audio Pro Review: Who Needs a Sound Card in 2020?

Niels Broekhuijsen — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 13:00:32 +0000

With the rise of high-quality audio hardware on most motherboards over the last decade, there has been very little demand for dedicated audio hardware. But recently we’ve noticed a few manufacturers bringing dedicated sound cards back, and there are even some new players on the market. HiFi is making a return to the desktop PC space, in part because a growing group of people are adamant that onboard audio is still not good enough. In some ways -- or at least some situations -- I agree. So when EVGA, a company primarily known for graphics cards and power supplies, announced its second Nu Audio sound card, the Nu Audio Pro ($300 at the time of writing), it was time to take one for a spin, see what it can do for your PC’s audio output and figure out who -- if anyone -- should invest in a dedicated sound card in 2020.

EVGA Nu Audio Pro Specs

Audio DSP	XMOS xCORE-200
Dynamic Range (DNR)	Playback: 123dB; Recording: 121dB
Analog Playback Format	Up to 192kHz, 32bit (7.1/5.1/4.0); Up to 384kHz, 32bit (2.0)
Optical Playback Format	Up to 192kHz, 24bit
Recording Format	Line-in: up to 384kHz, 32bit; Mic-in: Up to 192kHz, 24bit
RGB Lighting	RGB Multi-Zone with Audio Reactive Lighting
Output Configuration	Analog: 7.1/5.1/4.0/2.0 channel Digital: 5.1 Channel
Signal-to-Noise	Playback: 123dB; Recording: 121dB
Headphone Amp	16-600 Ohms
I/O	Stereo out; Surround out (3x 3.5mm); Headphone Out (6.3mm); Line-In (3.5mm); Mic-In (3.5mm); Optical Out (TOSLINK Passthrough)
Interface	PCIe x1 Gen2, Mini DisplayPort
Power Connector	1x SATA
Supported OS	Windows 10 64-bit

What’s Wrong With Modern Motherboard Audio?

If you’re buying a new motherboard for your PC today, chances are that it comes with onboard audio that’s at least pretty good. If it’s a higher-end board, it likely has audio circuitry that’s isolated from the rest of the mainboard, has Japanese capacitors, a very high signal-to-noise ratio, a headphone amplifier that can drive headphones with up to 600 Ohm impedances and a collection of invented branding terms in an attempt to convince you that this specific motherboard has all the audio hardware you’ll need. Marketing fluff aside, that mid-to-high-end board probably does have all the audio hardware required for good sound output.

For testing, I used the Gigabyte Aorus AX370 Gaming 5 motherboard, which touts a 120dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), dual smart headphone amplifiers, dual ALC 1220 DACs and Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 software. All this is packaged into Gigabyte’s “Amp-Up Audio” branding.

The touted120 dB SNR is an impressive figure, and only marginally lower than the EVGA Nu Audio ($150 at the time of writing), which touts an SNR of 123dB. You can sometimes notice the difference between those two numbers. The ‘signal’ is the sound you’re meant to hear, with the ‘noise’ being unintentional noise made by the hardware, such as hissing, electrical interference, white noise or buzzing. If you’ve ever turned your speaker’s volume knob up all the way without any music playing, you’ll know what I’m talking about. At the aforementioned high SNR ratios, these ‘bad’ noises should be so silent that they’re essentially inaudible at normal listening levels

The problem, however, is that motherboard vendors measure their SNR figures under optimal conditions that are nothing like the way you’ll actually use the motherboard. There’s no graphics card or unnecessary components installed, as many features as possible are turned off, they use a power supply with the cleanest power delivery -- you get the picture. As soon as you use that motherboard in a real-life scenario you can suddenly introduce heaps of electrical interference to the system, which can slaughter the SNR figure. Put your graphics card under load by firing up a game and you’ll really be giving your onboard audio some grief. Think about it: The inside of your PC, electrically, is a very busy place which can cause audible interference.

The Cleanliness of the Signal

However, the Gigabyte motherboard used does a good job at keeping the signal clean, and when using it I’m hard-pressed to hear any noise through my headphones. I can turn the volume up all the way and get some noise out of them for sure, but that’s at volume levels that would make my ears bleed the moment I hit play.

Your experience may vary, and the SNR is as much a function of the codec, in our motherboard’s case the Realtek ALC1220. as it is of the motherboard vendor’s implementation and the components used around it, and there are lots of complaints on various forums about users having issues with different motherboards using the same codec. On an aging Lenovo T440s notebook, I’ve often found that any load on the system will create audible noise. There’s even a specific noise associated with scrolling in a web browser.

A sound card like EVGA’s Nu Audio Pro takes the audio circuitry physically off the motherboard and shields it in a metal casing that’s effectively a faraday cage. The card also comes with its own power circuitry to clean up the power delivery to the digital-to-analog converter (DAC, which I’ll touch on shortly) and headphone amplifier.

What About Signal Quality?

The second problem with onboard audio is the quality of the signal. Even under ideal circumstances with a very clean signal, the quality or accuracy of the signal is dependent on the DAC. In most onboard audio solutions, there is some variation of a Realtek DAC, and our Aorus AX370 Gaming 5 uses the Realtek ALC1220, which is a very popular that’s used in lots of motherboards by many companies.

While the implementation on the Gigabyte motherboard keeps the signal pretty clean, there is better quality to be here. While this chip’s sound quality is much higher than it used to be for onboard audio, once you’ve heard audio from a high-quality source through a dedicated DAC for an extended period of time, you’ll realize that the ALC1220 just doesn’t bring music to life the same way. The highs don’t sound as crisp or clear, vocals lack a certain depth and realism, and bass can sound a little muddy. In contrast, a great DAC can bring out detail in music you hadn’t heard before, while the detail you could hear can present with further refinement.

To fix both these issues, you’ll have to use a higher-quality DAC or multiple DACs where applicable, a better headphone amplifier, use power circuitry that cleans up the provided power and shield the whole lot from external electrical interference. Of course, that’s no easy task to do on a motherboard, which is where the Nu Audio Pro sound card comes in.

The Nu Audio Pro comes as a standard stereo card for $199 and as a 7.1 surround kit for $299. The surround kit includes an additional daughterboard, which slots in above or below the main card and connects with a short DisplayPort cable. However, because this review is focused primarily at what role a sound card can play in a PC in 2020, I’m focusing on the lower-priced standard stereo solution in order to best evaluate the improvement in sound.

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The top of the card features the company and product name, plus an “Engineered by Audio Note '' branding. EVGA is the company branding, manufacturing and selling this card, but British company Audio Note provides the circuitry and a handful of components.

The sound card installs into a PCIe x1 slot and gets power from a SATA power connector. There is no front-panel audio connector, and EVGA said this is because most cabling to the front panel audio connectors isn’t up to the standard of the sound card and can cause interference. I’ve experienced that first-hand when plugging in high-end headphones to the front of several PC cases, but would love for a way to bring the card’s pristine audio signal to the convenient front-panel ports.

In short, you’ll have to connect your audio device to the back of the sound card, where there are two RCA line-out connectors and an old-school 1/4-inch headphone jack. Mic in and line in come in the form of 3.5mm jacks, and there’s also an optical S/PDIF output. In keeping with high-end audio tradition, all the connectors are gold plated.

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This being 2020, there’s RGB lighting on the side of the card. It’s lumped into three zones, each with plenty of LEDs, making for smooth, bright visuals. The driver offers a handful of different lighting effects, including a few reactive modes that listen to the sound. But these modes are laggy and lack intensity, so I recommend sticking to the standard effects. Interestingly, the classic audio level per channel effect is missing, which is a shame.

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Tearing the card apart is a lengthy process, but it isn’t particularly difficult and you can do it without tearing any warranty stickers. Once opened, we can see the card’s internal layout.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

On the right side near the reverse L-shaped copper bracket, are two MOSFETS that handle power delivery. Thermal pads spread heat through the sound card’s case and make contact with the MOSFETS, keeping them cool on both sides. Once running, the card gets pretty warm, with surface temperatures reaching beyond 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in a 21-degree ambient environment.

Down near the PCIe slot is the ASMedia ASM1042A USB controller, which tells us that this card is essentially a USB DAC. If EVGA were so inclined, it could reuse the circuitry to make an external version without any trouble.

Moving towards the outputs, we spot the AKM AK4493 DAC, which is capable of up to 32-bit 384 KHz playback -- but good luck finding content at that resolution or hearing the difference if you do. Even EVGA’s own sample music is of CD quality at 16-bit 44.1 KHz, which is more than adequate.

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A centrally placed ADI LT1469 op-amp acts as the headphone amplifier, and is removable and swappable to your liking. The same goes for the ADI AD8056 op-amp at the top left, which drives the RCA line outputs.

Scattered all across the board are the various capacitors from the likes of Audio Note’s Seiryu units, Nichicon caps, AVX F95 audio caps and more. Lastly, engineer Andy Grove from Audio Note left his signature at the top left.

The card stands out with extremely good manufacturing quality. Our review unit has perfect soldering points and no flux residue, and almost all the components are laid out perfectly. The external casing is also well-made, and the sound card has a very premium feel.

Driver Installation

Upon installation, the sound card wasn’t immediately recognized by Windows and required a driver. Overall, the driver has all the necessary features and little more. There are Nahimic audio effects, though I recommend leaving them off and listening to the card in its purest form. Depending on your listening preferences and equipment though, you may want to adjust the equalizer, which has a quick and advanced mode for finer controls.

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The one major nuisance about the driver is that you can’t switch playback devices from the Windows Mixer in the notification area. To switch from speakers to headphones or vice versa, you’ll have to go through the driver interface each time you want to switch. If you’re someone who uses this tool regularly instead of the volume control on your speakers, it may bother you to have to open the driver tool multiple times a day to switch devices.

Another thing to note about the driver: when my card was set to any sampling rate above 24-bit 192 KHz, music streaming service Spotify ceased working. In practice though, this isn’t really an issue as there is no audible difference between 24-bit 192 KHz and the highest 32-bit 384 KHz modes. The highest-definition Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) recordings “only” go up to 24-bit 96 KHz anyway.

Testing Equipment

Testing a sound card is the polar opposite of testing a graphics card. With a GPU it’s easy to be completely objective, but with a sound card it’s almost impossible. I could test the noise floor and confirm the SNR, but I can already tell you that the Nu Audio Pro brought zero audible noise, hissing, or pops under any circumstances. Hence, today’s results are entirely subjective and focus on the card’s ability to reproduce music.

I let the card run in over a period of 48 hours before making any judgements. While some might consider running in to be a myth on the electronics side (on headphones and speakers it certainly isn’t, that I can tell you), it certainly can’t do any harm.

To figure out whether a sound card can benefit you as a PC user in 2020, I tested the Nu Audio Pro card with a range of equipment. I started with Sennheiser HD 598 headphones, which with an MSRP of $250 when they launched in 2011 and street prices for the newer HD 599 models often below $200, represent borderline-mainstream hardware. I also tested the sound card with a pair of ~$530 Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro cans and the popular Audioengine A2+ desktop speakers, which sell for between $220 and $260.

Lastly, to really put the Nu Audio Pro through its paces I used an audiophile-pleasing HiFi setup worth nearly $3,000 (detailed in the results below).

I used played music from the Tidal music streaming service using a HiFi subscription, which provides access to the full library in uncompressed CD-quality recordings, along with a large selection of MQA recordings. MQA is a relatively new file type. Whereas CD-quality recordings max at 16-bit 44.1 KHz in the FLAC audio recording format, MQA recordings bump the bitrate and resolution up to 24-bit and 96KHz, respectively. In practice, most would be hard-pressed to hear a difference between CD-quality and MQA, as both are of excellent quality.

Testing Results: Sennheiser HD 598 and Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro

When I listened to Dido’s “Take You Home” on the Sennheiser HD 598 headphones, I was puzzled that there was no immediately noticeable improvement compared to the many times I’ve listened to this track without a sound card. That’s not to say that the result was bad; in fact, clarity was wonderful, and Dido’s voice sounded extremely lush on the Nu Audio Pro sound. The problem was that I also enjoyed the track just as much as when using the Aorus motherboard’s audio implementation, which also has a capable headphone amplifier, but relies on the ALC1220 DAC.

I switched to playing Imagine Dragons’ “Bad Liar,” and at first I again noticed no difference. I listened for the key things: clarity, tightness of the bass, soundstage, stereo separation, lushness of the voices, etc, but couldn’t find a difference.

Next, I grabbed a pair of Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pros and laid out cabling so that I could switch playback sources quickly for side-by-side comparison.

Using the DT 1990 Pros, I noticed more differences, most notably in the high frequencies. Music sounded cleaner and appeared to reach further up the spectrum, with the Nu Audio Pro revealing slightly more detail than the onboard audio. The voices sounded more intimate, and when playing classical pieces I felt closer to the recordings.

The difference I noticed wasn’t huge, however. If you’re on any sort of budget, consider that for the $199 the Nu Audio Pro costs, you could just as easily step up to a better pair of headphones. The HD 598 headphones sell for $260 at the time of writing, while the DT 1990 Pros cost about $530. I found myself enjoying the DT 1990 Pro more with onboard audio than I did the HD 598 with the Nu Audio Pro.

I also did a blind test with others, and got mixed results in terms of who could hear differences when using the sound card.

So, we’re off to a rocky start but aren’t very surprised. There’s not much point in pairing a very revealing sound card with headphones that aren’t able to reproduce the detail.

Testing Results: Audioengine A2+ Desktop Speakers

Anyone who’s shopped for a pair of stereo desktop speakers has probably looked at the Audioengine A2+ system. They might seem too small, but if you don’t want your desk filled up with larger studio monitors, these are one of the best choices, assuming you have about $220-$270 to spend. Most will use them with their internal DAC over USB, but you can also connect them to an external DAC, like the one integrated in a motherboard or our Nu Audio Pro card.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

With these speakers, the Nu Audio Pro immediately made itself the superior source over both the motherboard audio and the speakers’ internal DAC, but only by a small margin. Where with headphones I found a minute improvement in enjoyment, feeding the A2+ speakers with the Nu Audio Pro provided an unmistakable boost. As these speakers can’t reproduce much in the way of low frequencies, I can’t comment on the bass, but the Nu Audio Pro did make the the speakers sound bigger than they are. The sound was suddenly a little wider, and I felt like the speakers were further apart, creating the feeling of a bigger soundstage.

On the A2+, I could say with confidence that I heard a difference, as opposed to thinking that I did. The difference still wasn’t huge, but it was unmistakably there. Like with the headphones though, the difference was still too small to justify the sound card’s $200 price.

Testing Results: Going Full HiFi

To see what the Nu Audio Pro could really do, I connected it to an audio system worth fifteen times the price of the card. The Sennheiser HD 598 and Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro are great headphones, and the Audioengine A2+ speakers are also excellent by most standards, but it was worth hooking the Nu Audio Pro up to a much more revealing stereo.

The setup was a Cambridge Audio CXA81 integrated stereo amplifier ($1,299) paired with two KEF Q750 speakers ($800). I also used a quality double-shielded jack-to-RCA cable to connect the computer to the CXA81 amplifier and connected the amplifier to the speakers using 6mm², 100% oxygen-free copper cabling. I listened to this setup using the amplifier’s internal DAC to get familiar with its sound for a few weeks before plugging in the Nu Audio Pro.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Before listening for testing, I set up two sets of identical source cabling, each to an analog input on the amplifier, connected one to the Nu Audio Pro and the other to the Realtek onboard audio. This let me switch sources very quickly. I matched the volume levels on both and queued the MQA playlist.

And then everything suddenly made sense.

The first thing that was immediately clear was the wider soundstage and stereo imaging over onboard audio. When sat at the proper listening position, the sound engulfed me much more so when played over the Nu Audio Pro card than when using the onboard ALC1220 as a DAC. On the motherboard’s ALC1220, the audio sounded more like it was coming from in front of me or from a point source, rather than filling the room.

The sound was also fuller and sounded significantly more alive with the card than what the onboard audio provided. Voices sounded more intimately detailed, as if the singer were actually in the room rather than a recording being played back. This added level of detail was especially clear on calmer tracks, where piano music or acoustic tracks sounded much more like the instrument were being played in the room.

A busier track, such as Imagine Dragons’ “Bad Liar” really brought all these elements together. Played back in MQA off of Tidal, I relished the level of detail. The Nu Audio Pro made voices sound more alive and present, the instruments clearer and the soundstage significantly wider. The motherboard’s audio seemed to struggle when “Bad Liar” got busier, but the Nu Audio Pro kept all the instruments very clearly separated from one another, accurately placing them throughout the room across the soundstage.

The Nu Audio Pro’s effect here was so powerful that I noticed more intimacy and extremely tight control over the low frequencies when listening to Chymes’ “All Time Low” and Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over” than when listening on the HD 390 or A2+ speakers.

Comparing the Nu Audio Pro to the Cambridge Audio CXA81’s ESS Sabre internal DAC yielded no difference in sound worth noting. It’s hard to pick one over another. But for amplifiers without an internal DAC,the Nu Audio Pro can be a great solution.

When I switched back to my motherboard’s onboard audio, I felt robbed of what my HiFi is capable of. Music no longer enveloped the room, but instead felt like it came from a flat plane in front of me. Gone was the intimacy of the voices and instruments. It still sounded great, but where the Nu Audio Pro gave a level of detail and placement that made music seem like live playback, the onboard audio sounded like a recording. The difference wasn’t earth-shattering, but with this near-$3,000 setup, the $199 price tag of the Nu Audio Pro seems like a no-brainer. If you’re someone who has this kind of setup, feeding it with a Realtek-based onboard audio solution is doing yourself a disservice.

Bottom Line

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Whether a sound card is something you’ll benefit from depends on both you and your specific equipment. This is the case for EVGA’s Nu Audio Pro just as much as with any other sound card or external DAC.

With high-end gear (our setup cost nearly $3,000), the difference between using the Nu Audio Pro is like night and day. Without the right gear, you’ll be asking yourself why you spent the extra money over your motherboard’s onboard audio, which is probably pretty good.

Based on our experience, it doesn’t make sense to pair a $199 sound card with a pair of headphones or speakers that aren’t able to reveal audio’s additional details. But if you step up the sound gear to something at least approaching high-end audio, a sound card makes more sense.

If you’re using a good pair of headphones near the $200 mark and are experiencing issues with background noise, hissing, popping, or anything that simply sounds impure, I recommend buying this sound card. Instead, check your motherboard first. There are many boards out there with great onboard audio solutions, and for probably over 90% of people, a dedicated sound card won’t provide much noticeably better results over good onboard audio implementation.

Sound cards and high-end DACs aren’t for everyone. Onboard sound on premium motherboards has come a very long way in the last decade. This doesn’t mean that there is no place for sound cards at all in 2020. It just means that there is no more need for sound cards for entry-level audio systems; the market is now focused on boosting high-end gear.

But if you own (or aspire to own) gear in a higher price class and capable of revealing more detail, the Nu Audio Pro is definitely worth considering. Audio Note did a superb job designing the card’s circuitry and electronics, and EVGA did a fine job of manufacturing it into a PC-friendly package.

EVGA Adds Nu Audio Pro 7.1 Sound Cards With Improved Looks

Niels Broekhuijsen — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 18:03:50 +0000

(Image credit: EVGA)

You may be surprised to hear that EVGA has a new sound card, considering many enthusiasts have shifted away from that technology. But in January, the vendor better known for their graphics cards launched their first audio card, the Nu Audio. And today, it expanded the lineup even further with the announcement of its Nu Audio Pro 7.1 sound cards. Compared to the non-Pro sound cards, EVGA's new units bring two main areas of improvement: sound and looks.

It’s worth noting that EVGA hasn’t engineered these sound cards all by itself. The product is the brainchild from a collaboration between EVGA and British company Audio Note.

Under the hood, EVGA has added 7.1 surround sound support in the Nu Pro Audio cards; although, you'll have to use the second included "Nu Pro Surround" card to be able to use it. The two audio cards have to be internally connected to each other though, which, oddly enough, happens with a Mini DisplayPort cable. Of course, if you don't need the extra surround channels, you could simply use the primary Nu Pro Audio card only.

The chunky 6.5mm headphone jack resides behind a new headphone amplifier, where EVGA said it installed the LT1469 op-amp for “lusher and more high-quality sound.” The sound card also comes with Audio Note’s own Seiryu capacitors, as well as AVX F95 tantalum capacitors to reduce distortion. At the high-frequency area, the NP0 ceramic caps are upgraded for Panasonic PPS caps.

If you’re into gaming, you’ll also be happy to know that the new sound card comes with Nahimic 3D audio for virtual surround sound through your headset, which should help you identify from where your enemies are creeping up on you.

(Image credit: EVGA)

All this engineering results in some very respectable specifications. The headphone amplifier can handle headphones with impedances ranging from 16-600 Ohms, and the stereo playback occurs with an signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 123dB. It can also record with an SNR of 121dB. Over stereo, the card can handle up to 384 kHz audio at 32 bits, and in multichannel that drops to 192 kHz at 32 bits. The optical output is limited to 192 kHz at 24 bits, which isn’t bad by any standards, but you wouldn’t be doing yourself any favors using the optical outputs over the finely tuned DACs and amps in this sound card.

Because this is the Pro card series, EVGA couldn’t stop itself from impleneting what it described as a "bold new cover design to remind you that this isn't your run-of the mill audio card.” We’re not so sure that a "run-of the mill audio card" is really a thing these days. However, the black and orange aesthetic is a notable change from the predecessor sound card's gray and black look.

(Image credit: EVGA)

The cards have some very neat RGB lighting effects and a full backplate. Better yet, the backplate isn’t even just for looks, as EVGA claims it helps shield the card electronics from interference. You’ll also need a SATA power connection as the PCIe 1x port won’t deliver enough power just by itself.

Currently, EVGA’s cards are available for pre-order from EVGA for $249.99, for which you get the full Nu Audio Pro 7.1 kit. If pre-ordered, the units will ship no later than December 20, just in time for the holidays.

EVGA's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Kingpin Card Includes a Power Meter

Aris Mpitziopoulos — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 16:04:03 +0000

EVGA had several interesting products to show at this CES 2019, including a new high-end sound card, three RTX 2060 graphics cards, a new motherboard and the top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Kingpin, which packs in some really nice features.

The Kingpin 2080 Ti utilizes a hybrid AIO closed loop cooling design, similar to its hybrid cards in the past. This is mostly thanks to the PCB featuring an incredible 19-phase VRM, fed with power thanks to three 6+2 pin PCIe connectors. Besides the water-cooled block, there's also a 100mm fan, developed specifically to cool the heatsinks coming into contact with the memory chips, and the DC-DC converters. The 120mm radiator ensures that temps will be kept low, even under tough conditions and higher overclocks. EVGA's also included diagnostic LEDs, voltage measurement points, a V-BIOS selector switch, and headers where you can connect your EVBot devices.

The most interesting feature of this card, which will be available on other EVGA products as well, is the LCD screen on the top of the GPU which, besides displaying temperature and the pump and fan's rotation speeds, also provides voltage and power consumption information as well. Yes that's right, this is the first graphics card providing actual wattage information, something that hard-core overclockers will appreciate. There's will even be software that provides all the measurements and readings direct to your desktop, but it isn't ready just yet, so EVGA didn't show it.

So far, getting power consumption information from GPUs is a hard task requiring very specialized and expensive equipment. The Powenetics system is currently one of the most affordable and accurate ways to get this kind of information. But it still requires some skill in electronics in order to be installed. Hopefully, we will soon have an EVGA graphics card with this monitoring system so we will be able to compare the power measurements that it provides with the ones of the Powenetics system. For the record, EVGA's monitoring system can provide up to ten measurements per second, which is more than fast enough for a commercial product, and it uses shunt resistors to get power consumption and voltage information too.

EVGA didn't provide us with a price tag for this product, but we expect it to demand some serious cash given its performance and extra features. It would be nice though if a larger radiator was used, for more overclocking headroom and even lower temperatures. After all, this is a graphics card that's aimed at serious overclockers, not at mainstream users.

Disclaimer: Aris Mpitziopoulos is Tom's Hardware's PSU reviewer. He is also the Chief Testing Engineer of Cybenetics, and developed the Cybenetics certification methodologies apart from his role on Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor its parent company, Future PLC, are financially involved with Cybenetics. Aris does not perform the actual certifications for Cybenetics.

EVGA Sounds Out its Nu Audio Card

zak.storey@futurenet.com (Zak Storey) — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 14:58:02 +0000

Long relegated to the tech codexes of old, we all but thought sound cards had died out. With motherboard audio now being at such a strong level, and with anyone after a premium audiophile setup opting for an external USB solution instead for their rig, the demise of the internal sound card seemed almost guaranteed.

EVGA doesn’t seem to think so though. Today at CES in Las Vegas, it announced its latest foray into the audio medium with the introduction of the EVGA Nu Audio. Built in partnership with Audio Note (UK), (a company with over 30 years of expertise in the field of sound), this dedicated internal add-in card promises to pack the very best distortion reducing and clarity inducing components, into its supple and elegant frame, enhancing your gaming and media entertainment in the process.

The Nu Audio card, acts as both a DAC and a headphone amplifier. For your I/O, you get RCA L and R channels for speakers, a 6.3mm headphone jack supporting up to 600 Ohm headphones with separate volume control, TOSLink optical out for 5.1 surround sound, a 3.5mm line in, 3.5mm mic in, and a front header passthrough baked onto the top of the card too.

Audio hardware wise, we’re looking at an AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices) AK4493 DAC, and an AKM AK5572 analog to digital converter for all your line ins. On top of that you also get swappable OP-AMPS for your headphones and line out, and a whole slew of other power management stuff courtesy of Texas Instruments and Audio Note (UK) as well.

Past the Jargon

What all that means is that you’re left with a fairly solid sound card, capable of driving stereo audio at 384 KHz at 32-bit, headphones from 16 - 600 Ohms, and recording at either 384 KHz (32 bit) on the line in, or 192 KHz (24 bit) with the mic in, for some serious audio propulsion. Oh and of course, it comes with RGB as well, because reasons.

It fits into a PCIe Gen 2.0 x1 slot on your motherboard, and also requires a SATA power connection as well (I’m guessing for the LEDs?).

It’ll be available in the U.S. as of January 16th, however there’s no mention of a price just yet. Find out more here.

Surprise: PowerColor Makes A Sound Card, And It Sounds Good

Niels Broekhuijsen — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 15:45:00 +0000

When we walked into PowerColor's booth at Computex 2015, the company immediately dismissed its lineup of graphics cards, despite the GTX 980 Ti having just launched. Instead, the representative drew our attention to a new product, of a kind that it had never made before: a sound card. It is called the PowerColor Devil HDX Sound Card and goes by the part number SCM888-DHDX.

The sound card is driven by a Cmedia CM8888 audio processor, which is linked to a Wolfson WM8741 Digital-to-Analog converter. This DAC is then wired to a headphone amplifier that is capable of driving headphones with impedance of up to 600 Ohm. The frequency response ranges from 20 Hz through 20,000 KHz, and the signal-to-noise ratio is 124 dB on the RCA (Tulip) out and 120 dB on the 6.3 mm jack. It is a little lower on the jack because the signal goes through the headphone amplifier, while it does not do so for the RCA ports. The OP-Amps are swappable.

For outputs, the card has the 6.3 mm jack, RCA ports, coaxial port and an optical output on the mainboard. The card comes with a daughterboard, which is mounted in a separate expansion slot and adds 7.1 analog connectivity with four 3.5 mm jacks and a microphone input -- all-in-all, a complete set of I/O connectors. The card interfaces with your PC through a PCI-Express 1x connection.

At the show, PowerColor had prepared a demo using two identical systems. One was using their sound card, and another was using the Purity Sound II sound card on an ASRock motherboard. This is quite a bold move, as ASRock's Purity Sound II hardware already sounds on paper quite good to start with.

Unfortunately, PowerColor was clumsy enough to have these systems connected to a pair of gaming headsets made by Razer. I therefore offered to grab my own headphones, as I was coincidentally carrying my Audio Technica ATH-M50x set on me at the time.

To test the difference, our very own Editor-in-Chief Fritz Nelson had a listen to the two systems and was asked if he could hear a difference. With Fritz being a bit less of an audiophile than myself, I wasn't expecting him to hear a difference, but the moment he moved from the PowerColor Devil HDX to the ASRock sound card, he heard a difference. Fritz described that the bass was more controlled, the mids were warmer and more prominent, and the high frequencies were less shrill on the Devil HDX sound card. I also had a listen, and agreed completely.

Oh, and yes, I did ensure that there was no adjusted equalizer to make the difference more apparent, and that the same audio file was used.

PowerColor will be releasing the card over the coming months and slapping a price tag of $159 onto it. According to the PowerColor representative, that is about $50 lower than similarly-equipped products from competitors.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Creative Sound Blaster E Series is an External Sound 'Card'

Kevin Parrish — Thu, 15 May 2014 00:46:00 +0000

Sound Blaster E1

On Wednesday, Creative Technology launched the Sound Blaster E Series, which includes the Sound Blaster E3 and the Sound Blaster E1. Both are external solutions that can be used with PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets.

"With the Sound Blaster E Series, we are not only able to enhance the PC audio experience, but have gone beyond it. These devices capitalize on our high-end audio expertise, and give smartphone and tablet users the opportunity to experience uncompressed audio quality while on the go," said Long Chye Low, general manager for Sound Blaster Audio at Creative.

According to the company, the Sound Blaster E3 is a USB-based external sound card solution that packs Sound Blaster audio processing in a small form factor device. Customers merely plug the device into a USB port and then download the Control Panel software, which includes SBX Pro Studio audio enhancement technologies.

Sound Blaster E3

This device includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing customers to pair it with a smartphone or tablet for up to eight hours of audio playback. The device can also serve as a USB-based Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) for uncompressed digital audio streaming from select smartphones or tablets. Two headphone jacks allow the user to share audio with another listener.

As for the Sound Blaster E1, this version is similar in specs, although it doesn't feature Bluetooth, and it's a bit more compact. This version also has a max recording quality of 16-bit / 44.1 kHz whereas the E3 model has a max recording quality of 24-bit / 48 kHz. However, its battery promises up to 25 hours of play on a single charge.

The cheaper model has a Signal-to-Noise Ratio of 106 dB while the Sound Blaster E3 has an SNR of 110 dB. However, both models sport a headphone amp capable of up to 600 Ohms, are compatible with Windows Vista and newer, and Mac OS X v10.6.8. and newer. Both support Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) for high fidelity and low latency playback.

For more information about these two new products, head here. The E3 model will be made available in July for $129 USD, and the E1 is available now for $49 USD.

Asus Introduces Audiophile-Grade Essence STX II Sound Cards

Niels Broekhuijsen — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:24:00 +0000

Asus has updated its Essence STX sound card, which now, after a four-year run, will be replaced by the Essence STX II and the Essence STX II 7.1 sound cards.

The sound cards come very well packed with hardware. For starters, the line out connection features an SNR of 124 dB, while the headphone connection has an SNR rated at 120 dB. The headphone output is also driven by a high-quality headphone amplifier which can drive headphones with impedances of up to 600 Ohms.

Connectivity is handled by what many of us would find unusual, but it is perfectly normal in the Hi-Fi world. As such, you won't find any 3.5 mm jacks, but rather all tulip plugs for the line-out connectors and 5 mm jacks for the headphone outputs. All of these are also gold plated.

The Essence STX II and the 7.1 variant of it are both pretty much identical cards, with the only difference being the added expansion card for the 7.1 variant. This expansion card carries the additional six channels needed for 7.1 audio, as the main card itself already carries the front left and front right channels.

All around the cards users will also find swappable OP-Amps, with the MUSES 8920 and the MUSES 8820 pre-installed, but with one extra MUSES 8820 included along with two Texas Instruments LME49720's added for swapping to attain different sound profiles. Each of the channels on the 7.1 card also features its own swappable operational amplifier.

Commenting on the launch, Ives Chiu, Asus Product Manager for the Audio Sector in the Multimedia Business Department said, "Four years after the debut of Essence STX, Asus remains committed to delivering ever better high-end sound cards to delight the most demanding audiophiles. Drawing on years of experience in developing Essence One, Essence STU and Essence III, Essence STX II delivers meticulous design, quintessential performance and profound musicality -- elements that shape the spirit of the whole Essence Hi-Fi series."

Asus has not given any word on pricing or availability just yet.

Element14, Wolfson Announce Sound Card for Raspberry Pi

Jane McEntegart — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:20:00 +0000

Raspberry Pi started out with the intention of teaching the basics of computer science and programming to children in schools. However, the ultra-cheap single-board computer has since evolved into so much more than that. The developer community latched onto Raspberry Pi and its applications are as varied as its userbase. The board has been to the classroom, space, and the science fair. Now, hobbyists and DIYers have a new toy to play with.

Raspberry Pi manufacturer Element14 and Wolfson Microelectronics have announced the availability of a new Wolfson Audio Card for Raspberry Pi. Available exclusively through Element14, the card brings both line-in and line-out headphone support as well as headset support, on-board stereo microphones, and digital audio S/PDIF functionality to Raspberry Pi. Full features below:

3.5 mm jack (4-pole) for a headset/boom mic combination for gaming or VoIP applications
3.5 mm jack for microphone input
On-board MEMS microphone
3.5 mm jack stereo line input for connection to devices such as digital audio players (iPod, etc.) or mobile phones
3.5 mm jack stereo line output for connection to devices such as external stereo amplifiers or powered speakers
Phono jack for electrical (not optical) S/PDIF digital input
On-board class D power amplifier for external speakers, with connection to external power source if needed
Small pin header for extra functions if they are low cost, already on-chip, and don't require any further components
Raspberry Pi form factor

"The Raspberry Pi has been a phenomenal success, bringing affordable computing and software programming to a new generation of innovators," said Alistair Banham, Senior VP & GM of Custom Solutions at Wolfson Microelectronics. "With the Audio Card, Wolfson is delighted to provide a new accessory that opens up a whole new world of applications to the Pi community."

The Wolfson audio card will be available through Element14 in Europe, North America, and Asia and will cost $33. That's not all that expensive, but it does double the cost of your Raspberry Pi kit, which is priced at $35 (for the 512 MB Model B version). Raspberry Pi also has a camera board, but that sold out on Element14 and hasn't been back in stock since. The tiny board measures 25 x 20 x 9 mm. It weighs just over 3g.

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

LG to Show Multi-Room Audio Streamer at CES 2014

Kevin Parrish — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 03:10:00 +0000

Image: LG Electronics

In addition to revealing a monster TV, LG Electronics will also showcase its latest audio video lineup at CES 2014 in just a few weeks. This lineup includes the Wireless Audio System (NP8740), which allows owners to stream high quality music around the home or office. The streamer runs on the latest mesh network technology that includes dual band support.

"Each wireless speaker not only produces rich sound with clarity and depth, but also sends the sound out in multiple directions," LG Electronics reports. "Several speakers can be set up in any combination of rooms, connecting an entire house under a single system."

Now here's where this sound system gets interesting. The embedded mesh network technology allows the device to send two ways: Party Mode, which sends the same song to all speakers positioned across the house; and Personal Mode that sends a different song through each speaker. The NP8740 can connect to other audio systems as well.

LG's upcoming Wireless Audio System essentially allows users to listen to music throughout the house without the need for a network connection. There will also be an app that transforms smartphones into a master control unit. These apps are even capable of streaming online music sources to the Wireless Audio System.

In addition to the audio system, LG Electronics also plans to showcase the SoundPlate (LAB540W). This new model is equipped with a 4.1 channel, 320 watt sound system and an external wireless subwoofer. The device can save space by fitting directly underneath a variety of 32-inch to 55-inch TVs. The SoundPlate also serves as a connectivity portal and features a built-in 3D Blu-ray player along with LG's Smart TV functionality, turning any HDTV into a Smart TV.

Also seen at the show will be LG's Sound Bar (NB5540) and the Micro Audio System (CM3430). Stay tuned for more LG coverage next month.

Diamond Announces Xtreme Sound 7.1 Sound Card

Jane McEntegart — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Diamond Multimedia has announced a brand new sound card, the Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1. Actually, the card's full name is "Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 PCI-e Low Profile 24 Bit Record and Playback Internal Sound Card," but that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

The Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 offers 7.1 surround sound and support for 24-bit 192 KHz / 96 KHz / 48 KHz / 44.1 KHz playback and 24-bit 192 KHz / 96 KHz / 48 KHz / 44.1 KHz recording. Compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, the card features 7.1 channel output, 4 x 3.5 mm stereo outputs for front R/L, rear R/L, side R/L and center/subwoofer, 3.5 mm stereo connectors for line-in, 2 x RCA connectors for coaxial input and output, 2 x optical connectors for SPDIF input and output, as well as HD audio link for front audio. There's also anti-Pop protection circuitry as well as support for special effects (including concert hall).

The Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 PCI-e Low Profile 24-bit Record and Playback Internal Sound Card is already available at the Diamond Multimedia Online Store as well as authorized resellers including Amazon, Fry's Electronics, NCIX, Newegg, Tiger Direct, Futureshops and Best Buy Canada. Priced at $59.99, the card carries the model number 'XS71HD' (just in case you had problems remembering its full name).

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

ASRock Also Boasts High-End Onboard Audio

Niels Broekhuijsen — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:10:00 +0000

Earlier, Gigabyte was teasing us that it would carry much better onboard audio thanks to Creative's Sound Core 3D chip, but it appears that Gigabyte is not the only manufacturer that wants to improve onboard audio to differentiate its products from the rest of the market. ASRock is introducing its A-Style Purity sound.

The A-Style Purity sound would be built using a Realtek ALC1150 codec in conjunction with two TI NE5532 amplifiers. One of the two would work as a differential amplifier, while the other is a headphone amplifier that can support headphones that have an impedance of up to 600 Ohms. The Realtek ALC1150 codec is covered by an EMI shield, and the part of the PCB where the audio hardware is located is isolated to prevent interference.

A-Style Purity sound will feature signal-to-noise ratio of 115 dB, 7.1 channel HD audio, DTS connect and more.

Stay tuned, for all we know there will be even more manufacturers releasing motherboards with higher-end onboard audio.

Asus Announces Xonar Essence STU External Sound Card

Tarun Iyer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Asus has launched the Xonar Essence STU USB external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier, which the company touts as being based on the "acclaimed design and quality of Xonar Essence ST/STX internal sound cards and going beyond their already high standards."

The Xonar Essense STU features a Texas Instruments PCM1792A DAC and TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier that allows the user to switch between low and high settings to accommodate a wide range of headphones from in-ear headsets (16 to 32 ohms) to full-size headphones (up to 600 ohms). Also offered is a 120 dB signal-to-noise ratio due to its balanced (or mirrored) PCB layout that provides an "accurate reproduction of all sound sources and minimal component crosstalk, or interference."

The unit features dual volume controls, connectivity with USB compliant devices, stereo RCA out, a 6.3 mm headphone jack, two digital inputs, and auxiliary in. The Xonar Essence STU includes a bundled stand that permits vertical and horizontal orientation.

"We received considerable positive feedback from customers regarding the excellent sound quality of Xonar Essence ST/STX sound cards, which led us to develop Xonar Essence STU as a USB device that offers even more premium audio quality plus easy controls and connectivity to notebooks. This is another example of Asus listening to the community and acting on consumer demand," said Ives Chiu, Audiovisual Product Manager at the Asus Multimedia Business Unit.

Asus Shows Off ROG Xonar Phoebus Solo Sound Card

Niels Broekhuijsen — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Asus has announced the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Xonar Phoebus Solo 7.1 PCIe gaming sound card. It is targeted at gamers, as the name plainly says, and is therefore equipped with some technologies that many gamers might find interesting.

For starters, to please the ear-trained gamer Asus has packed the card with positional audio and Dolby Home Theater V4 audio enhancements. The sound card even has a number of preset profiles for specific genres, such as FPS, RTS, RPG and racing.

Of course, no sound card is complete without some effective HiFi goodies. Asus has equipped the sound card with a TPA6120A2 600 ohm headphone amplifier. This not only makes the headphones able to go louder, but at any volume level operate much more controlled. (Most standard stereo out ports do not provide nearly enough power to drive most headphones in a controlled manner.)

Other specifications include 118 dB SNR (Signal-to-noise Ratio), the card has support for the new DTS UltraPC II, and it carries a PCM1796 DAC (Digital-to-analog Converter).

So far there has been no official word on pricing or availability.

Asus Xonar U7 Sound Card Has a Built-in Headphone Amp

Niels Broekhuijsen — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Asus is releasing a new USB sound card, the Xonar U7. The Xonar U7 is targeted at gamers, but that hasn't stopped Asus from jamming some high-end audio features into it.

For starters, one of the main selling points of the U7 is the built in headphone amplifier. Asus recognizes that most sound cards and onboard audio solutions do not carry a headphone amplifier, and that most consumers aren't willing to buy a separate headphone amplifier. The advantage of a good headphone amplifier can be very broad, and its purpose is not only to make the headphones louder, but also to dramatically increase the sound quality of the signal, as a system without a headphone amplifier may provide enough power to drive headphones to be loud, but not in a controlled manner.

The DACs (Digital to Analogue converters) in the device are Cirrus Logic CS4398's, which are renowned for crystal clear conversion.

Beyond this, Asus also mentions that the device has a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a staggering 114 dB, and it features Dolby Home Theater V4 with a coaxial S/PDIF output. The unit also has a 3.5 mm headphone out jack, as well as a 3.5 mm microphone jack.

The Xonar U7 is also fully powered by the USB only, so there is no need for any extra adapters.

So far there is no word on pricing or availability.

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Deals Nov. 16: Creative X-Fi USB Sound card $44.99

Jane McEntegart — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Top Deals

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Sound Card for $44.99 with free shipping at Dell Home (normally $59.99).

Netgear R6300 Wireless-AC Dual-Band 450+1300Mbps Gigabit Router + USB Adapter for $239.99 with free shipping at Dell Home (normally $269.99).

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Xbox 360 250GB Holiday 2012 Bundle w/ Skyrim & Forza 4 for $249.99 with free shipping at Microsoft Store (normally $299.99).

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55" LG 55LM6200 1080p 120Hz 3D LED HDTV + Free 6 LG 3D Glasses for $1,159 with free shipping at AllTimeTVs (normally $1,297).

47" LG 47LS4500 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $599.99 with free shipping at Dell Home (normally $699.99).

42" Vizio E420VSE 1080p LED HDTV for $478 with free shipping at Dell Home (normally $518).

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Under Siege / Under Siege: Dark Territory Blu-ray for $7.99 at Amazon (normally $12).

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ASUS TF600T VivoTab 10.1" Windows RT 32GB Tablet + Mobile Dock for $549 with free shipping at B&H (normally $799.98 - no rebate hassles).

Samsung Galaxy Note II 5.6" Smartphone [AT&T] for $239.99 with free shipping at Best Buy Mobile Solutions (normally $299.99 - use 20% coupon code EB20PCT ).

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GoPro HD HERO2 Surf Edition Camcorder for $199.95 with free shipping at REI (normally $299.99).

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX50 16.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 5x Optical Zoom for $158 with free shipping at Dell Home (normally $188).

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Free 7 digital issues of Taste of Home Magazine (via Mercury Magazines).

TW Steel Rennault F1 Team Pilot Watch for $250 with free shipping at Ashford (normally $310).

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Creative Returns with SB X-Fi Titanium HD

Kevin Parrish — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Creative is set to launch an audio card sporting "audiophile grade" components and the E-MU 20K2 audio processor (aka the "X-Fi chip") possibly this year. The announcement came back in January during CES 2010, deemed as the first discrete audio card and USB digital audio system to include THX TruStudio PC audio technology. Since then, the card has been kept under wraps, however Creative's comeback soundcard isn't exactly vaporware, as a sample card is currently making its rounds.

For this PCIe card, Creative has ditched the polka-dotted cover seen with the Titanium Fatal1ty card with a tinted, slick version branding the Creative and THX logos. The device doesn't really look like a sound card until your rotate it around to see the gold-plated connections on the back: microphone input, headphone output, RCA output Left and Right, and RCA input Left (or Optical In) and Right (or Optical Out).

On a PCB level, Creative is no longer using electrolytic Jamicon and OST capacitors, but rather has moved on to use surface mount device (SMD) capacitors. By taking this route, Creative uses very few through-hole solder joints (that's a good thing--the less solder, the better). A hands-on preview noted that the X-Fi Titanium HD also has well-defined areas for its audio paths, however the design indicates that Creative initially planned to power the card via a 4-Pin Molex, but eventually ditched the idea.

"The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD is powered by the second-generation Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor for PCI Express slots," Creative said back in January. "The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD combines captivating industrial design with audiophile grade Digital to Analog Converters (DACs) and components to produce a 122dB signal-to-noise ratio, the highest SNR ever produced by a Creative sound card. A replaceable Op-amp is also a distinguishing feature allowing users to customize audio output with coloration that is refined to their personal tastes."

Although the vanilla version of Creative's Sound Blaster Titanium HD is already on the market, the X-Fi version is slated to be priced at $99.99 USD, however no shipping date was specified. The pricing also seems a bit off, so stay tuned as Creative delivers official dates and pricing sometime soon.

Nvidia: We Didn't Bribe Anyone to Use PhysX

Kevin Parrish — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:30:00 +0000

Nvidia fired back at AMD's earlier accusations that it was bribing developers to use its proprietary PhysX technology. Ashutosh Rege, the worldwide director of developer technology at Nvidia, said that the company does provide help to developers who want to implement physics into their games using Nvidia's middleware. However, he was adamant that the company does not-- and cannot-- influence their decision to use PhysX or any other library or engine.

“There could be no deal under which we would cash somebody in for using PhysX,” he told X-bit Labs.

In a nutshell, his response was broken down into several distinct responses: Nvidia cannot force game developers to use PhysX, the company helps implement GPU PhysX, and it does not intentionally lower performance of non-Nvidia platforms-- this was an accusation made earlier this year by AMD.

Rege also pointed out that PhysX is not GLide. "The comparison of Glide against PhysX is not smart," he said, referring to AMD's comparison just days ago. "PhysX is not an API, it is a full set of software, it is a middleware."

Surprisingly, he admits that PhysX isn't a big consideration for game developers, it's not the main deciding factor. "In the middleware business you have game developers saying ‘I’ve got these features, I’ve got these licensing terms and I need to deploy on these platforms. What is the best solution here?’. Of course, the cost of license is also important to developer. Based on all of that, they make their decision what package to choose."

But Rege also pointed out that Nvidia is "happily" working with open-source developers of physics processing tools, even those that use OpenCL or DirectCompute. "If a developer asks us to help implement certain feature, we will add it," he said. "If he asks to port something to DirectCompute, we will certainly do our best to get that to him. […] We will support game developers to the extent of our knowledge of, [for example], Bullet. Obviously, we do not have engineers, who are exposed in Bullet to [provide technical support], but we are working with the Bullet Engine team on specific things. […] At the end, we are selling GPUs, not PhysX."

Ding, round three.

Apogee Digital Ships Symphony 64 Card – Most Affordable Pro-Audio Solution

Aaron Heibert — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Not everyone may have a use for such high-end audio, such as the Symphony 64 by Apogee Digital – but for those audiophiles who would be interested in an affordable recording system, here you go.

The Symphony 64 PCI Express card is made to interface Apogee’s X-Series and Rosetta Series converters directly to the Mac Pro – supporting 64 channels, 24bit/192kHz with ultra low latencies based on its price range. The Symphony 64 also features Extended Audio Routing with VBus and SBus technology.

VBus is something that allows users to route their software instruments directly between Core Audio based applications instead of running them as ‘plug-ins’. SBus technology doubles Digital Signal Processing (DSP) power of the system – making it possible to route audio to a second workstation and back again for plug-in processing (off-loading), sample libraries, soft-synth players, and session transfers from one Core application to another.

The Symphony 64 prices in at US$995. Apogee is also offering a $250 upgrade option for customers that have purchased a card between the dates of August 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Good deal! Now obviously the price seems high to those of us that aren’t into the business of the recording industry, but believe me – this is definitely on the ‘affordable’ side. Obviously you would need more than just this card, but Apogee is still one of the most affordable solutions when it comes to pro-audio recording.

If you are one of those few out there looking to do some serious audio work, this is a good start. More information regarding Apogee products can be found on their site.

Asus Readies New Soundcard with HDMI

Kevin Tu — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Asus steps up the pressure on Creative by showing off the Xonar HDAV1.3, giving the PC audio world HDMI 1.3a compatibility.

Running in a PCI Express x1 slot, the Xonar HDAV1.3 will decode lossless audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio at 24 bit 96-192 Khz through 7.1 channels. The card is very similar to Asus’s existing Xonar D2 products in that it uses the same AV200 codec chip that has received high praise from users. The codec routes and interprets high quality signals to premium audio components, that include Burr-Brown PCM1796, 123 dB SNR, National Semiconductor LM4562 amplifiers, and Cirrus Logic CS5381 120 dB SNR analog to digital converter. However, Asus upped the ante on this one by adding its own HyperGround technology that allows the card to reduce EMI noise with distortion as low as 0.0004% on each of the 7.1 channels.

To sweeten the deal even more, Asus also included it’s own Splendid HD video processors that “increases color performance and enhances edges for a more brilliant, crisper high definition image” – all without getting precious processors power. In other words, the processor will polish up and increase color saturation to make your movie that much more dynamic. On the plus side, the processor should allow users with relatively entry-level specifications to enjoy high-definition content without having to upgrade their hardware.

Asus has not revealed pricing or availability yet, but users should expect two versions – the plain Jane HDAV1.3 and the Deluxe. The Deluxe will include the HDAV H6 expansion card that connects via ribbon cable and provides analog out capabilities for 8 channels.

The Xonar HDAV1.3 features HDMI input and output ports, line/microphone input, S/PDIF input/output ports, ad RCA front-channel output.

Creative Finally Launches True X-Fi PCI Express Parts

Theo Valich — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:00:00 +0000

It took some time, but Creative Labs has finally introduced decent sound cards for PCI Express interface. The company is offering two products and has come up with names that may grab your attention, but aren’t necessarily easy to remember: The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series and the PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion series. Got it?

Both boards come in a more modest package than the long names may suggest. They include Creative’s X-Fi processor that has been modified to work with the PCI Express interconnect and X-Fi APU got a revision: The chip now supports Crystalizer, a brilliant piece of technology that brings all those crappy 128 Kb/s MP3 files to life. The X-Fi CMSS was also implemented in a patchwork piece called X-Fi Xtreme Audio. This "true X-Fi" parts also come with X-RAM memory - dedicated memory that promises to boost the card’s performance in games.

The X-Fi cards continue to support Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES and, of course, THX. The software bundle includes a ton of creative applications as well as and PowerDVD with DD-EX and DTS-ES support. Creative includes UAA compliant drivers for Vista.

The X-Fi PCI Express card is available for pre-order for 150, while the Fatal1ty Champion Edition (board+dongle+add-ons) will retail/e-tail for $200.

It seems that we might see some competition between the Creative Labs Sound Blaster and the Asus Xonar cards after all.

Pre-CeBIT Brief: ASUS Goes HDMI Crazy! To Launch Triple HDMI Input Capture Card

Theo Valich — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:33:42 +0000

Fremont (CA) - After years of Creative's dominance and players who would occasionally manage to produce a product that was relatively competitive, Taiwan giant ASUS decided to step up to sound card table.

With the news that ASUS is preparing a number of sound card products, we decided to visit ASUS'es North American HQ in Fremont (CA) and learn more about a plan to turn the sound card market upside down.

After four hours of meetings with different departments, we walked out thoroughly impressed with the effort that ASUS is putting on all fronts. But without any doubt, biggest stars were upcoming sound cards that are bound to seriously shake up the market. ASUS told TG Daily that it will introduce cards that can output and input HDMI and another card with three, yes three, HDMI ports.

Gearing up for HTPC market

Next week, all eyes of the IT world will be focused on happenings in rather boring city of Hannover, and ASUS has quite a lot of aces to show. In the world of audio cards, ASUS will enter the battle for best sound card for home theater market.

Xonar DX is a working name for effectively halved Xonar D2X. Asus told us their engineers wanted to create a feature-rich HTPC sound card that would fit inside every PCIe X1 equipped HTPC machine. We are skeptical about ASUS choice to remove the aluminum EM shielding (practically a trademark of Xonar D2 and D2X), but that probably won't hurt usability.

Manufacturer is going to bundle both half-height and full-height brackets, and both are set to be gold-plated, just like the original D2X model. Regardless of its size, ASUS kept almost all of the features from the original product, including a 4-pin floppy connector for power. As you might know, PCIe x1 slot does not give same amount of power as good old PCI slot, so ASUS had to put a power connector on the PCB.

ASUS currently sides with Dolby Laboratories and DTS Corporation

The board features Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect certificates, so it will be interesting to see will Xonar boards go for THX as well...

Given the fact that THX is no longer a prologued wing of Lucas Empire, but rather a stand-alone player on market. EAX 5.0 is supported via driver-wrap, just like original Xonar D2 and D2X - neatly bypassing all the problems that came with Windows Vista audio driver model.

World of professional sound cards gets triple-HDMI interface

The real news is a product that is currently being in development - Xonar AV1. This sound card is going to be a base for future Xonar products, and it presents a whole new chapter in the world of sound cards. Capabilities of Xonar AV1 leap ahead over consumer, prosumer and even large number of professional solutions on the market, which is something that left us pleasantly surprised.

The Xonar AV1 main card, and HDAV-DB1 daughterboard, will have more than 10 different connectors, with the most interesting ones being the three HDMI connectors (two external, single internal one). HDMI-In is going to be a game changer for all high-class computers, since video enthusiasts will be able to capture their private videos using a clean digital form.

With the price of HDMI-enabled digital camcorders now being in higher triple-digits, forcing users to pay for that feature and not being able to use it is just... conclude for yourself. ASUS Xonar AV1 is going to solve that dilemma, and we can only hope that HDMI-In and HDMI-Out connectors come to future consumer boards (Xonar D3X with HDMI connectors would be nice).

In order to get the HDMI capability, ASUS put some serious silicon on the board itself: Splendid HD is no longer a software feature, but rather a real video processing chip that will mix the sound and audio in order to produce best possible A/V mix.

Only real criticism that we can think of is the fact that ASUS uses a proprietary connector to connect the HDAV-DB1 daughterboard with the main card. While it may not pose an issue today, going couple of years down the line, users may find themselves with a defunct cable and lack of any compatible replacement. Luckily, ASUS is still polishing this product, so there is time to change.

We were not able to get the details about final product price, but it all depends on variations with the daughterboard. If ASUS comes with two products on market (just the AV1 and AV1+HDAV-DB1), it could hit some interesting price points, and then market for prosumer and entry-level professionals will be wide open.

Conclusion

With ASUS expanding its sound card line-up from a two sound cards to five (excluding USB sound chips that we did not show in this preview article), and working hard on keeping the software down in size, we can only imagine at the sound alert going on in Creative Labs HQ in Singapore. We're still without hardware to verify claims coming from Fremont office, but as it stands right now, the sound card market is going to heat up.

Creative X-Fi: A New World of Sound

Jean-Pierre Roche — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:05:21 +0000

Introduction

We have been spending lots of time with the latest sound card from Creative, called the X-Fi. While it looks like an ordinary PCI sound card, the innards are completely new and improved and worth spending some time on. Here we give you plenty of the straight dope, based on our tests and living with various pre-production versions for over a year now. You might also want to review our two previous articles on the card that we published earlier this summer:

Creative's X-Fi: A New Age in Sound Card Power?

The Rise To Power

Creative's sound cards have undergone considerable development, starting with the days of the first Sound Blaster "PRO" card in 1991, which offered 8-bit sound. This was followed by the famous AWE 32 and Live!, and then the Audigy, which has been the standard for sound cards until now. But X-Fi represents an enormous leap forward in terms of power and capability for handling and processing digital audio. In the table below, the evolution can be clearly seen Compare Prices on X-Fi Sound Cards!

Sound card	Raw Data Path MIPs	Typical Processor MIPs	Internal Audio Channels	Overall Audio Sample Rate & Effects Processing MIPS vs Live!	No. of Simultaneous Real-time Effects	No. of Transistors
Sound Blaster Pro	?1	3+	-	0.0001x	-	100K
AWE 32 (EMU8000)	67	200+	-	0.2x	-	500K
Live! (10k1)	335	1,000+	16(to Effects Engine)	1x	1	2M
Audigy (10k2)	424	1,250+	64(to Effects Engine)	4x	4	4.6M
Creative X-Fi	10340	30,000+	4096(to all Processing Elements)	67x	8	51.1M

We should stress the fact that Creative, unlike most of its competitors, has always included a true audio processor on its cards, as opposed to simply using a codec and putting the processing load on the CPU. That approach accounts for their superiority in games, where Creative avoids having to devote part of the available processing power to sound, but it also creates a few problems in other areas. The processors used in the Live! and Audigy cards operated natively at 48 kHz, creating some problems at 44.1 kHz and simply refusing to process higher sampling frequencies at all. With X-Fi, those problems are behind us, and operation is now possible at all usable sampling frequencies.

A New Architecture: Audio Ring

X-Fi is not just a new circuit - that's no big deal, as new circuits appear regularly. Unlike traditional sound processing circuits, which have a fixed sequential architecture, X-Fi's Audio Ring architecture allows processing sequences to be reconfigured to suit the task at hand. X-Fi has a naturally modular architecture, with each module communicating via the Audio Ring - a kind of bus that accepts up to 4,096 audio channels.

The Audio Ring bus is not really comparable to that of a professional mixing board, either, because it handles significantly more functions - such as communication with the PC's memory using a wider bandwidth than the PCI interface can handle.

The next table shows the distribution of processing power among the main modules that make up the X-Fi circuit. We'll come back to certain ones in detail, such as the Sample Rate Converter (SRC), a new technology that, as you can see, takes up the lion's share of the processing power.

X-Fi Raw Data Path MIPs
SRC	7310
Filter	200
Mixer	1210
Tank	440
DSP	1180
Total	10340

In practice, users of an X-Fi card are offered three configurations, corresponding to the three main types of use: Gaming, Entertainment, and Creation. The table below sums up the basic capabilities of each configuration, which we'll discuss in detail when we look at drivers and software.

Another point to stress is that the X-Fi circuit is not tied to the PCI bus, so it can be used in equipment using the USB, FireWire, or PCI Express interfaces. Special versions will probably also be employed in consumer electronics equipment.

The X-Fi Line

Four X-Fi cards are being launched simultaneously, to suit the needs and desires of different users. The X-Fi XtremeMusic could be considered the basic card, aimed mainly at music listening, general entertainment (DVD and games), and the other basic uses of a sound card. It's a PCI card with no particular extensions. The directly accessible connections (1/8th inch jacks only) are limited to a "FlexiJack" input - usable as a microphone, line, or digital S/PDIF input - and speaker outputs. The latter, naturally, are 7.1, spread over three jacks as on previous Creative 7.1 cards. Note that the stereo output (the first output jack) is usable as a headphone jack, unless you use a non-standard model. There's also an extension connector for an external rack if you want to upgrade. Internally, there's an auxiliary input using a Molex connector, and another extension connector for an optional internal rack. There's also a proprietary extension connector, the purpose of which has yet to be defined.

The X-Fi Line, Continued

The next model up is the X-Fi Platinum, which has all the characteristics of the basic model - in fact, the PCI card looks identical - but adds an internal rack that fits into a 5¼" bay. The rack has a line/mic input with adjustable level using a 1/4" (6.35 mm) jack, a line input, digital optical and coaxial inputs and outputs, and a headphone jack with volume adjustment. MIDI connections using mini-DIN connectors are also provided, and adapters for standard MIDI connectors are supplied as well. An infrared remote controls all sound functions. All of these features make this model a good choice for amateurs who want a good range of connections and easy access to them.

The more specialized Fatal1ty FPS is very similar to the Platinum, including a PCI card and internal rack, but is aimed at hard-core gamers. It adds 64 MB of internal memory (X-RAM) to improve performance in games supporting this technology.

Finally, the top of the line, the X-Fi Elite Pro, comprises a PCI card and an external rack. The rack is fairly large and can be installed either flat or vertically using the provided support, and obviously also has a remote control. This is the model we mainly based our test on, and the one we'll go into detail about, because it has higher-quality converters and thus provides the best audio performance.

A remote control comes with all models except the basic XtremeMusic. It controls certain functions like the Crystalizer, EAX, CMSS-3D, and 3DMIDI, and also playing your files, and allows essential adjustments such as volume. On the rack of the Elite Pro, you can adjust the same functions with rotary controls, which can be practical; there are indicator lights showing their operation to avoid any ambiguity.

Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro
Interface	PCI
Circuit principal	CA20K1 (X-Fi)
Max. sampling rate	192 kHz
Quantification	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits/96 kHz
Inputs
Card	Mike/line/digital SP/DIF with adaptator, Molex line (internal)
Rack	Hi-Z line, mike/line, phono/line, S/PDIF optical and coaxial
Outputs
Card	8 cinch (7.1), 1 S/PDIF optical and coaxial (jack 3.5 mm)
Rack	1 S/PDIF optical and coaxial, 1 adjustable headphone
DVD and cinema
Standards	Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, S/PDIF output
Configuration	Up to 7.1
DVD Audio	Yes
3D game sound
Standards	DS3D, A3D, Open AL, EAX 5.0
Configuration	2 to 7.1
MIDI
Software synthesizer	Creative SoundFounts 24 bits
I/O	Prises Standard (DIN)

Inputs And Outputs

The PCI card has a single 1/8th inch (3.5 mm) input jack called a "FlexiJack", which can be configured via the driver to serve as a line input, mic input, or digital connection for input and output. There's a plethora of connections on the Elite Pro rack. The front features two 1/4" (6.35 mm) input jacks with adjustable level. The first, depending on the position of the adjustment potentiometer, is either a line input or a high impedance (Hi-Z) input, the most common use of which is plugging in a musical instrument such as an electric guitar. The second is more standard, and serves either as a line or microphone input.

On the back is another input using cinch connectors; a small switch lets you configure it as either a line input or phono input with RIAA correction. This is an excellent idea, and will let you take advantage of your vinyl disks, either to digitize them or simply to listen to them. Note that a ground connection is provided for hooking up a turntable, a detail that's sometimes forgotten... Added to all this are optical and coaxial digital S/PDIF inputs and a pair of cinch connectors for MIDI input and output. Finally, there's a special connector for Creative speakers.

If you look at all the possible connections, you'll see that while Creative has stayed with consumer-type hookups - there's no symmetrical input - it offers a complete range, with microphone, line, and phono, plus the added possibility of connecting a musical instrument with a simple standard cable. So it's a design that can meet the needs of all amateurs.

Inside

There's nothing particularly spectacular-looking about the X-Fi PCI card itself; you could almost confuse it with an ordinary sound card. The X-Fi (CA20K1) circuit is a lot more compact than the one on the Audigy, for example. There are two models of PCI cards in the X-Fi line. The Elite Pro's has Cirrus Logic CS4398 D/A converters (192 kHz, 120 dB) and an AKM AK5394 A/D converter (192 kHz, 123 dB). The PCI card used on the other models has Cirrus Logic CS4382 D/A converters (192 kHz, 114 dB) and a Wolfson WM8775 circuit that includes a mixer for four analog sources and an A/D converter (96 kHz, 102 dB).

The Elite Pro's rack uses TI Burr-Brown PCM1804 A/D converters (192 kHz, 111 dB). For the headphone jack there's a Cirrus Logic CS4392 D/A converter (192 kHz, 114 dB). The conclusion you can draw from all of this is that the best input is the one on the PCI card of the Elite Pro. However, the inputs on its rack provide ample performance for its intended uses.

SRC: Sound In Time

Among the various modules comprising the X-Fi, the Sample Rate Converter (SRC) probably seems the most mysterious and least interesting to most potential users. Yet it's the one that gets the biggest share of the processing power! To understand its importance, you have to consider the nature of digital sound itself.

The sampling frequency indicates the number of times per second the value of the signal is read: 44,100 times per second for stereo CD Audio, for example. Today, numerous other values are possible, depending on the source used (e.g. DVD or DVD-Audio). In addition, even sources that use the same theoretical value can differ slightly, since clocks aren't absolutely precise. When you want to mix these sources, for example, these differences can cause errors that result in very audible defects in the sound. Professional equipment - like the kind used in recording studios - uses synchronization systems that consumer equipment doesn't have. Interconnections between the various pieces of equipment also become more complex. Conversion of sampling frequencies can solve all these problems, but until now it's been considered a workaround; a necessary evil. In certain cases, it results - at least in principle - in a reduction in audio quality, especially if there isn't a lot of processing power available for the operation.

For its SRC, though, Creative has used a new architecture that results in a totally transparent audio signal. Converting a 997 Hz test signal from 44.1 to 48 kHz produced a distortion of -136 dB and a ±0.00025 dB pass-band ripple. That's less distortion and noise than is introduced by other audio components, which guarantees the absence of artifacts due to the conversion.

Processing by the SRC to convert a digital signal from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz

THD+N (distortion + noise) resulting from conversion from 44.1 to 48 kHz. There's no chance you'll be able to hear it!

SRC: Sound In Time, Continued

The SRC is not only a technical achievement, it's also a tool that allows the X-Fi card to deliver its promised performance in quite a few areas. The first is obviously synchronization of digital signals, but it can also create effects, such as sound ambiences or movement effects, with much greater precision than anything that's existed until now at the consumer level.

The Doppler effect of a moving object can be created more easily and precisely with the SRC!

The principle of traditional digital synchronization

Digital synchronization as performed by X-Fi, handled entirely by the SRC. Much simpler for the user!

Finally, SRC is a source of savings in areas like synthesizing, and more generally, the storage of samples (wavetables) intended for reproducing music. It allows the transparent conversion of a small number of samples to produce a wide range of notes, by adjusting various parameters such as pitch and vibrato at will.

Three Cards In One

As we've said, X-Fi cards have three operating modes: Entertainment (for activities like listening to music or watching a DVD), Games, and Audio Creation (sound and music). You choose one of the three via a Mode Switcher and the card is reconfigured to provide the best performance for the activity chosen. Naturally, the possibilities - and also the control panel - are different depending on the configuration you choose. The table below provides a summary.

The Mode Switcher lets you choose the operating mode that corresponds to what you're doing at a given moment. The X-Fi card is reconfigured in a few seconds to provide the best possible performance.

	Entertainment	Audio Creation	Games
3DMIDI Playback	Yes	Yes	Yes
3DMIDI Interaction	No	Yes	No
EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0	Limited	Limited	Yes
EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0	Limited	Limited	Yes
EAX ADVANCED HD 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Number of Auxiliary Effects	2	4	4
Maximum Number of Reverbs	1	2	4
Insert Effects	No	4	No
ASIO Out Channels: Dry	1 pair	5 pairs	1 pair
ASIO Out Channels: FX	No	4 pairs	No
ASIO In Channels: WUH	8	8	8
ASIO In Channels: Basic	2 (1 pair)	2 (1 pair)	2 (1 pair)
ASIO 2.0 Support	Limited	Yes	Limited
ASIO 2.0 Direct Monitoring	0	12 (6 pairs)	0
Bit-Matched Playback	No	Yes	No
Bit-Matched Recording	No	Yes	No
CMSS-3DSurround	Yes	No	Yes
CMSS-3DHeadphone	Yes	No	Yes
CMSS-3DVirtual (2 Speakers)	Yes	No	Yes
CMSS-3DVirtual (4 Speakers)	No	No	Yes
CMSS-3DInteractive	Yes	Yes	Yes
24 bit Crystalizer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Graphic EQ	10 bands	10 bands	10 bands
Smart Volume Management	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bass Management	Advanced	No	Advanced

Entertainment

In Entertainment mode, you see a screen that resembles a compact stereo with a series of icons that let you adjust numerous functions. Some of these are well known and not greatly different (at least in appearance) from those on previous Creative cards, such as the ten-band equalizer, mixing board, and loudspeaker configuration selection. Others are totally new, like the Crystalizer, or entirely reworked and therefore completely different from earlier ones that had the same names, like CMSS. We'll get back to these two functions in detail in a moment.

In Entertainment mode, the control panel looks like a stereo

The mixing board is quite classic

The well-known equalizer from earlier Creative cards is still here, with possibilities that are similar to previous versions

No surprises as far as speaker selection is concerned. Listening tests let you check whether they're correctly placed.

Game

Game mode displays a very compact screen with many of the previous adjustments, but specific functions for games are also present. On the mixing board you can enable EAX effects, and adjust environment effects for the microphone if you're using a mic/headphone. In addition, you get the most powerful version of EAX: 5.0!

For gaming, you can activate the EAX effects and alter your voice by processing the signal from the microphone

Creation

Creation mode will usher you into another world, if you're not familiar with professional audio equipment or equipment meant for musicians. What you'll see in front of you is a mixing board with extensive possibilities. We won't go into detail about them, because they're extremely wide-ranging and, as of this writing, no structured information seems to be available. The help that accompanies the software is fairly limited, but the existence of buses and user-assignable inputs and outputs clearly opens up some highly interesting possibilities for numerous users. For example, you can assign an input to any output, or send the mix to one or several outputs. DJs and event organizers should find a lot here to have fun with...

For musicians, aside from a broad palette of effects, the big novelty is 3D MIDI, which offers the possibility of positioning a MIDI sound in space very simply - it's a new creative option accessible to amateurs! Naturally, Creation mode opens the door to ASIO 2.0 mode and lets you freely choose your sampling frequency from among the standard values. If you opt for 96 kHz, you won't see the effects modules disappear as with earlier Creative cards - with X-Fi, they remain functional regardless of the frequency chosen. Be careful, though, because the files get very big!

In Creation mode, it's possible to send stereo sound to the eight channels of a 7.1 system. An interesting possibility for certain users...

You can insert a parametric EQ correction onto an input to correct a fault in the source, or obtain a specific effect

Creation, Continued

The reverberation module might inspire you, or it might scare you! It also has simplified adjustments...

MIDI sounds can be positioned in space thanks to 3D MIDI. Musicians will be able to achieve some surprising effects...

You can choose from all standard sampling frequencies!

This block diagram of the mixing board is unfortunately only partial in coverage, but it gives you an idea of the possibilities for control and inserting effects.

Creation mode offers so many possibilities that it would be impossible to mention them all in detail. For example, there are the 24-bit SoundFonts, and naturally the possibility of working with ASIO 2.0 drivers for very low latency (2 ms). Even though X-Fi is not aimed specifically at musicians, they'll find it provides some very attractive resources...

Crystalizer: Truer Sound

Among the modules offered by X-Fi is the Crystalizer, available in all three operating modes. We described the principle behind it in a previous article about X-Fi .

The Crystalizer has a single adjustment graduated in percentage. With the Elite Pro, you can adjust the level of the effect either with the remote control or directly on the rack. We might have hoped for more complete controls, but the goal is undoubtedly to give amateurs a tool that's easy to use.

In actual listening, the Crystalizer's processing truly does result in more realistic sound, closer to what you hear in an actual performance. In general, dynamics are greatly improved, and you get the impression that the frequency response has been extended - it hasn't really, but the impression comes from the relief added to the bass and the processing on the upper part of the spectrum. Naturally, the effect is very dependent on the type of sound being processed. It can become imperceptible with sound whose level doesn't vary much. But a recording with a lot of percussive sounds and transients will be altered much more audibly. With many types of music, it'll be hard to go back to the way it sounded before once you've heard what it sounds like with the Crystalizer. Without it, you get the impression that you're listening to your music from behind a thick curtain.

Naturally, to get the full benefit of the Crystalizer, your playback system (amplifier and speakers) needs to be up to the task. The speakers have to handle the increased dynamic range without tiring or creating distortion. Also, the adjustment of the Crystalizer's level has to suit the music - you won't use the same adjustment for techno as for opera! And the adjustment depends not only on the type of music but also on the characteristics of the original recording.

CMSS 3D: From Stereo To Surround

With surround sound becoming common for consumer listening, plain stereo - though still the most widespread sound format for music - is beginning to look a bit obsolete. If you're in the habit of listening to 5.1 (or better) surround, you probably often find stereo somewhat "thin." And it's also a little frustrating to use only two channels when you have a multichannel system.

CMSS, which Creative has already offered for some time now, was designed (like other similar technologies) to solve this problem by "upmixing" two channels to 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Until now, the results have been only partially successful. But thanks to the processing power of X-Fi, the operation - called CMSS-3D - now produces much better results. We described its operating principle in our earlier article :

In practice, the X-Fi version of CMSS 3D has several modes, depending on your equipment and the type of source being processed. The first upmixes stereo to 5.1 or 7.1, but it can also create a virtual surround experience if you have only two speakers. Finally, it considerably improves headphone listening, as we'll see later.

CMSS-3D is very effective when upmixing a stereo source to multichannel, because it both recreates the ambient sound of a recording, and preserves the center of the sound image thanks to the center channel. In a typical recording, the singer will be perfectly centered in the soundstage and won't "wander" due to imprecision in the recording or the reproduction. On the other hand, obviously CMSS-3D's upmix of a stereo source is not comparable to a true multichannel recording. Effects created by the sound engineer won't appear by magic. This is clear if you listen to recordings that exist in both versions - like the Jean-Michel Jarre album Aero , or Feels Like Home by Norah Jones. Still, the reproduction of ambience in a recording can be spectacular; it all depends on what was originally recorded. And in that respect, old recordings you may have thought you knew well can reveal some hidden treasures. Since they tend not to have been made in today's totally aseptic recording studios, they contain ambience information that's particularly interesting to hear when it's rendered realistically. This can apply to all live recordings such as opera.

For DivX

Upmixing a movie or video is even more spectacular. Do it with a DivX stereo movie that you're familiar with in Dolby Digital and you'll be blown away. Of course here again, the CMSS-3D can't figure out the spatial origin of a sound, but it comes close!

For our tests, we made a DivX stereo copy of a DVD of Toy Story 2 . The introduction to this movie is an especially good example of sound positioning in space. CMSS-3D managed to correctly locate most of the action with sounds at the left and right rear. Moving to Dolby Digital, the origin of the sound is more precise, in particular with an action that starts in the rear, and the motion effect from right rear to left front could be heard perfectly. But the Creative upmix was still very good, much better than Dolby Pro Logic II, which sometimes denatures the soundtrack and never manages to make a really precise move to a rear speaker. If you often watch DivX movies, and especially if you use your PC as a living-room video player, you won't get better spatialization from a stereo soundtrack than X-Fi's.

Naturally, Creative's MediaSource software is included. We used it to enjoy an opera recording with CMSS-3D.

Of course, there's no problem with an original multichannel recording, like a movie in Dolby Digital or DTS - at least so long as you stay with multichannel listening. CMSS-3D promises "surround" reproduction with only two speakers, but naturally we found it a lot less impressive. It did create a soundstage that was clearly beyond stereo, but obviously it wasn't comparable to what a 5.1 or 7.1 system can do. So the processing capability will be welcome if you have only two speakers, but moving to a multichannel kit is still by far the best solution for getting the most out of your movies.

Headphones: Space Inside Your Head

The other CMSS-3D mode is dedicated specifically to headphone listening. Though often indispensable, traditional headphone listening has many disadvantages, in particular, the impossibility of creating a credible soundstage. The sound seems to come from the center of your head, or sometimes from the top, but in general it remains confined to within your skull. With CMSS-3D Headphone, you'll discover 3D sound with headphones - not only differentiation in the positioning of various sound sources, but above all what Creative calls "externalization," the creation of a true soundstage.

Let's discuss the principles behind the positioning of sound sources using headphones. Three factors come into play: ITD (Interaural Time Difference), ILD (Interaural Level Difference), and HRTF filters that reconstitute the sound as it reaches you, with reflections and diffractions caused by your body, head, and outer ear.

With a stereo source, CMSS-3D continues its extraction of ambience information from the recording to give the listener the sensation being in the middle of the action. But naturally, the effects are most spectacular with multichannel sources (movies in Dolby Digital or DTS) and with games. Headphones are no longer the punishment they once were, and become a real pleasure in their own right. Some progress still needs to be made on the front/rear positioning, based on our experience. Sound sources that are directly in front of you or behind still lack a little realism. We won't be categorical about that, however, as individual experiences of sound do vary widely. Also (in our personal experience) sources were placed a little too high, and an elevation adjustment would be good.

Test System And Audio Measurements

Our test configuration remains the same, and is plenty powerful enough for an X-Fi card. Note, however, that you have to make sure your PC's power supply is sufficient: if it's a little weak or of poor quality, it can cause problems operating cards equipped with racks, which draw extra power. We ran into this problem during a test on a consumer-level machine that already had various equipment added; the power supply wouldn't allow a normal boot-up.

Hardware
Processor	Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB of DDR
Graphics card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti4200
Hard disk	80 GB, 7200 RPM
Optical drive	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Pro SP2
Direct X version	9.0c
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2200
Video playback	Power DVD, Win DVD
Measurements	Right Mark Audio Analyzer 5.4, Right Mark 3DSound 1.24, DAAS audio measurement system, Neutrik 3337 audio measurement system

All of our measurements were made on the X-Fi Elite Pro model. As mentioned previously, the differences in performance between this model and the others have to do with the quality of the Analog/Digital and Digital/Analog converters. The table below shows the typical performance levels of the different models of X-Fi cards. You'll note that the major difference was with record/playback, where we jumped from a signal-to-noise ratio of 112 dB for the Elite Pro to 98 dB for the other cards. With playback, the difference was less significant, since only one converter (D/A) is involved. As we said earlier, the input on the PCI card is the one that offered the best performance, so that's the one we used.

Model		X-Fi Elite Pro	Others
Digital Playback	Frequency Response	Lo -1dB <10 HzHi -1dB 46kHz	Lo -1dB <10 HzHi -1dB 45kHz
	Crosstalk	L-R: -112 dBR-L: -112dB	L-R: -105 dBR-L: -105dB
	Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)	116 dB	109 dB
	Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N)	0.00%	0.00%
Line-IN / Line-OUTRecord & Playback	Frequency Response	Lo -1dB < 10 HzHi -1dB 45 kHz	Lo -1dB ~17 HzHi -1dB 42 KHz
	Crosstalk	L-R: -106 dBR-L: -106 dB	L-R: -86 dBR-L: -86 dB
	Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)	112 dB	98 dB
	Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N)	0.00%	0.00%

Behavior At 16 Bits / 44.1 KHz

We made measurements at these settings because they correspond to the CD Audio digital format, which is the one most of your music will be in. Obviously, 16-bit quantification limits the performance of a modern sound card, especially high-performance cards like the X-Fi. The parameters that suffer most are obviously signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range. On the other hand, with an X-Fi, the parasitic waves that hurt the response of earlier Creative models are gone.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz) : +0.01, -0.07 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 94.6 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0008%
Stereo separation : 94.9 dB

Frequency response : Response was perfectly linear over the entire audio spectrum!

Noise level : Noise level was very low and perfectly regular

Dynamic range : A perfect score given the quantification settings!

Distortion : Distortion was extremely low (H3 around -110 dB!); you can't ask for much better...

Intermodulation : Intermodulation distortion won't cause you any problems!

Stereo separation : Stereo crosstalk increases slightly in the upper part of the spectrum but is still low enough not to be perceptible

Behavior At 24 Bits / 48 KHz

With 24-bit quantification and a sampling rate of 48 kHz, the card begins to show what it can really do. These settings are an especially good compromise between performance and reasonable file size. As a matter of fact, they're frequently used in professional applications. Dynamics and signal-to-noise ratio naturally jump much higher.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.01, -0.19 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 112.6 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0005%
Stereo separation : 101.2 dB

Frequency response : The frequency response widens very slightly at the top and is obviously still perfectly linear...

Noise level : 24-bit quantification shows the card's limits, with an extremely low noise level

Dynamic range : Dynamic capacity reached the maximum value possible given the other parameters!

Distortion : Distortion as such is on the same order as what we observed at 44 kHz. The lower noise level is what explains the difference in the figures (THD+N).

Intermodulation distortion : Values are still infinitesimal and there's no danger of distortion being audible

Stereo separation : There was a (relative) increase in stereo crosstalk in the upper part of the spectrum, but it's off the graph, below 1 kHz...

Behavior At 24 Bits / 96 KHz

These settings correspond to the best possible performance, but in reality the only gain is in upward extension of the frequency response to 40 kHz, with negligible attenuation (0.13 dB!) The rest is identical, with similar or very slightly lower figures, a classic consequence of extension of frequency range.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.01, -0.19 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 112.4 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0005%
Stereo separation : 100.3 dB

Frequency response : Perfectly linear response beyond 40 kHz without significant attenuation!

Noise level : Noise is identical to what we measured at 48 kHz, but the response is broadened upward and therefore shows a few more parasitic waves at that end.

Dynamic range : The result is still just as excellent!

Distortion : Distortion is absolutely identical to what was measured at 48 kHz - extremely low.

Intermodulation : Values remain infinitesimal...

Stereo separation : Stereo crosstalk is slightly higher than at 48 kHz, undoubtedly due to the broadened bandwidth.

The figures speak volumes, so to speak: with X-Fi you'll have no worries about performance, since the unit is capable of higher quality than any available audio source. Our tests showed the same results as those published by Creative, with very slight variations attributable to normal production differences between the two units tested, and the adjustment choices we made. As we've said before, audio performance depends on many criteria, and the balance may tip toward one consideration or another.

Games And 3D

Games have always been a specialty for Creative, and their cards have always led the field in that area. They have the most advanced versions of EAX, and their processor ensures that they take only a small amount of power from the PC's CPU, saving a maximum amount for the game itself. X-Fi marks a new stage in gaming sound, thanks to its processing power and extended virtual-reality functions. To promote its capabilities, Creative has associated with "cyberathlete" Jonathan Wendel - known in the gaming world as "Fatal1ty" - who has lent his name to the X-Fi card that's specifically dedicated to gaming.

Fatal1ty and Franco of Bonis (Creative) at the X-Fi rollout

A LAN party organized for the introduction of X-Fi, with Fatal1ty as the man to beat...

Fatal1ty - the concentration of a champion...

With the X-Fi line, Creative introduces EAX 5.0, which can render 128 sources simultaneously in a 3D space with multichannel routing. It also has MacroFX for controlling proximity and occlusion effects. All of this is currently in its early stages, since the X-Fi's processing capacity has not yet been fully put to use, but major developments should be appearing soon. EAX Voice, meanwhile, performs real-time processing of the voices of players as they talk into a mic - something called Microphone Environment FX - to render them in conformity with the virtual space they're in. It's a new way to achieve even more total immersion in the virtual world, which will truly show its potential in multi-player environments.

Games And 3D, Continued

For its cards specifically aimed at "hard gamers" - the Fatal1ty FPS and Elite Pro - Creative has chosen to use a type of memory called X-RAM. This dedicated memory avoids drawing on the computer's main memory and also avoids compressing sounds to store them in memory. The technology makes it possible either to add effects without suffering a performance hit, or to increase performance by using compressed sounds, with decompression taking place upstream of the game action. Creative has run tests with a modified version of Unreal Tournament 2004 . The graph below (source: Creative) gives you an idea of the effectiveness of X-RAM, which increases with the number of voices used.

Naturally, this demonstration remains fairly theoretical for the moment; we'll have to wait to see what game developers will do with this new technology. We'll report back to you when the first optimized games become available.

Tests we made with our usual games showed results that are comparable to those we got with the most recent Audigy cards (Audigy 2 ZS and Audigy 4). Naturally the sound quality was better, particularly for headphone listening, but the gain in CPU resources wasn't very significant. To make sure, we compared an Audigy 2 ZS to an X-Fi in Battlefield 2 , which is already optimized, and Doom 3 , for which Creative supplied us with a patch.

We ran the tests on a high-end PC (AMD Athlon FX51 processor, 1 GB of DDR at 400 MHz, ATI X800 XTPE 3D card). At best, we noted an improvement of 1 to 2 frames per second in Battlefield 2 (1280x960, maximum detail, high-quality sound, EAX effects enabled), and only in certain phases of the game at certain times. In Doom 3 (1024x768, maximum detail) the improvement was just as slight. We might mention in passing that the quality of the effects didn't seem very different between the normal and optimized versions. On the other hand, with no loss of performance, you get the benefit of the Crystalizer, CMSS 3D, and surround sound with a headset - which is not bad for a start. Sound has to be programmed in Open AL to get the full benefit of the X-Fi, and optimization of programming and of the drivers for the card is only in its early stages. Again, we'll be keeping up with the latest developments for you...

The processor-use test with Direct 3D produced remarkable results, with less than 3.5% utilization of the CPU.

In actual use with current games, and compared to an Audigy 2, don't expect to gain a lot of frames per second or a more spectacular 5.1 sound environment. If your speakers are good, the sound will be noticeably better, but it won't blow you off your stool. On the other hand, if you use headphones, the difference is like night and day. In fact, you may even want to consider always using headphones from now on. The sensation of immersion in the game is even better than with a well-placed 5.1 speaker kit. You get the benefit of the immersive qualities of headphones, without losing the notion of spatiality you get with speakers. Until optimized games become available, this is the real advantage of X-Fi as far as gaming is concerned.

In Practice

X-Fi brings so many innovations to the table that it's difficult to experience them completely in just a few days. Many points deserve to be developed further, and we will do that as time goes on, since the new card should turn up in quite a few products in the future. The big question is whether it's worth getting rid of your current sound card to buy an X-Fi (which should be available by September).

For anyone who's passionate about sound reproduction, the answer is "yes." The results are clearly superior, in most areas, to what must from now on be called the "old generation" of sound cards. However, it remains to be seen where the line should be drawn between the truly passionate and those who are interested in sound reproduction but for whom it's not an essential issue.

To a certain degree, the benefit a user will get out of X-Fi depends on his or her auditory education. Those who have never devoted a lot of time to sound might not be all that sensitive to the progress that this new technology represents. That's the ambiguity of a system whose purely technical characteristics are pushed to the fore, and not the final result. Since 24-bit quantification and high sampling frequencies aren't new in and of themselves, if you look only at the figures you might wonder what all the fuss over X-Fi is about. And it would be a shame for you to miss out on what it can offer. So here's a summary of what you can expect from it as of right now:

Music

A clear improvement in the sound of MP3 files (even in 192 kbps)
Overall music reproduction that's more ample, more flattering, and more immersive if you have quality speakers
A much more enjoyable headphone listening experience
Good spatialization on multi-channel equipment

Video

Impressive surround effects with stereo sources (DivX)
Better rendering of multi-channel sources (Dolby Digital, DTS) if you have a quality 5.1 speaker kit
Exceptional headphone listening

Games

Better sound rendering if you have a quality 5.1 speaker kit
Exceptional headphone listening

In Conclusion

With X-Fi, Creative has ushered in the audio of the 21st century, and the actual listening experience - like the measurable performance - is very convincing. If sound quality is at all important to you and you want to take advantage of the most recent advances in sound reproduction, it's clearly the best choice, regardless of what your main activity is. And best of all, the price is not exorbitant: the basic card, priced at around $130, is sufficient to let you get the benefit of all the advantages we've listed without leaving a big hole in your wallet Compare Prices on X-Fi Sound Cards.

Prices (not final)	Europe (€)	USA ($)
XtremeMusic	130	130
X-Fi Platinum	200	200
X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS	280	280
X-Fi Elite Pro	400	400

Creative's X-Fi: A New Age in Sound Card Power?

Jean-Pierre Roche — Mon, 16 May 2005 19:04:14 +0000

Introduction

For many, PC sound card technologies have topped out. Devices previously in the high-end - and expensive - category can now be had for less than $20 while a sound enthusiast card today offers nothing less than 24 bit, 96 kHz technology at reasonable price. The commoditization of sound cards might make you think that there is anything much new and exiting around the corner as vendors only largely differentiate themselves by lowering prices. Think again: leading multimedia sound card vendor Creative has designed a sound card that sets a new level of sound card performance.

Already, Creative has gone where most have not yet dared to go by packing its cards with DSP (digital signal processing) horsepower, which, however, has remained limited in power and has a maximum sampling frequency of 48 kHz. But now, Creative offers something completely different.

More Powerful Than A PC

Called X-Fi, the new audio processor is completely different from everything known, not only in terms of processing power, but above all in terms of architecture. X-Fi uses what is called an Active Modal Architecture (AMA), allowing the user to choose among three application modes: games, leisure and creation. Its calculating power (X-Fi has a power of 10,340 MIPS, which is more powerful than a 3.6 GHz P4 processor, which has 10,224 MIPS) is then optimized for the chosen type of use.

More Powerful Than A PC, Continued

The new platform is also designed to adapt to all possible-use scenarios. It's also supposedly designed to accommodate future developments of motherboards and operating systems. Moreover, the X-Fi is not - unlike previous Creative products - linked only to the PC platform. Applications for consumer electronics are possible. In practical terms, the X-Fi circuit comprises 51.1 million transistors, is based on a 130 nm process and operates at 400 MHz.

The audio processing architecture in a conventional system is fixed.

With the X-Fi circuit, we've moved to a ring architecture, resulting in very flexible reconfiguration to suit each specific use.

The new 3D processing provided by X-Fi will deliver 3D sound with headphones as well as with a conventional stereo system, and obviously will adapt to a 5.1 or better system.

The mixing board, in "Creation" mode, bears no resemblance to the Windows one.

It has thus become a tool with impressive possibilities.

Virtual Audio Reality

The new features of X-Fi are too numerous to be detailed in this preliminary article (it still has yet to show up in a sound card), but we can cite a few of its more exciting capabilities. For gamers, the processing power (24 times that of the Audigy processor) will clearly transform the situation by offering speed, but also the capacity to manage a multitude of audio sources simultaneously in 3D with optimization for the speaker system. Creative's new EAX 5.0 should transform the sonic world for gamers - making it possible, for example, in multi-player situations, for a player to speak into the microphone and have his or her voice reproduced in conformity with the virtual acoustical environment where the player is.

Broadening And Deepening Sound

For leisure uses involving audio, X-Fi, thanks to its processing power and algorithms, will make it possible to turn any traditional audio source into high-definition multi-channel. This function, called "24 bit Crystalizer," will be available in future products to offer quality comparable to that of DVD-Audio from traditional CD Audio sources, and even from compressed music. X-Fi should also be able to create multi-channel sound in stereo headphones. Gamers who are particular about their sound environment but also want to maintain good relations with their neighbors will be happy.

Creating In 3D

Finally, for musical creation, beyond support for existing standards, X-Fi will see the emergence of a new standard - 3D MIDI - making it possible to create 3D multi-channel sound in MIDI as well as audio. Naturally the processing power will also come into play in this area, as will the high-quality sampling capabilities. SoundFonts, highly regarded by many musicians, will benefit from 24 bit quality. And all without drawing on the processing power of the CPU.

Needless to say, after our visit to Creative's Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in California, we're impatient to find out more.

Creative Audigy 4 Pro: The Ultimate Consumer Sound Card?

Jean-Pierre Roche — Tue, 03 May 2005 19:04:05 +0000

Introduction

At first glance, the Audigy 4 Pro is identical to the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro . It takes the form of a PCI board connected to an external hub, with the line outputs (three 3.5 mm jacks) on the PCI board and all the other connections on the hub. For more details, take a look at our article on the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro - the design and the external hub are essentially identical. The table below sums up the device's capabilities and requirements.

Creative Labs Audigy 4 Pro
Interface	PCI
Main circuit	Audigy 4
Max. sampling rate	192 kHz
Quantification	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits / 96 kHz
MIDI/game port	Yes
Inputs
On-Board	1 line, 1 S/PDIF
Hub	2 line, 1 adjustable mike/line, S/PDIF coaxial/optical
Outputs
On-Board	Three 3.5 mm jacks (7.1)
Hub	1 adjustable headphone, 1 digital optical/ coaxial S/PDIF
DVD and Cinema
Standards	Dolby Digital EX, DTS ES, S/PDIF output
Configuration	Up to 7.1
DVD Audio	Yes, up to 192 kHz
3D Game Sound
Standards	DS3D, A3D, EAX 4.0Advanced HD
Configuration	2 to 7.1
MIDI
Hardware synthesizer	32 channels, 64 tracks, standard DIN input and output
Software synthesizer	Creative 16 channel

Inside

Except for a few cosmetic details, the external hub is identical to the one used for the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro; most of the changes here involve the PCI board. The main circuit is now stamped Audigy 4, but the changes there seem minor compared to the preceding version. On the other hand, the digital/analog converters have been changed, and that's the main difference between the Audigy 2 and the Audigy 4. Creative has replaced the Cirrus Logic 4382 (8 channels, 114 dB dynamic range) with four CS4398s (2 channels, 120 dB dynamic range). Their design is more professional, and performance has been improved. Naturally, all the capabilities of the Audigy 2 are here too, including the ones supplied by the DSP.

Drivers And Software

There are no surprises here compared to other current Creative sound cards. The Audigy 4 also ships with the MediaSource suite, which can do just about anything with sound and sound files, even though the unit is intended more for leisure (essentially playback) than creative activities (recording). All the usual software modules Creative provides are included for playing, converting, and burning your musical selections. The only new item is the DVD-Audio player, whose interface has been modernized, while few changes have been made to its functions. The Creative System Information module is worth a look, however; it puts a lot of worthwhile data together in one place.

Creative's System Information module tells you everything about the software installed on your system.

The DVD-Audio player has a much nicer interface!

You can use playlists with DVD-Audio!

Managing playlists from the contents of the DVD is very simple.

MediaSource also lets you access the card's different settings. The main adjustment module is Audio Console, which has just about everything. It would have been better if Creative had avoided multiple occurrences of the same adjustment; perhaps this a preliminary stage to putting everything in one place?

Drivers And Software, Continued

There are several settings modules, but with a tendency to put all the basic adjustments in the Audio Console. For now, it's a good idea to avoid playing with an adjustment in the Audio Console if it exists elsewhere - such as the choice of the number of speakers or management of EAX effects.

The Audio Console has a plethora of tabs. You won't necessarily need to use all of them...

Among the interesting tabs are, first of all, the decoder settings. Following Creative's usual approach, the card's drivers decode the surround sound information. You'll need to set your software DVD player to "S/PDIF" to keep it from doing the job itself (if it has the capability). Decoding via the Audigy 4 will let you access more sophisticated decoding settings, like Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES. As on other recent cards, there's no more Dolby Pro Logic II, probably because Creative feels it's been replaced by its own CMSS upmix system. Dolby Pro Logic has been retained for decoding soundtracks that use MP Matrix encoding. Oddly, Creative includes the DTS Neo:6 system with the MediaSource player. It also lets you upmix to "surround" sound from a stereo source, and is separate from CMSS. So you'll have to choose between the two systems.

This tab is essential! The surround decoder settings determine how your Audigy 4 behaves with DVD Video.

The Dolby decoder settings let you manage specific modes like Dolby Digital EX, and also adjust dynamic-range compression to suit your listening conditions.

For DTS, the choice is limited to managing DTS-ES mode.

Drivers And Software, Continued

The S/PDIF I/O settings let you decode an external Dolby Digital source!

Another tab you shouldn't neglect: headphone management. You can choose to mute the speakers when you plug in headphones.

MediaSource now lets you upmix to surround using the DTS Neo:6 process.

Neo:6 has music and cinema modes, but in this case only the music mode will really be usable. Few music tracks are encoded.

Aside from its own software, Creative gives you two games - Thief: Deadly Shadows and Hitman: Contracts. It also includes a set of software oriented towards amateur musicians, including Cubase LE (a MIDI and audio sequencer), Wavelab Lite 2.5 (an audio editor), and Fruity Loops Studio 4 CE (a sequencer). If you have musical inclinations you'll find a lot to have fun with, even though the Audigy 4 is not a professional sound card (it's not that its performance isn't good enough, but its design approach is different). It is possible, thanks to the availability of ASIO 2.0 drivers, to work with low latencies and professional settings (24 bit digitization). So the card could be an interesting compromise for amateurs who want to do music, multimedia, and games. But don't forget that it is, in fact, a compromise.

Test System And Audio Measurements

Our test configuration remains the same, except for the inevitable upgrades to keep the operating system up to date.

Hardware
Processor	Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR
Graphics card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4200
Hard disk	80 GB, 7200 RPM
Optical drive	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Pro + SP2
DirectX version	9.0c
Sound System
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z-2200
Measurement
RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.4RightMark 3DSound 1.24Audio WinBench 99DAAS audio measurement systemNeutrik 3337 audio measurement system

Behavior At 16 Bits / 44.1 KHz

At these settings, which correspond to CD Audio, the Audigy 4's performance potential is clearly being held in check! But it's indispensable for you to see how the device behaves with the settings most often used for digital music.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz) : +0.13, -0.36 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 94.5 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0032 %
Stereo separation : 93.1 dB

Frequency response : As is often the case, we'd have preferred slightly better performance - there's a visible lack of linearity, and response drops off a little too fast before 20 kHz.

Noise level : No problems here - the Audigy 4 was close to the theoretical ideal.

Dynamic range : Again, this card is not about to limit performance!

Distortion : Distortion was extremely low, far from any possibility of being audible.

Intermodulation : The test software isn't really suited to these operating settings and produced erratic results. Pay them no mind!

Stereo separation : Stereo crosstalk was practically non-existent.

Behavior At 24 Bits / 48 KHz

When you move to 24 bits, you're making full use of the card's capabilities, and so performance jumps. The cards clearly scored the best results we've ever measured on a consumer-oriented sound card, where noise is concerned, at any rate. The Audigy 4 is a success!

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.09, -0.91 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 108.1 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0019 %
Stereo separation : 106 dB

Frequency response : A slight lack of linearity (of low amplitude) remained, but the result was very satisfactory.

Noise level : A record reading, in line with many professional sound cards

Dynamic range : The potential implied by the signal-to-noise ratio was realized!

Distortion : It came as no surprise that distortion is still very low and will be absolutely no problem.

Intermodulation : A very good result. No problems foreseeable.

Stereo separation : Stereo crosstalk was practically nil. You can't ask for much better.

Behavior At 24 Bits / 96 KHz

Moving to a sampling rate of 96 kHz resulted in performance that was at the same level (that is, excellent!) and, naturally, improved frequency response significantly. As you can see, the full audio spectrum was amply covered with almost perfect linearity.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) :+0.02, -0.2 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 108.5 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0019 %
Stereo separation : 106.5 dB

Frequency response : An excellent result - beyond 40 kHz at -1 dB!

Noise level : Similar (excellent) results to what we measured at 48 kHz

Dynamic range : No unpleasant surprises; still a very high level of performance

Distortion : Distortion is still negligible - the highest harmonic was harmonic 2, at -100 dB!

Intermodulation : Excellent performance, as elsewhere

Stereo separation : Stereo crosstalk was practically non-existent. Why ask for more?

The results make it evident that overall, the Audigy 4 is the best-performing consumer sound card currently on the market. Our only reservations are in the area of frequency response, which is probably related to the presence of the DSP (which also has its advantages). Whether you need this kind of performance obviously depends on how you use your PC where sound is concerned. If all you do is listen to 128 kbps MP3s, a sound card like this is obviously overkill. On the other hand, for enthusiasts who work with high-quality sound and/or are musicians, the card's performance could be a deciding factor.

Games And 3D

The Audigy 4 makes very low demands on the processor - less than 6% in the worst case, as measured with RightMark 3DSound. In practice, the results were similar to the results of our tests with the Audigy 2 ZS. So presumably the Audigy 4 will offer the same performance with games (allowing for contingencies) as the Audigy 2 ZS, since it shares the same EAX version.

In Conclusion

The Audigy 4, probably the last in the Audigy series, is undeniably the most advanced and most universal consumer sound card. It's obviously aimed at sound buffs who don't want to be hampered in the areas of games and multimedia . But it's certainly in a narrow market niche, as the rather steep price confirms.

Hercules 16/12 FW: Affordable, Professional-Quality Multichannel Audio

Jean-Pierre Roche — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 18:03:15 +0000

Introduction

Intended mainly for musicians, the Hercules 16/12 has little in common with traditional sound card in terms of its design, its size... or its price. Musicians often need numerous inputs and outputs. They also care about compatibility with their equipment and secure operation at least as much as light weight and compactness. So what you'll find here is a larger unit with professional-type connectors instead of the standard ones. You'll also find lots of features... and a heftier price tag than that of a consumer model.

The 16/12 can be mounted in a 19" rack, the professional standard; two brackets are supplied for this purpose. The unit is handsome, if a bit austere, and well-suited for its intended use. A FireWire cable is also supplied, as well as - perhaps unexpectedly - a three-channel FireWire PCI card for your PC, if it doesn't already have one. For use with a portable, a 6-pin-to-4-pin FireWire adapter is also supplied, since few portables have the 6-pin connector.

Power is not provided by the interface, regardless of the cable used, but rather via a power adapter that plugs in behind the unit. This is not a very practical solution, but it's pretty much inevitable, since devices like this consume a considerable amount power. The FireWire cable is more than 13' (4 m) long, which can be very handy in many situations where the interface has to be far from the PC.

Installation is very simple and follows the usual process - you install the drivers before you connect the device. The manual covers the procedure well and we had no problems. Once the device has been recognized, you can install the bundled software and any of the included trial version software packages that might interest you.

Hercules 16/12 FireWire
Interface	IEEE-1394 (FireWire)
Main circuits	Altera Acex EP1K50 PLD and Analog Devices AD1871
Max. sampling rate	96 kHz
Quantification	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits/96 kHz
MIDI/games connector	No
Inputs
Rack	10 line, 2 mike / instrument / line1 S/PDIF optical stereo1 S/PDIF coaxial stereo
Outputs
Rack	8 line1 S/PDIF optical stereo1 S/PDIF coaxial stereo
DVD and Cinema
Standards	S/PDIF output
Configuration	Up to 7.1
DVD Audio	No
MIDI
Ports	2 standard DIN
System Requirements
Processor	Minimum 800 MHz
Memory	128 MB (256 MB recommended)
OS	Windows XP SP1a

Inputs And Outputs Galore

As its name indicates, the 16/12 has sixteen input channels and twelve output channels, but that doesn't mean you'll find that many connectors. First of all, we should point out that these numbers represent total monophonic channels, because that's the way professionals count, even though two linked channels are most often used to make one stereo input. The first ten input channels are balanced line inputs on the back of the unit, using ¼" (6.35 mm) stereo jacks. Channels 11 and 12 are separate, since they have a real configurable, adjustable preamplifier. They're on the front panel and use combo XLR/¼" jack connectors - the two most common professional standards.

Switching from line level to mike level is done separately for each input, via a potentiometer that lets you adjust the gain to suit the equipment you have connected. Each channel also has an "Instrument" switch for changing a microphone input to high impedance (100 k?) in order to adapt to an instrument output without having to use a direct box. Naturally, these inputs have a 48 V phantom power supply, to allow the use of static microphones. Be careful not to press this button at the wrong time, especially since it's common to both inputs!

If you count up all the inputs, you get twelve, whereas Hercules claims there are sixteen. The four missing inputs are supplied by the two S/PDIF (coaxial and optical) connectors, which are naturally stereo inputs. So in practice, you indeed have twelve analog channels and four digital channels for recording, for a total of sixteen.

Hercules counts the outputs the same way, meaning that there are eight analog channels (also balanced, using stereo 1/4" jacks) and four S/PDIF outputs. This seems quite sufficient for most possible uses. The outputs are well designed, but you may have to beef up your cable collection to adapt your equipment to your new device. Naturally there's also a headphone jack on the front panel, with its own volume control.

Input levels are indicated by a series of diodes - green for normal level, orange for near saturation, and red for saturated. For the outputs, only the presence of a signal is indicated, but that does spare you having to look for which input isn't working when there's a problem.

In addition to all these audio inputs and outputs, there are two pairs of MIDI connectors (input and output), one on the front and one on the back. There are also two Word Clock BNC plugs, which can send and receive data to ensure proper synchronization of the various digital equipment being used. This is a real advantage for users who have studio equipment!

The number of inputs and the possibilities for connection in general will be one of the 16/12's main strong points, but certain users will probably wish ADAT connectors had also been included.

Very Simple Controls

The 16/12's Control Panel is somewhat limited in the possibilities it offers compared to those of certain competitors; the real processing is handled by your software. The Control Panel lets you make only certain configuration choices (channels are configurable in pairs) and set the sensitivity of the various inputs and select whether they're balanced or unbalanced. Don't try to use it as a mixing board, however; the input levels are adjustable only in 3 dB increments. Again this is only for configuration, with a choice of two standard values - consumer line level (-10 dBV) and professional line level (+4 dBu). In fact, the gain on each pair of channels is adjustable from 0 to +12 dB, with 0 corresponding to 4 dBu and +9 to -10 dBV.

The Control Panel is very simple and easy to use

Advanced Properties let you configure the output channels for the WDM driver for multimedia applications (we'll get back to this), control the size of the DMA buffer and the corresponding latency, manage copy protection (SCMS), and choose input channels for DirectX operation.

You can configure your card in 7.1 for surround sound when playing DVDs!

Adjustment of the buffer size, which determines latency.

Very Simple Controls, Continued

You can manage digital copy protection (SCMS) on the S/PDIF outputs.

It's possible to choose input channels for DirectX applications. The choice is displayed in red on the Control Panel.

We'll admit that we were hoping for a little more elaborate software, allowing more advanced - and especially finer - adjustments. This Control Panel has a very basic "Windows-like" feel. From this point of view, there isn't much advantage over what you get with a consumer-model sound card... aside from the number of inputs and outputs, obviously!

Needless to say, the 16/12 has WDM and ASIO drivers, providing compatibility and very good performance with all music applications.

With Samplitude, shown here, you can choose your driver, obviously including ASIO.

Software Bundle

The software bundle that accompanies the 16/12 includes Cubase LE and Ableton Live SE. Cubase LE is a slightly simplified (but quite usable) version of Steinberg's famous audio and MIDI sequencer. Ableton Live SE is an audio sequencer that works mainly with loops; as its name indicates, it is capable of real-time processing. Version 2 is a bit dated given that Version 4 is now out, but it will still please those who want to try their hand at live music. Note that you will need a fairly powerful computer with a lot of memory, however.

Functional but time-limited versions of Cakewalk Sonar 3 and Project 5 are also included.

Cubase LE, a "Lite" Version that nonetheless offers numerous possibilities, is a music production tool that will let you get you started with the 16/12 right away.

Live is both a production tool and a kind of virtual musical instrument that uses loops.

Under The Hood

The metal case of the 16/12 is very solidly built and not very easy to take apart - which is not a bad thing. Once open it reveals complex, very nicely built electronics, which are professional-looking in terms both of component choice and build quality. Most of the circuitry is on a big board that takes up the whole area of the rack. Two other boards are present, for some of the inputs/outputs on the rear panel and the front-panel controls. They're connected to the main board using brackets and connectors that give the unit very good rigidity.

Electronically, the main circuit is an Altera Acex EP1K50 PLD (Programmable Logic Device) - in other words, a proprietary solution. Analog/digital conversion is via six Analog Devices AD1871 24 bit/96 kHz stereo converters, providing the twelve channels. The typical dynamic range of this circuit is 105 dB. For digital/analog conversion Hercules used a Cirrus Logic CS4382, a well-known solution that offers eight 24 bit channels up to 192 kHz, with a typical dynamic range of 114 dB. The microphone preamps are based on the Texas Instruments BB INA163 circuit, a low-distortion, low-noise amplifier.

Three of the AD1871 converters for the inputs (at left) and the CS4382, which provides eight output channels (at right)

Test System And Audio Measurement

Our test hardware was as follows:

Processor : 2.4 GHz Pentium 4
Memory : 1 GB DDR SDRAM
Graphics card : NVIDIA GeForce Ti4200
Hard disk : 80 GB 7200 RPM
Optical drive : DVD LG16/48X
OS : Windows XP Home SP2
Direct X version : 9.0c
Speakers : Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2200
Video playback : Power DVD, Win DVD

Measurement:

RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.4
Right Mark 3Dsound 1.24
DAAS audio measurement system
Neutrik 3337 audio measurement system

As usual, our tests with RightMark were conducted in record/playback mode, connecting the output and input with an external loopback cable. Using a single mode (record or playback) naturally produces better test results.

Measurement of the level obtained playing back a 1 kHz signal show that the theoretical values are there, but we would have liked to get slightly higher levels.

In input, saturation was quite far from the nominal sensitivity level. Take care when using -10 dBV, though, because certain consumer sources such CD players can go beyond the saturation level on peaks (the typical output level is 2 V for 0 dB).

Line inputs and outputs (rear)

Nominal level	-10 dbV	+4dBu
Maximum output level	0.46 V / -3.8 dbV	1.82V / +5.2 dbV
Input saturation	1.6 V / +4.1 dBV	4.4V / +12.9 dBV

The preamplifiers on inputs 11 and 12 offer a maximum gain of approximately 60 dB, which is added to the standard input level. You can still use the gain adjustment on the Control Panel (0 to +12 dB) on these channels. Watch out for cumulative gain!

Behavior At 16 Bits/44.1 KHz

Using a high-end sound device at 16 bits naturally limits its performance to the capabilities of that format. In practice, it should be close to the theoretical values. And that's the case with the Hercules 16/12.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz) : +0.02, -0.03 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) : 98.4 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.0094%
Stereo separation : 99.6 dB

Frequency response : Frequency response was close to perfect, with only a very slight attenuation at the high end of the spectrum.

Noise level : No problem here - we're near the theoretical limits of 16 bit digitization.

Capacity dynamic : A very good result, with a value of around 94 dB.

Distortion : Though not as low as we had hoped, distortion was far from being a problem.

Intermodulation : A very good result. Here again there's no danger of the ID being perceptible.

Stereo separation : No problem here either; crosstalk was zero - that is, comparable to the SNR.

Behavior At 24 Bits/48 KHz

Recording in 24 bits at a sampling rate of 48 kHz means moving into a professional mode where we can hope for performance that's clearly beyond the capabilities of consumer products. The results here depend to some degree on the adjustments used during the test: you can favor signal-to-noise ratio or distortion. In the first case, distortion increases a little, and in the second signal-to-noise ratio diminishes slightly. The results we show here are based on optimization of SNR:

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.02, -0.28 dB
Weighted SNR : 103.2 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.011%
Stereo separation : 103.8 dB

Frequency response :Frequency response is nearly identical to what we got at 44 kHz - that is, excellent - but even slightly better.

Noise level : Noise was very low and didn't increase in the treble, which is very positive.

Dynamic capacity : In 24 bits, dynamic capacity made a leap forward and was really very good.

Distortion : Since we had optimized the signal-to-noise ratio, THD was a little high (for this class of equipment!) but still far from being audible.

Intermodulation : Two zeros after the decimal point - a very good result

Stereo separation : As the results at 44 kHz suggested, stereo crosstalk was practically nil. No comment necessary!

Behavior At 24 Bits/96 KHz

As usual, moving to 96 kHz resulted in only a fairly modest improvement in performance. This is all the more true since Hercules uses a filtering system that keeps the bandwidth from widening when you move to that sampling frequency.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.02, -0.30 dB
Weighted SNR : 105.1 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.010%
Stereo separation : 106.6 dB

Frequency response : No problem in the audio spectrum, but response didn't widen towards the top, since the filtering Hercules uses seems to be the same as at 48 kHz.

Noise level : The noise level was a little lower than at 48 kHz. We aren't complaining...

Dynamic range : Fine dynamic performance at 105 dB

Distortion : Distortion was identical to the result at 48 kHz, but could be lower if the level were reduced a little.

Intermodulation : Extremely low intermodulation distortion; you're not likely to perceive it.

Stereo separation : Again the results are excellent, around 105 dB in the middle part of the spectrum and 100 dB at both ends.

Overall, the Hercules 16/12's performance was very good, even excellent, compared to a consumer-level product. However, we had hoped for a slightly better SNR and slightly lower distortion. But that shouldn't make you hesitate to choose this model if it meets your needs! A test we ran using an E-MU sound card for recording and the 16/12 only for playback resulted in lower noise and distortion levels.

With the 16/12 used only for playback, you can see that the noise level was significantly lower, as was distortion, which dropped from 0.0074% to 0.0006%.

The device's weakest point, however, was operation with unbalanced inputs. In that configuration, performance dropped significantly, mainly for noise and those areas of performance that can be affected by it. Operating in 24 bits / 48 kHz, the SNR went from 102 dB to a little more than 92. When switching to unbalanced, a drop in performance is to be expected, but here it was more than what we'd hoped for. The difference isn't catastrophic, but for highly demanding work you'll need to take care to use only balanced connections.

The comparison of noise levels in balanced (green) and unbalanced mode (white) showed a marked increase in unbalanced mode.

In Practice

There were no particular problems with setting up the 16/12, though you might run into some issues in learning whatever software program you'll be using. Obviously we won't go into that area, since everything depends on your experience with audio and with your chosen software tools!

The major strong point of the 16/12 is obviously the number of inputs and outputs it has, which lets you to do complex recording. Clearly you'll need some equipment if you're going to exploit all its possibilities - instruments, a mixing board, mikes, etc.

As illustrated by Hercules, the configuration needed for using the 16/12 will require you to round up a good deal of equipment. And this is only the stripped-down version...

You can start with only a limited amount (one or two instruments, a mike, and a playback system), but you won't be using the full capacities of your 16/12.

Unlike some other professional sound cards, the 16/12 can also operate in multimedia mode, for playing DVDs in surround sound up to 7.1 (Dolby Digital or DTS, depending on your playback software and the content of the DVD). The only problem will be the connections between the device's outputs and the input of a sound system. They're not the same type of connectors, and you'll have to adapt the outputs to the proper inputs on your sound system. A test DVD (or appropriate software) can help you. For regular use, obviously you should plan on making up a cable for connecting the 16/12 to your sound system, with clearly marked connectors.

In Practice, Continued

Is the 16/12 usable for games? The answer to that is more unclear. It doesn't have a hardware 3D engine or EAX compatibility, which means that the results won't be comparable to what you'll get from a sound card intended for gaming.

We had no particular problems using the 16/12, and we were able to get down to latencies of a few milliseconds with the right configuration. Of course, depending on the software you use, the problems you run into and difficulties with configuration can change significantly.

On the Samplitude mixing board, it'll take you some time to configure everything, but the twelve analog input channels are all accounted for.

We found the sound quality to be quite good, even though the preamps are not the best that can be had. But in this category of products that's pretty much inevitable, and for complex work it will generally be necessary to use a mixing board. That's par for the course.

In Conclusion

Hercules has met the challenge of offering a high-performance, multi-channel audio interface at a reasonable price. The Hercules 16/12 FW is universal thanks to its FireWire interface and has many advantages that should earn it a spot on the market. Its retail price is $699.

Does Hercules' Fortissimo 4 Deliver at 24 Bits?

Jean-Pierre Roche — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 18:03:06 +0000

Introduction

The Fortissimo 4 represents Hercules' latest attempt to deliver a mid-tier sound card for less than $100 for gamers and those that want great sound to go with their multimedia apps.

Like the earlier Fortissimo versions, it's a PCI-format card. Compared to the Fortissimo 3, it offers 7.1 sound and looks a lot like its predecessor. However, the Fortissimo 4 is a 24 bit card, which means we should be able expect significantly better performance and new capabilities.

Needless to say, applications that make use of 24 bit sound and 96 or 192 kHz sampling frequencies will require at lot of muscle from your computer and an up-to-date operating system. However, one of the upsides of the Fortissimo 4 is its ability to deliver on not-so-powerful PCs that also don't have the most recent Windows versions and updates. This capability should interest sound enthusiasts who want to improve the audio capabilities of their not-so-cutting-edge PCs.

Inputs And Outputs

All the inputs and outputs are on the card's PCI bracket in the form of .138 inch (3.5 mm) jacks, with the addition of a TOSLINK connector. The Fortissimo doesn't show much originality where inputs are concerned. For example, the mono mike and the stereo line inputs cannot be mixed.

You also have to choose the recording source from among the options Hercules offers. This is an acceptable approach, though, since the Fortissimo 4 isn't exactly intended to be used as a recording studio.

There's no surprise with the outputs, either - the same four 3.5 mm jacks providing eight channels (7.1). In addition there's a S/PDIF digital output that can be used either to connect an external decoder (if you have a home cinema system that has one) or to any digital device such as a converter or "digital" speaker system.

On The Card

The Fortissimo 4 uses a version of the VIA Envy 24HT called the Vinyl. Marketing lingo is certainly full of surprises - it's hard to see what vinyl has to do with an integrated circuit soldered onto an electronic board.

VIA Vinyl Audio

The audio controller features a Wolfson WM8776 codec and a WM8766 for most of the digital/analog conversion. The WM8776 has two 24 bit analog/digital conversion channels up to 96 kHz and two digital/analog channels up to 192 kHz. The WM8766 adds six channels with the same characteristics for a total of eight output channels for output in up to 7.1 format.

Drivers And Software

For this new card, Hercules has provided a totally redesigned control panel that's very user-friendly. Above the tabs for accessing the different sections is a series of icons that let you choose the output configuration. The first tab page shows the usual adjustments, with playback and record levels and balance between output levels. The Speaker Configuration tab lets you test speaker operation, which is a very practical function during installation or if you're in doubt about something.

Things get a little more complicated with the Advanced Controls tab, which is a mixture of disparate controls. While the function of some of the controls is fairly clear (provided you know what they are beforehand), like management of digital output, others are a lot less obvious, like the "Stereo EXpander," since whatever it does is not really documented.

The most important thing here is the QSound 3D check box. Only if you enable this will your card become DirectSound3D hardware and EAX compatible. These features, of course, are indispensable for the sound quality that gamers and other users expect when they invest in a mid-tier sound card. Qsound also offers a new tab with numerous functions including acoustical simulation and a 10-band graphical equalizer. It would be a shame not to have it available, although here again the documentation hardly explains what it is about and its purpose.

Here, in 7.1 mode, you have access to all the level adjustments for balancing your system's audio output.

You can choose recording sources, but you can't mix them.

Drivers And Software, Continued

The source mixing board is classic, with adjustment cursors that work nicely.

You choose the speaker configuration with the "buttons" at the top, but the speaker panel lets you check operation.

Things get a little more complicated... Don't forget to activate QSound 3D for your games!

With the QSound engine you have access to a 10-band equalizer, among other components.

The Software Bundle

The software bundle that comes with the Fortissimo 4 includes Mediastation II, Hercules' multimedia applications and PowerDVD 5 for DVD play. This version of PowerDVD lets you decode Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital EX, operate in Dolby Pro Logic II and also expand stereo to CyberLink-specific multichannel, called CLMEI (CyberLink Multi-channel Environment Impression). Some functions - like DTS decoding - aren't here, but if you want them you can download them from Hercules' Web site. For everyday use, the version that ships with the card will satisfy most users. The results it produces are very good -image and sound - when the Fortissimo is connected to a good speaker system.

The Hercules multimedia software is fairly practical, but naturally you can stick with the one you're used to...

The bundled version of the PowerDVD 5 software is recent and provides good enough possibilities, but you can extend them via an upgrade.

PowerDVD 5 gives you several choices for converting stereo to multichannel. There's CyberLink's own solution in addition to the classic Dolby Pro Logic II.

Note that Hercules hasn't attempted to give its Fortissimo 4 ASIO drivers or provide music-oriented applications. This card is clearly oriented towards games and multimedia. And we can only approve, since we've never been convinced by a card in this category that claims to be able to do everything.

Test Configuration And Audio Measurements

Our test and measurement configuration remains identical, though we've made the indispensable updates to the operating system and DirectX. So you can continue to make comparisons with preceding tests.

Test Setup
Processor	Pentium 4 at 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB of DDR
Graphics card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti4200
Hard disk	80 GB 7200 rpm
Optical disk player	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Home SP2
Direct X Version	9.0c
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2200
Video player	Power DVD, Win DVD
Measurements
Right Mark Audio Analyzer 5.4
Right Mark 3Dsound 1.24
DAAS audio measurement system
Neutrik 3337 audio measurement system

The earlier Fortissimo 3 delivered very good performance for its category, though obviously it was hampered by being a 16 bit card. We didn't expect very significant measurable improvements with the Fortissimo 4, except for signal-to-noise ratio - the typical value for the Fortissimo 3 was around 85 dB, which is a respectable level but quite a bit short of what can be achieved today, even by consumer-level products.

Behavior At 16 Bits/44.1 KHz

The CD format - 16 bits/44.1 kHz - obviously limits the performance of a 24 bit sound card. But it's an almost universal standard, and quite sufficient for most uses.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz) : +0.02, -0.23 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 92.9 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.01 %
Stereo separation : 93.2 dB

No problems to report - the audio spectrum was covered with negligible variations in level and with no parasitic elements.

Without quite reaching the limits for 16 bit digitization, the Fortissimo 4 had a very low noise level.

A very good performance, with parasitic signals remaining at a very low amplitude.

Distortion is not the lowest we've ever seen, but the level is low enough not to interfere with good sound.

Here again, the level of the parasitic frequencies is low enough that you won't be able to hear them.

Channel separation is well above what's actually necessary.

Sound Quality At 24 Bits And 48 KHz

With the move to 24 bits, sound card improvements are only as good as how well the card's components can take advantage of 24 bit capabilities. In this case, the Fortissimo 4 is up to the tasks, as demonstrated by its noise levels and dynamics.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.02, -0.47 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 97.1 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.01 %
Stereo separation : 93.8 dB

Within a few fractions of a decibel, response is virtually identical to the results at 44 kHz, which is a highly satisfactory result.

Here's where the improvement offered by the card's 24 bit capabilities is the most evident.

Logically, dynamic capacity improves with the reduction of parasitic noises!

Performance is even with the results at 44 kHz as far as figures are concerned. The H3 and H5 values - the highest ones - are very close. But the spectrum is "cleaner."

Again the difference between 44 and 48 kHz is more visible in the spectrum than in the figures, which are similar.

The same result as at 44 kHz, where the level was already more than sufficient...

Behavior At 24 Bits/96 KHz

Increasing the sampling frequency to 96 kHz didn't really improve performance, and it even fell off very slightly. This type of card is not really optimized to operate at such high sampling frequencies (except for playback mode). Concerning frequency response, note that it doesn't extend any higher, with the same sudden cutoff at 20 kHz.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz) : +0.02, -0.47 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio : 95.4 dB(A)
Distortion : 0.011 %
Stereo separation : 91.8 dB

No change in this area, with the cutoff still at 20 kHz...

The results for noise were very much the same, but slightly better than at 48 kHz, which is logical.

The same phenomenon we observed for noise, with a slight slippage in performance.

Except for random variations, performance was identical.

Again the result was in line with what we might have expected - very similar to the results at 48 kHz.

As for the other measurements, there's a very slight deterioration - which will obviously be imperceptible - compared to 48 kHz.

Overall, the Fortissimo 4 offers good performance with no weak points, making it more than sufficient for multimedia and gaming use. Of course, its performance falls short of what certain high-end models-and obviously professional cards-can do, but for gamers and high-quality sound lovers, the difference surely won't be perceptible.

Games And 3D

For games and 3D, the Fortissimo 4 uses the 3D engine developed by Qsound. This ensures compatibility with DS3D and EAX 2. Be sure you enable it in the card's control panel as shown earlier in this article, or else it'll behave like a basic sound card.

The processor-utilization test with RightMark 3D Sound produced very good results and never surpassed the 15% processor-utilization level.

Moving to practical tests with our usual games, we found the Fortissimo 4 was not quite as good as our reference sound card (the Creative Audigy 2 ZS) - as the CPU utilization results hinted. But it did quite well nonetheless. The bottom line is that this drawback won't be an obvious handicap, and after all that's generally what you ask from a sound card for this kind of use.

The results of our practical tests were very satisfactory, though reproduction was a little short of what Creative cards that support EAX 3 and 4 can deliver - in games that can use them, obviously.

In Conclusion

The Fortissimo 4 is really an update of preceding versions and it delivers no surprising improvements. Its performances will live up to the demands of gamers and DVD film buffs who demand high-quality sound for a $70 price point. Further, its main advantage, of course, is that it can handle applications that use 24 bit sound, which is becoming more and more indispensable. IN addition to its generous software bundle, the card does not disappoint.

Creative's E-MU 0404: Pro Sound Quality on the Cheap

Jean-Pierre Roche — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 18:02:13 +0000

Introduction

The 0404's form factor is the traditional PCI card you insert into a slot in your PC like any other sound card of this type. However, its input and output connectors are different. The card's back plate has two connectors to which are connected two breakout cables with all the female connectors to accommodate all existing types of connections.

As would be expected on a card oriented toward performance, the 0404 is a 24 bit card operating at frequencies up to 96 kHz. In many ways, it performance is close to that of its higher end big brothers in the E-MU line and also offers similar possibilities. This is quite an exploit for a sound card in this price range.

Obviously, you shouldn't expect the card to do what a consumer-type card does. It's not intended for games or for decoding DVD or similar sound applications. We should also point out that for professional use, the 0404 can be associated with a synchronization card.

Input And Output

The two breakout cables contain the analog and digital I/O, respectively. On the analog cable, the situation is quite simple: There are two quarter inch (6.35 mm) female jacks for stereo line input and two others for stereo line output. Obviously, at this price, you can't ask for multiple inputs and outputs; but the option chosen is sufficient for many uses. Some may regret the lack of a mike input, but quality microphone inputs are never built into a PCI card. A separate preamp is needed (on an external rack, for example) and that puts us in another price range... It's better to let the user choose a good preamp if he/she needs it!

The choice of 1/4" jacks can be explained by the original destination of this card: musicians, with whom these jacks are very popular. All you'll need is an adapter or appropriate cable to make the type of connection you need. Unlike the higher-end E-MU cards, these are asymmetrical connections (the usual mode on consumer equipment), so you won't have to worry if you're not an expert.

The other breakout cable carries all the digital S/PDIF inputs and outputs in the usual forms: coaxial and optical, which means you'll be covered. Also, the coaxial outputs can be configured to the AES/EBU professional standard if you have such equipment. There are also two female DIN connectors for MIDI input and output.

The E-MU 0404 Card

On the card itself, you can't help noticing the presence of a big E-MU processor called E-DSP, which is a special version of the processor used in top-of-the-line E-MU and Creative brand products. This DSP can perform many types of sound processing without calling on your computer's CPU, thus avoiding overloading it. It's accompanied by a specific FGPA also from E-MU.

Analog/digital conversion is handled by a well-known component, the TI Burr-Brown PCM1804, which is a delta/sigma stereo converter operating in 24 bits up to 192 kHz. Conversion in the other direction (digital/analog) uses an AKM AK4395, which is also a delta/sigma stereo converter operating in 24 bits up to 192 kHz. Note that the two converters can function at 192 kHz, whereas the card itself is limited to 96 kHz. True, that frequency is quite sufficient in practice - except for reading certain DVD Audios, but then that's not the purpose of the 0404.

Drivers And Software

The software application that operates the 0404 is identical to the one bundled with the other (much more sophisticated) cards in the E-MU line. And for a price that can't be argued with, this software has some fairly astounding possibilities. Called PatchMix DSP, it amounts to a real virtual digital mixing board that handles routing, mixing and control of the DSP, which offers a wide range of corrections and effects. The only limitation - currently a familiar one on this generation of cards - is that it can function only at a maximum frequency of 48 kHz. If you work at 96 kHz, you'll have to do without the DSP. Admittedly, its rarely necessary, since working in 24 bits/48 kHz already provides excellent quality, and the improvement 96 kHz will bring will generally be marginal for users who may purchase a 0404.

We took a detailed look at the PatchMix software during our test of the E-MU 1820 and so we won't discuss it again here; take a look at that article if you need more information. Obviously using it is a little more complex than with a mass-market card. You have to route signals with PatchMix, for example. It's not insurmountable, however. Various configurations are provided; you need only load them and then possibly reconfigure them to suit your personal needs.

Naturally we need to mention the services provided by the DSP: Aside from effects that will be of interest mostly to musicians, lovers of audio will find the various means of sound processing - like parametric equalizers and compressors - very interesting. They can improve your sound significantly by making appropriate corrections - to suit the speakers you're using and the room you listen in, for example.

The card is equipped with WDM, MME and ASIO 2.0 drivers for good compatibility with all the usual applications.

Drivers And Software, Continued

The software bundled with the card includes Cubasis (a MIDI and audio sequencer) and Wavelab Lite (an audio editor) - two classics, but nevertheless very useful if you're a novice and don't own more powerful packages. A trial version of DiscWelder Bronze is also offered. This software lets you create your own DVD Audios using a DVD burner. It's a way of going beyond the 16 bit/44 kHz barrier for your personal creations. You can burn five DVDs, after which you'll have to pay for the software (which is not exorbitantly priced).

Cubasis has all the basic functions of an audio and MIDI sequencer. The 0404 comes with a configuration you can load.

Wavelab is an audio editor that's very good for beginners or for simple processing.

Creating your own DVD Audios is now within reach!

Test Configuration And Audio Measurements

Our test configuration remains identical. On the other hand, we should stress the fact that the possibilities of an application like PatchMix have nothing in common with the Windows Playback Control or even those that ship with mass-market sound cards. Depending on how you use it, you can improve or worsen the results you get depending on how well you adapt to operating conditions and the signals being processed.

We used two modes for our benchmarks: CD (16 bits/44.1 kHz) and 24 bits/48 kHz. The 0404 can only operate at 96 kHz in ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) mode, and the test software we used won't handle that mode. But don't worry; performance (aside from bandwidth, obviously) is on the same order when going from 48 to 96 kHz !

Components
Processor	Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR
Graphics Card	NVIDIA geForce Ti 4200
Hard Drive	80 GB 7200
Optical Reader	DVD LG16/48X
DirectX Version	9.0
Sound System
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2200
Video	PowerDVD, WindDVD
Measurements
Right Audio MarkAnalyser 5.3, Right Mark3Dsound 1.01
Audio Winbench 99
DAAS measurement system
Audio measurement system Neutrik 3337

Unlike E-MU's other cards, the 0404 is only intended to operate to consumer standards, with a nominal value of -10 dBV (approximately 0.315 V). Saturation, on input as well as output, comes in at a little above 6 dBV, or 2 V. These are common values for consumer equipment and thus should pose no problems for the majority of users. Some special or professional equipment might, however, saturate the input, and there's nothing that can be done about it. The output level should be enough to "attack" all normal equipment.

Input and Output
Normal level	-10 dBV
Maximum output level	2.08V/+6.3 dBV
Input saturation	2.13V/+6.5 dBV

Behavior At 16 Bits/44.1 KHz

The measurements we made using CD settings produced results that are very close to the theoretical optimum values! It's hard to find anything to criticize. The 0404 will give you excellent results in this configuration. Remember, the maximum signal-to-noise ratio is around 98 dB with 16 bit quantification.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz):	-0.11, -0.06 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio:	96.4 dB(A)
Distortion:	0.0013 %
Stereo separation:	98 dB

Frequency response : The 0404 is very close to perfection, since the fraction of a decibel of deviation won't even be audible!

Noise level : Noise is extremely low and incidents are very limited or nonexistent in the upper part of the spectrum - which is rare.

Dynamic capacity : No surprises here; the same very low noise levels were found for this measurement too.

Distortion : Undetectable up to 100 dB, distortion is obviously very far from being a problem.

Intermodulation : Intermodulation distortion readings were also extremely low.

Stereo separation : Absolutely negligible over most of the sound spectrum, diaphony increases slightly in the upper frequency range, but is still very far being a problem.

Behavior At 24 Bits/48 KHz

When we move to 24 bits performance increases sharply, which shows the potential and the quality of this card.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz):	+0.13, -0.16 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio:	111.2 dB(A)
Distortion:	0.0010 %
Stereo separation:	109.9 dB

Frequency response : Obviously no problem, with a frequency response that remained perfectly linear!

Noise level : Noise is very low, and though it shows a few minor incidents it is much lower than with consumer sound cards.

Dynamic capacity : A very good result in this area, as we might have expected...

Distortion : Far below 100 dB (under the fundamental), distortion is extremely low.

Intermodulation : No unpleasant surprises with intermodulation distortion, which is negligible.

Stereo separation : Stereo separation is programmed in the median zone of the spectrum and here again we see the slight reduction in the high frequencies that we found at 44 kHz.

Performance overall is quite astounding for a card in this price range. In any case, it's better than for any consumer-market sound cards, regardless of price. The 0404, then, is a very good choice for users looking for audio performance above all.

In Practice

The PatchMix software is indispensable. Without it all the 0404's audio functions are de-activated. It's clear that the card isn't intended for games or DVDs. For DVD reading, it is possible to get an encoded Dolby Surround signal from the S/PDIF output (and decode it using an external decoder), but we weren't able to get a functional Dolby Digital output. On the other hand, there's no problem with connecting a USB or FireWire sound card and de-activating the 0404 (all you do is close PatchMix).

Of course the 0404 lets you listen to CDs (or any other music source) with superb quality, which is one of the applications sound buffs will use this card for. You need only one strip, Wave, on the mixing board (you can set all the other tracks on the console to zero, unless of course you want to so some mixing...), but you can insert equalizers or other processing onto the outputs (Main Inserts) by simply dragging and dropping. However, the promised update is still not here. The equalization bands are still limited to 80 Hz in the bass, and we're still waiting for EQ controls that are a little more graphical... But even without those changes, we have to admit that the price/capability ratio is quite remarkable.

A basic configuration for sound lovers. Here a CD is being played (the sound is in the Wave strip) with four-band parametric equalization on the output (via the Main Insert).

Conclusion

With audio performance that's unmatched at this price, the E-MU 0404 has to be tempting for anybody who's looking for sound quality above all. There are also possibilities that are far superior to consumer sound cards. And for games and multimedia, you can always add a USB sound card chosen to suit your needs in those areas.

Terratec's Aureon 7.1 FireWire Attempts Plug-and-Play with Pro Sound Card Performance

Jean-Pierre Roche — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 19:00:51 +0000

Introduction

The Aureon 7.1 FireWire comes in a plasticized fabric casing, which underscores its portability. Even if it can be attached permanently to a desktop computer, it is also particularly handy for use with a laptop, the sound capabilities of which are often less than a viable minimum. The Aureon is also delivered with a neat set of accessories including a variety of connectors (more about that later) and an infrared remote control. So at least on the surface, the equipment is complete.

The Aureon 7.1 FireWire is rather large in comparison to the competition, especially for a card likely to be used with a laptop. However its large size is compensated by an original style and look, especially when it's working. For example, the orange light surrounding its potentiometers is spectacular.

Terratec claims you can "impress your friends with this sexy lighting," although the sexiness of lighting, of course, is a matter of taste. The good thing is that the controls are not miniaturized and that the Aureon FireWire gives the impression of being tough and hard working, which are qualities in mass-market external sound cards. On the practical side, the Aureon FireWire can be powered either by the host computer - through the FireWire link - if it is capable of powering an external device, or by an external power supply bundled with the card. Unfortunately the power supply is not universal, especially as smart power supplies are pretty much in general use nowadays.

The Aureon FireWire interface comes with two six-pin sockets that make it possible to plug in other equipment, such as a video recorder to make videos. In principle, these six-pin FireWire sockets might not provide sufficient power to the card (though that is not always the case), but some laptops are fitted with four-pin FireWire sockets, so there is no power supply. A six-four pin adaptor is supplied with the card but it then becomes essential to use mains power with it. In any case, mains power is always recommended when it is available.

Terratec Aureon 7.1 FireWire
Interface	FireWire 1394a
Chipset	Wolfson WM8770 & BridgeCo DM1000
Sample rate (max)	192 kHz
Bit depth	24 bits
ASIO	16 bits / 48 kHz
MIDI/Game ports	no
Inputs
Card	Line, mic, phono, S/PDIF optical
Outputs
Card	8 Cinch (7.1), 1 S/PDIF optical, 1 headphne
DVD & Movies
Standard	Dolby Digital EX, S/PDIF-out
Configuration	up to 7.1
DVD Audio	yes
3D Gaming Sound
Standard	DS3D, A3D, EAX 2.0
Configuration	2x 7.1
MIDI
Synthesizer	Microsoft software

Inputs And Outputs

For its Aureon FireWire, Terratec has made a choice that you may find either fortunate or unfortunate, depending on your point of view. The choice is that all the sockets for attachments are of the type found in home audio equipment (Hi-Fi systems and the like) and not those found on computers. If you want to connect up to home audio equipment you'll find this handy, but if you use computer equipment or a laptop, you are going to need additional adaptors and cables. For instance, the headphone output and the mike input on the front use 1/4" jacks, and the analog audio inputs and outputs at the back, are for cinch speakers. Although adaptors are supplied to convert 1/4" jacks to 3.5 mm jacks, you will generally need to consider more accessories if you want to plug your speaker system into the FireWire box.

As far as analog input goes, the FireWire box offers three choices: mic, line and phono. Unfortunately, these inputs cannot be mixed or edited; you have to choose the one you want to use, and your selection is indicated by an LED diode on the front. The mic input on the front has a potentiometer for controlling gain and a peak indicator, showing saturation at the preamp stage. It can thus be of genuine use, unlike that on a basic sound card. On the other hand, it has no phantom power, so you will need to choose your mike carefully as a result. The line input, at the back, is for two cinch speakers. The input is paired with a phono input that also requires cinch speakers, and that can be linked directly to a turntable for vinyl disks equipped with a cell with a mobile magnet. This means there is preamplification with RIAA correction. For attaching the turntable, including a ground, Terratec provides a sort of cinch/cinch adaptor with an earthed plug. Frankly, we would very much have preferred an earthed socket on the card, as this solution looks rather clunky and makeshift.

Where digital is concerned, the situation is very simple because there are only two TOSLINK connectors, providing a single optical digital input and output. Obviously, it's unfortunate that no coaxial links were provided, as not all the equipment you might want to attach is fitted with optical connectors. True, optical links have the advantage of providing perfect galvanic insulation, which can prevent a lot of the problems that arise when you mix equipment of different origins (such as computers, home audio/video, etc).

Drivers And Software

Using a process that is well known in USB, the card's drivers have to be installed before you can connect the card to your PC. Depending on how it is used, this installation ought to run smoothly. However, that's not what happened in our case. The card was recognized as "other" peripheral without audio functions. We had to reinstall the whole thing, with forced detection as a sound card. But when we did that, everything was okay. Similarly, the WinDVD software asked us for a missing serial number and we had to use some tricks to get it to install. So there's still some work to do on the installation procedures or, at least, the missing information needs to be supplied to unlucky people like us who were unable to get it all up and running without some considerable effort.

The FireWire driver is of the same style as those of other Terratec cards, i.e., simple and effective. The first tab is the one for mixing while playing. Or, at least, that's how it's supposed to work in principle because the "External" control actually controls inputs to the card. You can select them and regulate their gain depending on your needs. This is a very interesting concept but you'll need to get used to it. Note that these inputs are not mixable, as you can only select the ones you want to use. This limitation is the result of the choice of circuit used and so it cannot be removed. A large number of users will certainly find this design feature restrictive.

The "Advanced" button gives access to more expert adjustments, namely, the frequency of internal sampling, activation of the 3D Sensaura functions and latency in ASIO mode. Note that activating the 3D functions forces a sampling setting of 48 kHz and deactivates the digital input because this software can only operate at this frequency.

The "Loudspeaker" tab is more standard. You can choose your stereo configuration at 7.1 depending on the equipment you use. Once you have made your selection, the corresponding potentiometers are activated and it becomes possible to adjust the sound balance between the various speakers.

Finally the "Misc" tab makes it possible to store configurations (for example, one using a 3D system, another at 96 kHz for the best quality recordings) and to choose the language and colors of the display.

Drivers And Software, Continued

In addition to the drivers, Terratec supplies software for optimum operation of the infrared remote controls supplied with the equipment. The software supplied is not restricted to controlling the card's hardware nor to software supplied by Terratec (such as WinDVD) but can be adapted to software of your choice by programming (although, of course, the programming is not all that easy). This is interesting for quite a number of purposes.

The actual software supplied consists of WinDVD and Sound Rescue in special Terratec versions. WinDVD is software that plays Video and Audio DVDs. The Terratec version offers two options, but with limitations. When playing video, you can only access Dolby decoding (Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby EX). DTS is not available as standard; if you want it, you will have to upgrade to a paid version of WinDVD. Similarly, for Audio DVD, you can read it but not in the HD (High Definition) version; the tracks seem to have been resampled at 48 kHz. Here again, you will have to obtain the paid-for version if you want to overcome this limitation. It's rather frustrating, even if the commercial reasons for this arrangement are perfectly understandable.

The introductory WinDVD screen showing in green at the bottom left the options that are activated. The rest have to be paid for.

Drivers And Software, Continued

The DVD Audio management is very good. You can play both Audio and Video DVD tracks.

WinDVD offers a very effective image-capturing system for playing DVD video.

Sound Rescue is a simple but effective piece of software that can handle audio files that are spoiled by crackling, hissing and other extraneous noise generally found on vinyl disks and audiocassettes. Sound Rescue is easy to use and offers such standard functions as "Declick", "Decrackle" and "Denoiser" (removes hiss) with level adjustment. It is therefore an excellent addition to a card that has a phono input. Yet its possibilities are definitely inferior to that of specialized software. So it all depends on how ambitious you are in that area.

We noted that no music software has been provided. This option is fairly understandable but we would still like to have found a Wave editor. In its present state, the FireWire card is mainly multimedia-oriented but you can, of course, make it work with music software because it has ASIO2 drivers.

On The Inside

The box in which the FireWire card is housed is built around the front and rear surfaces between which a sturdy metal element is housed that constitutes the body of the equipment. All the electronics are on a single printed circuit and there is only one auxiliary circuit behind the front of the casing, mainly for the indicators and lights.

Operation is based on two main circuits, a Wolfson WM8770 codec and a BridgeCo DM1000 processor. The WM8770 offers eight channels of digital/analog converters that can operate from 8 kHz through 192 kHz at 24 bits. On the other hand, it only incorporates a single analog/digital converter (two-channel, for the stereo) that can operate from 8 through 96 kHz at 24 bits. The converter is preceded by a selector offering eight stereo channels with analog gain adjustment but it is still the only one and does not allow mixing. It is here that this limitation of the FireWire card can be explained. The DM1000 is a complex, specialist audio and video circuit incorporating a FireWire controller. It consists of a RISC 32-bit ARM496 processor with DSP extensions operating at 100 MHz.

Test Configuration And Audio Measurements

Hardware
Processor	Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR
Graphics card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4200
Hard drive	80 GB 7200
Secondary hard drive	160 GB 7200
Optical drive	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Pro + SP1
DirectX version	9.0a
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2220

External cards have the undeniable advantage of being remote from that focus of electromagnetic pollution, the computer. They are thus capable of attaining very high levels of performance. High-performance internal cards often use an external module to solve the problem. However, the mass-market external sound cards that were on the market until now were generally low-priced products that compromised on performance. The Aureon FireWire clearly has higher ambitions and can claim higher aspirations for a mass market card, whatever the category. It may be considered too bulky by some people who like computing on the move and the price is nothing to sneeze at, both factors of which could act as deterrents.

In line entry, for an adjusted gain of 0 dB (all the other settings at maximum being 0 dB), the maximum level prior to saturation is 2.6 V, which ensures compatibility with all the standard mass sources. Under these conditions, the output offers a maximum level in the order of 2 V. Gain is adjustable (by using the cursor on the right of the source selection) from -12 through +19 dB (in nominal values). Using minimum gain, you can go up to 4.6 V in input, and with maximum gain saturation reaches 295 mV. This means it can be adapted to any source, which is a strong plus for FireWire.

The output level at digital 0 dB is in the order of 2 V (1.95 V), which is perfectly suitable for the sort of uses to which it might be put.

Behavior At 16 Bits/44.1 KHz

The card is capable of doing much better but this is the format of a CD. The results are all very good and there are no weak spots.

Frequency response (40 Hz - 15 kHz)	+0.02, -0.18 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio	98 dB(A)
Distortion	0.0074%
Stereo crosstalk	99.6 dB

Frequency response : An excellent result, attenuation at 20 kHz remains very weak and undulation is negligible.

Noise level : The noise level is very low and there is hardly any interference. It would be hard to ask for more.

Dynamic capacity : a very good result though, it must be said, while not as good as that of the more professional cards.

Distortion : Distortion is very slight and won't give you any problems.

Intermodulation : Here again, the signal level of interference is so weak that you don't have to worry about it.

Stereo separation : Almost invisible on the graph supplied by RMAA, diaphony can be considered to be zero.

Behavior At 24 Bits/48 KHz

We chose to perform a test at 24 bits/48 kHz - a format very much used in the professional world - because 16 bits/48 kHz seemed to us to have lost much of its interest. The reason we chose 48 kHz was for quality and since we had the opportunity of quantification on 24 bits why deprive ourselves of it? There was plenty of time to go back to 16 bits if necessary, once the material had been processed. The results were excellent overall.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz)	+0.02, -0.41 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio	99.1 dB(A)
Distortion	0.0052%
Stereo crosstalk	99.6 dB

Frequency response : Little change as far as the response curve was concerned. It was very good and it remains so.

Noise level : The noise was slightly reduced but it was clearly pushing the limits of the card.

Dynamic capacity : This is where there was the most significant progress in comparison with 44 kHz.

Distortion : Statistically, the distortion was reduced but, most important, the result was much cleaner when the spectrum was analyzed.

Intermodulation : The same very noticeable improvement, the intermodulation was substantially reduced.

Stereo separation : Curiously, the diaphony became slightly stronger but it's all relative; in absolute terms it remained negligible.

Behavior At 24 Bits/96 KHz

Operation at 96 kHz offers improved performance in certain areas and a slight (but very slight) deterioration in others. This is fairly logical behavior, since increasing bandwidth is not always totally advantageous. In any case, the results were excellent for a card of this type.

Frequency response (20 Hz - 20 kHz)	+0.03, -0.41 dB
Weighted signal-to-noise ratio	103.2 dB(A)
Distortion	0.0069%
Stereo crosstalk	102.5 dB

Frequency response : No change in reproduction of the audio spectrum. The grade remains "very good."

Noise level : Noise becomes very low at this level and equivalent to that of the best mass-market sound cards.

Dynamic capacity : The dynamic capacity decreases in relation to 48 kHz, which seems to offer the best compromise.

Distortion : Despite figures that were not quite as good, the result is very comparable to that achieved at 48 kHz.

Intermodulation : Here again, there is a slight deterioration in comparison with performance at 48 kHz but the result remained very good.

Stereo separation : This leaps the 100 dB barrier. In other words, you have nothing to worry about as far as diaphony is concerned.

The phono input is a very interesting addition because it proves to be fully usable. The RIAA correction is pretty good so noise is very faint, much less than is usual when playing a vinyl disk. So there are no worries on that point.

Games And 3D

USB sound cards don't have a particularly good reputation for use with games because they are hungrier than a good internal card when it comes to taking up processor space. It was thus interesting to see how the Aureon FireWire behaved in comparison with our current reference equipment, Creative Audigy's 2 ZS internal card, as well as against a USB 2.0 Creative Audigy 2 NX. We didn't choose these options at random, of course. All of them are 7.1 cards like the Aureon FireWire card, which meant that the comparison was on an equal footing. When you reduce the number of output channels, you also reduce the complexity of calculation and thus the extent of processor load. It must be stated, however, that Aureon FireWire is limited to EAX 2.0 like all the other cards not made by Creative, while our two reference cards offer EAX 3.0 or 4.0, producing more developed sound effects, at least in games that take these versions into account. Absolute equality of processing would be difficult, because games automatically detect the capabilities of the card being used.

Tests using RightMark 3Dsound, in comparison with the Audigy 2NX, showed a much lower processor load in DS3D as well as in EAX. So this point was satisfactory as might have been expected.

In practice, testing with our standard games showed that the Aureon FireWire card had a clear advantage. In an Audigy 2 ZS (an internal card) still leads the way, the comparison with the Audigy 2 NX (USB) was not so clear. The Creative came out best for Quake 3 as well as for Comanche 4, but Aureon FireWire had a clear advantage with Splinter Cell. That makes it hard to draw firm conclusions but the Aureon FireWire card does not seem to able to make significant inroads as far as games are concerned.

An Advantage: Stand-alone Operation

Apart from the classical and less classical functions of a sound card, the Aureon FireWire stands out from most of the competition by its stand-alone operating abilities. It can actually be used as an analog/digital converter and can be linked to a PC.

Input is selected by means of a remote control device, as the card has no control to do this. Don't labor under any illusion, however. FireWire has no way of decoding Surround Sound (Dolby Digital or DTS). This means that when using the digital/analog conversion you can only use a PCM stereo signal, since an AC3 signal would not be recognized. On the other hand, the use of the phono input with RIAA preamplified and corrected sound is interesting if you don't already have that kind of equipment, because it will give you both digital and analog output. The same applies to mic input. So FireWire can, on occasion, transform itself into a preamp, both for digital and analog connections.

Conclusion

The Aureon FireWire is well-designed and is one of the best multimedia sound cards available with audio performances that fulfill its ambitions. It can also be used just as well with a desktop PC as with a laptop - and that's by no means the best thing about it.

The software bundle, with its DVD-reading software, will please fans of multimedia, but musicians will have to invest in a whole range of software to meet their needs. In this price range, it would have been desirable to find at least something for this activity, even at entry level and, even for multimedia, an audio editor would have been much appreciated.

Creative's E-MU 1820 Goes Home Studio Pro

Jean-Pierre Roche — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 19:00:45 +0000

Introduction

Multimedia sound cards don't have a great reputation in the music scene, although many musicians use them. It is absolutely true that the demands of multimedia and those of musical creation are very different in almost every respect. You might therefore be understandably surprised at the persistence of a large number of buyers who keep using multimedia cards as a substitute for musical instruments.

The primary reason is certainly the price. A sound card designed for musicians continues to be much more expensive than multimedia cards. But you shouldn't ignore the fact that these cards are in widespread use. Musicians - especially amateur ones - aren't always playing music, and the ability to use the equipment for fun is a compelling argument. Not to mention the fact that, installing two types of cards (multimedia and "music") multiplies the complexity. Multimedia card manufacturers have also strongly encouraged musicians to use their products by making claims - not always very objectively - about their composition features. Yet, to produce sophisticated music, you need products specifically suited for the purpose.

This is where the E-MU cards come in. On the down side, there is no way they can be used for game playing or DVD playing, to name just two popular pastimes. But that's because these cards are solely for musicians and sound creation enthusiasts who demand professional quality sound production.

Three Variations In The Range

There are three models of the E-MU, all based on the same PCI E-MU 1010 card. This foundation is the purely digital component of the product, while the analog part varies depending on the model. The E-MU 1212m is coupled with a PCI E-MU 0202 card, which is more simple that the other models: it makes do with two symmetrical analog inputs and two analog outputs for 6.35 mm jack plugs and a MIDI link (input and output using two mini-DIN sockets). Both the other cards are linked by a sheathed network cable (RJ45 connectors) to an external AudioDock, which is a control box that offers a wide range of connection capabilities that we'll list below.

These two cards, the E-MU 1820 and the E-MU1820m, appear to differ only in the quality of their converters. The 1820m is the top-of-the-range model (identical to the Protools systems) that provides the best possible performance. So these options are identical, with the only difference lying in the specifications. However, the 1820m has an additional PCI card, offering more extensive capabilities for professional synchronization (Word Clock, synchro SMPTE, and MTC).

Added to this mix are the EmulatorX versions - configurations in which E-MU audio cards are combined with EmulatorX sampling software and a number of other software programs. The EmulatorX version comprises an EMU 1010 card and an E-MU 0202 card, while the EmulatorX Studio version consists of a 1010 card, an Audiodock M and a synchro card. The software is delivered with 4 GB of sound files, including the Proteus 2000 databases. The software is locked onto the E-MU cards but updates will be available for card owners.

A Pro Tool

AudioDock makes a good impression from the start. It is professional looking and has a sleek design. The front left hand side has two micro-line input channels with adjustable gain. Input signals enter the card via two combined jack/XLR sockets, the jack being associated at line level with the card (or with a high impedance instrument) and the XLR at microphone level. We are rather skeptical about this arrangement. It would make more sense to have a switch that the buyer could wire to the connectors in their preferred configuration. A switch would also enable the use of phantom (48 V) power for mikes. This implementation is common to both inputs. Yet each channel has its own gain control and its own indicators indicating the presence of an overload signal. The preamps are provided by TF Pro, a studio hardware manufacturer which guarantees a much higher quality of service than on your average sound card with mike preamplification. The right-hand side of the front displays two standard MIDI (I/O) sockets, an optical S/P DIF output and a headphone socket on a 6.35 mm jack combined with a potentiometer for adjusting the levels. A small indicator panel provides a readout for various components such as sampling frequency for the digital section.

At the back, there are a number of 6.35" 'stereo' jacks on a baseplate (for a symmetrical link), offering six additional inputs and eight outputs. There is also a phono input on a cinch base (with a separate ground), thus providing RIAA correction for a direct connection to a vinyl turnable with a cell containing a mobile magnet. This input is split between 3L and 3R input channels. Plugging in the connectors deactivates the phono input. What's even stranger is that there is also a series of 3.5 mm stereo jacks on a baseplate, asymmetrically doubling the symmetrical outputs. Naturally, this would make it easier to hook up the equipment to a public address system but it's still pretty surprising to find this type of connection here, even if it's useful for compatibility. (Creative explained that they are meant for entry-level and/or THX-approved surround speakers, therefore allowing people dip their toes in the water without having to refinance their homes.) Finally, there are two standard DIN sockets, offering a second MIDI link.

A Digital Card

The PCI E-MU 1010 card is exclusively digital. It has coaxial S/PDIF inputs and outputs that can be configured to professional mode in order to send and receive AES/EBU data via an adaptor cable. They can also be used as a Word Clock source for synchronization purposes. Operation at up to 96 kHz is possible, and the sockets are deactivated if you work at a sampling rate of 192 kHz. For the optical S/PDIF, the two TOSLINK connectors can be used as ADAT or S/PDIF links. In ADAT mode, the classic eight 24 bits/48 kHz or four 24 bit/96 kHz channels are available, or you can have two 24 bit/192 kHz channels. This is a huge expansion of the capacities of the 1820.

To all of this, they have added a Firewire port which is not an audio port but can be used to connect an external hard drive, a CD writer or a similar piece of equipment. It can also be used for digital video.

Interiors

The PCI card contains the DSP E-MU E-DESP, which is one of the bases of the system. The core of this circuit is the result of collaboration between E-MU and Creative. The card has been dubbed the EMU10K2 and is already well-known for having been included in Creative Audigy cards. The version used by the E-MU cards is new, and runs in combination with a specific FGPA. The system operates on 24 bits with an internal 32 bit calculation using a 67 bit accumulator. E-MU also claims to use a clock system that is particularly effective. It consists of two quartz oscillators and ensures consistent and accurate functioning of the circuitry - the inputs and outputs as well as the DSP - at all clock frequencies (44/48/96/192 kHz).

As for the hardware, note that the PCI card contains numerous extension connectors, including those designed for connecting to other E-MU PCI cards. In order to operate, it needs to be powered from a ribbon cable (supplied) attached to an output on your PC.

The AudioDock naturally contains all the analog circuits and converters. Two main printed circuits share the functions, and an auxiliary circuit is used for some of the controls and indicators. The top rear printed circuit contains all the input circuits including the three analog/digital converters and the phono preamp. It also contains the output 3.5 mm jack connectors and is linked to the main circuit by connectors. The converters are the popular TI Bur-Brown PCM1804. The 24 bits Delta-Sigma operate up to 192 kHz and work in PCM and DSD.

On the main printed circuit, the back section is mainly occupied by outputs with four stereo digital/analog converters, which in this case is the Delta-Sigma Cirrus Logic CS4392, claimed to have a dynamic of 114 dB, with distortion at -100 dB. They accept both PCM and DSD. On the front left of the circuit, there are two TF Pro preamps followed by a PCM1804 converter. This means they are positioned very close to the source of the signal, as they should. All of this creates a really good impression.

Creative E-MU 1820
Interface	PCI
Chipset	E-MU DSP
Sample rate (max)	192 kHz
Bit Depth	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits / 192 kHz
MIDI / Game ports	no
Inputs
Rack	2x mic/line, 6 symmetrical lines, phono, MIDI
Card	1x ADAT/S/PDIF, 1x S/PDIF coaxial, 1x FireWire
Outputs
Rack	8x mic/line, 8x asymmetrical lines, optical S/PDIF, MIDI
Card	1 ADAT/S/PDIF, 1 S/PDIF coaxial
MIDI
Two interfaces, DIN standard sockets, IN and OUT

A Digital Editing Desk And Much More!

The heart of the E-MU 1820, for the user, is the Patchmix software that brings it to life. It normally launches on bootup and you will find its icon in the system tray. It opens with one click. This is not mere control software of the type found on mass-market sound cards, but a veritable digital editing desk offering a multitude of possibilities. This is also the tool that will enable you to configure the 1820 to your needs. These functions naturally require a display that is not restricted to a small window. To display the complete version of Patchmix without having to use the horizontal slide, you will need a screen that is 1280 pixels wide. You can work with less but you won't get it all in the screen at one time. That said, the software is configurable and you don't always need all the tracks in this virtual console, which reduces screen size and makes it possible to work comfortably.

We aren't going to try and describe all of Patchmix's features in detail. That would make for indigestible reading - there are just so many of them. Unlike a multimedia sound card, the 1820, in its initial state, is incapable of doing anything. It can't even produce sound. For it to become operational, signals need to be "routed" between the inputs and outputs. And not just the physical inputs but the logical ones as well. Thus, to listen to a .WAV file recorded on your hard disk you need to route the logical .WAV input to the physical output of your choice, preferably one with a speaker! This design may be perplexing to the amateur who may not be familiar with professional sound concepts, but it permits enormous flexibility of use, because the card can be adapted to your current needs by simply changing the routing.

Patchmix resembles a physical editing desk with track modules corresponding to the various inputs and a "master" section that controls outputs, effects, auxiliaries, speakers and various other functions. This section is topped by a "screen" that is used for routing as well as for checking the effects. However, it's more of a control center than a screen.

A Digital Editing Desk And Much More!, Continued

The tracks of the console are far from being identical. You note immediately that the two inputs on the front of the AudioDock are managed independently, while the other inputs are arranged in pairs to constitute a stereo input. This feature sets the 1820 apart from a standard sound sampling console. In practice, this is unfortunate if you require a physical editing table as soon as you move to more advanced functions. Then, there are disadvantages in that the formula chosen may be limited if no physical editing facility is present. Even if they prove to be very real in certain cases, it should be noted that the tracks corresponding to physical inputs and those linked to logical inputs are identifiable by the color of the labeling - blue for a physical input, white for a logical input. All the tracks offer the same options, whether physical or logical, mono or stereo. The only difference is in the pan controls: these are obviously different depending on whether you are controlling one or two channels.

From top to bottom, each track indicates the type of input and has a section of inserts into which you can drag the effects of your choice. You can also insert various other elements, such as a VU meter, gain control, a calibration and testing source, physical feeder or jumper cables or ASIO. The next section consists of the pan controls, which include a potentiometer for the mono tracks and two for the stereo tracks. This enables you to position the sources in the stereo space. Auxiliary feeders are monitored for level by a linear potentiometer that has mute and solo commands. Finally, you can label each track to remind you what it is used for!

A Digital Editing Desk And Much More!, Continued

We will not wax poetic on the output section, which is very simple with a single potentiometer, two VU meters, overload indicators and an inserts section. Naturally, there is an auxiliary section with send and return. There are also the standard editing desk features, using buses (a man bus and two auxiliaries).

It takes quite a while to configure Patchmix to your particular needs, at least if you want to take advantage of all the options. You can thus save these configurations which are known as "sessions."

You need to provide a certain number of settings for each session thus saved. This means that some work has to be done on the inputs and outputs. Each physical input and output can operate on two nominal levels of -10 dBV (mass market, "consumer") or +4 dBu (professional). For those who are not familiar with these technical concepts, the dBV is a unit based on 1 V (effective) while the dBu is a unit based on 0.775 V (effective). The letter "u" that follows the dB abbreviation indicates that this is an open (non-loaded) circuit, corresponding to standard audio use (in which a low-impedance output is loaded with a much higher impedance input). From this, it can be deduced that -10 dBV corresponds to 316 mV and +4 dBu to 1.23 V. These values have been rounded up.

We should emphasize that these are nominal levels and not maximum or peak levels. We will discuss this again in the section about the technical tests. In any case, the real level can change slightly depending on the impedance of the connection or connections. In practice, however, with standard equipment and normal use, there's nothing to worry about.

Nevertheless, you need to make the right choices for your session in order to optimize the levels. It would be a pity to use your E-MU card at any less than its maximum performance level. You should also remember that levels may change depending on whether you are using symmetrical or asymmetrical links.

Inserts And Effects

One of the main attractions of E-MU cards is its powerful DSP. This feature makes it possible to offer a wide range of sound processors that don't sap power from your computer's central processor. There is one main limitation: the effects processor cannot operate at 96 or 192 kHz. It is only available for sampling frequencies of 44.1 and 48 kHz. This is regrettable, but understandable, as recording at frequencies higher than 48 kHz is rarely justified, especially for the sort of people who are likely to use such a card.

The effects for insertion are chosen from a little window where they are sorted into files. One such file, labeled "Core effects," is a special case. These are basic effects procured by the DSP, and the others are combinations and "customizations" of these core effects.

To use the effects, you simply drag them into the "Inserts" boxes in an editing track or wherever else you use them. If you simultaneously insert several effects into a track, you can record a new effect as a combination of your basic effects and any subsequent changes. Once you have inserted a certain number of effects on your console, you will discover that some effects are grayed out on the palette - they can no longer be added to the mix. That's because the DSP are fairly limited, so they need to be used wisely. But this would also be the case with traditional hardware, to say nothing of effects obtained through a PC.

That said, we are forced to admit that the interface for modifying effects does not live up to its potential. A more elaborate and more user-friendly graphics interface would have been nice. To adjust a parametric equalizer, users would be more interested in a correction curve that represents the adjustments instead of the bandwidth, frequency and gain, especially if they are combining several correctors on the same frequency band or on nearby frequencies. This calls for improvement!

As for the quality of the available effects, the jury is still out. Although some are no match for the best in the field (while remaining very usable for a mock-up) the basic corrections, such as equalization and compression, work very well (even though there are certain items that are missing) and are thus very useful for any kind of recording. This isn't really a revelation; effects lovers are always looking for something more elaborate, and you wouldn't really expect to find something like this in a sound card, however good.

On the other hand, some people may be disappointed in the MIDI features. The card, as well as the software supplied with it, merely contains the two interfaces on the AudioDock. Friends of Creative multimedia cards and their SoundFonts will have to find another way of managing MIDI.

Test Configuration And Audio Measurements

All our tests were performed on our usual configuration. They consist of readings taken using our testing equipment as well as a classic test using RMAA.

Hardware
Processor	Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR
Graphics Card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4200
Hard Drive	80 GB, 7200 rpm
Secondary Hard Drive	160 GB, 7200 rpm
Optical drive	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Pro + SP1
DirectX version	9.0a
Sound System
Speakers	Creative Gigaworks S750, Logitech Z2220
Benchmarks
Right Audio Mark Analyser 5
Right Mark 3D Sound 1.0

For the first simple test, we checked that the power up, the peak indicators ("Clip" on the micro/line inputs) on the Audiodock and the red zone of the VU meters really represented the effective maximum sound without distortion. That was indeed the case for the hardware indicators on the Audiodock, but the VU meters in the tracks did not perform as well: the red light came on without the trace of a peak. This means that there is a safety margin, which is something good to know.

Inputs and Outpus (rear)
Minimum level	-10 dBV	+4 dBV
Maximum output level	3.9 V/+11.9 dBV	7.73 V / +17.8 dBV
Mic In / Line In (front)
	Minimum Gain	Maximum Gain
Saturation, line A input	6.95 V / +16.8 dBV	73mV / -22.8 dBV
Saturation, mic A input	230 mV / -12.8 dBV	2.4 mV / 52.5 dBV
Photo In
Saturation	63mV / -24 dBV

Test Configuration And Audio Measurements, Continued

All the measurements were performed symmetrically (except the phono input!). The measurement frequency was 1 kHz. This would give you the maximum levels obtainable in output or acceptable for input without noticeable distortion. The results are very satisfactory, as they are for various other tests we performed. The equalizers gave the expected results and were very accurate, an essential feature in this type of corrector. We do have one small beef: the whole audio range is not always covered. Some correctors stopped at 80 Hz although there are instruments that can go much lower (let's say around 40 Hz). It would be a good thing to be able to correct them as well.

Here are a few examples of possible corrections using a parametric equalization band. These corrections are very effective but, unfortunately, the filter does not go below 80 Hz.

The "shelf" corrector is akin to a classic bass (or treble) corrector, except that the whole audio band can be scanned with the inflexion point, sometimes with surprising results. You have to know what you are doing!

The RIAA correction, achieved through the phono input, is absolutely correct. Just to nit-pick, however: it's a pity there isn't any subsonic filtering, which is now fairly common.

The phono input thus proves to be very usable, even if it is not a high-end creation offering all the options and performance of a high-end separate preamp. But that kind of equipment would be much more expensive than the whole of the E-MU 1820.

Tests using a Right Mark Audio Analyzer were performed at 44.1 kHz in 16 bit and 24 bit mode and at 48 kHz in 24 bit mode. We believe that these levels reflect the most popular methods at these sampling frequencies. We were NOT able to take measurements at 96 and 192 kHz, since the card is incompatible with the WDM drivers at these frequencies. E-MU has stated that it will address this issue.

Performances measurable at 96 and 192 kHz generally ought to be identical to those obtained at 48 kHz. Except, of course, for the frequency response, which will obviously move higher up the range. This could have a certain impact, for example on the signal/noise ratio due to the expansion of the bandwidth, but there won't be any radical changes. So nothing to worry about there.

Behavior At 44.1 KHz/16 Bits

In this configuration, we took measurements that correspond to the Compact Disc format, the most widely used format for digital sound. When studying our measurements, don't forget that the maximum theoretical signal/noise ratio of a system with 16 bit quantification is around 98 dB. So don't expect more, even with a perfect card! To overcome this barrier, you need to switch to 24 bit mode, where performance can take that qualitative step forward if the card is good enough, as we shall see below.

Frequency response : The response is perfectly linear throughout the audio spectrum, with a slight attenuation above 10 kHz.

Noise level : Although there are occasional incidents, the noise is very low and perfectly regular.

Dynamic capacity : The dynamic capacity is close to the maximum theoretical value in 16 bit mode. What more could you want?

Distortion : The distortion won't be robbing you of any sleep!

Intermodulation : Here again, a very remarkable reading.

Stereo separation : diaphony is almost nil because it is far in excess of 90 dB...

Behavior At 44.1 KHz/24 Bits

Behavior remains identical but quantification in 24 bit mode considerably improves the signal/noise ratio, the dynamic and the stereo separation. The 1820 meets all our expectations. It takes full advantage of the performance made possible by 24 bit quantification.

Frequency response : obviously nothing changes as regards this setting.

Noise level : the noise level dropped below 140 dB throughout almost the whole audio spectrum! With the exception of two occasional incidents that remained.

Dynamic capacity : Here again, there was significant progress in the genuine quality of the card.

Distortion : Nothing new here, the same excellent values persist.

Intermodulation : Intermodulation reduced very noticeably...

Stereo separation : On the graph supplied automatically by RMAA, the scale was not adequate to show the slightest diaphony!

Behavior At 48 KHz/24 Bits

The switch from 44 to 48 kHz doesn't make much change in performance on a card of this type, which ought to show its best performance at any sampling frequency.

Frequency response : Unfortunately, the linearity of the response in extreme treble did not improve, but extended to a slightly higher level. Overall, the result remained very good.

Noise level : The result was noticeably identical to the (excellent) one obtained at 44 kHz.

Dynamic capacity : Here again, the figures were very close and excellent.

Distortion : No change with an initial harmonic that was already around -110 dB!

Intermodulation : Identical, excellent readings.

Stereo separation : The values remained very high. In practice there was zero diaphony.

So, overall, the 1820 is guilty of having a frequency response marked with a very slight attenuation in the extreme treble. This is a matter of manufacturer choice, since the manufacturer opted for very low noise and excellent dynamics. There's nothing more to say: the 1820 is much better than mass-market sound cards and many competing cards for musicians. This would apply even more with a high-quality 1820M. As a reminder, the distortion is too slight to worry anyone and the diaphony is unlikely to interfere with your recordings!

In Practice, In The Studio

There's not much point in testing this kind of sound card only under laboratory measurement conditions. So we performed practical recording tests in a home studio, which is where it is most likely to be used. The tests were made using the bundled software, Cubase VST 5.1 (special E-MU edition) and Wavelab Lite.

The minimum stated configuration is not very demanding:

Processor : Pentium III or AMD K6 500 MHz or better
Memory: 128 Mb
PCI 2.1 connector of choice
Graphics card: XVGA (1024X768)
Operating system: Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP1 or more recent

To work comfortably, you would probably need something better. The only slightly odious requirement is the operating system. In practice, it would be unrealistic to use anything but the latest version of WindowsXP. Naturally, the card is compatible with all the usual audio applications. You have three types of drivers: WDM, ASIO multimedia, and ASIO 2.

Obviously, you will need time to familiarize yourself with the software and learn how to use it on the 1820. But it's very simple to install the card and we encountered no irritating glitches. Everything worked immediately and we didn't have to make any weird or obscure choices from the dialog box. And this was on an "as is" computer, not a new one outfitted only with a select number of audio applications. While we can't guarantee you will get the same result, it's a nice capability, especially since some cards are very fussy, to the point of being jealous of other programs installed on the same machine.

Several musical instruments and some studio equipment, a PC and a E-MU 1820 - that's all you need to start recording music!

In Practice, In The Studio, Continued

Thanks to the length of the cable between the Audiodock and the PCI card you can arrange the studio equipment wherever you want it.

The MIDI sockets on the front are very practical for plugging in an instrument quickly.

Of course, novices will wonder how much delay time can be achieved. The time here is very short, but also depends on how the equipment is used. With a piece of music that uses a lot of resources, we were not able to get more than 5 ms with a processor load of less than 10%, according to the Cubase meter. We used the same configuration as above, with the audio and the system on separate disks.

In Practice, In The Studio, Continued

The driver normally used by Cubase and any other musical software is an ASIO 2, which enables "direct monitoring." The link between Cubase and Patchmix is sometimes a rather strange one but, with a little effort, we were always able to get it to work right. You need to look at the drivers available in the "Setup" and choose - except in very special circumstances - the E-MU ASIO

Last, but certainly not least, the sound quality was quite amazing on the 1820 and ought to be even better on the 1820M. The dynamic seems to be very good - you should install a good speaker system correctly to take full advantage of it.

Some users will be irritated by the impossibility of using the E-MU card for games, and for DVDs, the E-MU 1820 can only play back those with stereo sound. So the only solution for games and DVDs with surround sound is to install a second sound card. We used a USB sound card, but it should be possible to get a Creative Audigy card (such as the Audigy 2 ZS to stay at the same level of quality) and an E-MU card to work side-by-side. This would enable you to get the best out of both of them for your own personal configuration.

Conclusion

Although still not widely known because they are so new, E-MU cards certainly deserve a higher stature. Without even mentioning their association with the EmulatorX sampler, they offer a range of features and surprisingly high quality for the price. However, a few software and driver upgrades would be nice - E-MU has already promised to deliver some of them soon. You can allow yourself to be tempted!

Product	US (excl. tax)	Europe
1212m	$200	200 €
1820	$400	400 €
1820m	$500	500 €
EmulatorX (with 1212m)	$300	300 €
EmulatorX Studio (with 1820m)	$600	600 €
Emulator X update for all E-MU cards	$149	149 €

DTS and 7.1: Creative Audigy 2 Platinum Pro

Jean-Pierre Roche — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 19:02:45 +0000

Introduction

The old Audigy 2, if we can say that, and the new versions look exactly the same. But don't let looks fool you, as the new versions have new features aplenty, both in hardware and in software. Like the other Audigy 2s, they use the highest quality sound cards that can operate at frequencies up to 192 kHz, based on 24 bits, to achieve the best possible recordings and sound reproduction.

These cards now also take advantage of the latest surround-sound standards for movies and games. Yes, that's right: Creative has entered the world of 7.1 sound.

Creative Audigy 2 ZS: Just The Card

The basic version of this new Audigy is a PCI card on its own. It is fitted with all the necessary connections with the exception of the MIDI/games, which are installed on a separate card in the now-standard format. For many users who don't use MIDI and attach their games connectors through the USB port, this socket is useless so you could discard it; there's no point in cluttering up your PC with it.

The card has the two standard input circuits (line and mike) and a digital output on a 3.5 mm jack, that can be used with Creative sound systems that have digital input. It can also be used with any other standard digital equipment through an adaptor cable. There are also three 3.5 mm output jacks of the type that have become standard, but in this case, although the first is a traditional stereo jack, the other two offer three channels each, so that there is a total of eight 7.1 sound channels. Naturally, as in previous versions, you can be sure of compatibility even if you connect to a 5.1 or 6.1 system.

The possibilities offered by this card can be extended further if you buy an internal rack that can be linked via the extension connector on the card, using the same arrangement offered by Creative's earlier cards. In the case of the ZS, the internal rack is only available if purchased online (over the internet).

Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro: External Sound

Just as in the case of its previous high-quality sound card, Creative has opted for an external cladding to which the PCI card is attached via a double cable (one for the actual sound card, the other for the FireWire interface). All the connections are made on the external housing, all that remains on the PCI card are the loudspeaker output sockets (8 channels on three 3.5 mm jacks in the Audigy 2 ZS). The use of external housing makes it possible to move the card away from sources of noise (of which there are plenty in a PC!), thus protecting most of the sensitive circuits and improving the signal-to-noise ratio. This is a point that our benchmarks highlighted during previous tests.

The external housing offers six input channels, divided into three stereo inputs, one on the front on two 1/4" jacks, one on the back on a pair of Cinch connectors. Six high-definition input channels represent a rare and exciting feature. Now you can let rip with the mixing and multitrack ... One of the front inputs is attached to a potentiometer that turns it into a mike and instrument input with adjustable gain whenever you need it. The microphone entry has no phantom feed, however. On the other hand, the box offers a remote control receiver and the infrared remote is supplied with the card, an undeniable advantage to the user who does not want to be restricted to using the card just with the keyboard and mouse.

Software Better Organized!

We criticized the software bundle supplied by Creative with its sound card because there was so much software and drivers that it was hard to find the item you needed. It was real detective work tracking it down. The good news is that there is a clear improvement in the new Creative bundle. Although there's still a lot of software, a simple mouse click on the "Go" button opens a window containing a "Programs" tab that leads you to the programs and a "Settings" tab that allows you to choose between the various models of settings. A great idea!

Under this tab there are all the well-known elements such as the mixing table (which appears to be unchanged) and the choice of loudspeaker configuration (which now offers the choice of 7.1 but seems to be similar to the previous version). With the card controller functions, you leave familiar territory because the "Decoder" tab is now labeled Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES. The introduction of DTS (whether ES or not) is certainly the most significant contribution because it was the most obvious lack in the previous versions.

On this subject, we should recall that Creative has still not supplied a software DVD driver. This means you need to go out and get one (the most popular are Power DVD or WinDVD). This software does not handle decoding of multichannel sound (it needs to be configured in SP/DIF mode) but it acts as a driver for the Creative card. So you don't need to choose a high-level version that will decode the latest movie standards, it's merely used as a player.

Software Better Organized!, Continued

The other tabs on the controller offer access to configuration options for the S/P DIF digital inputs and outputs as well as the headphone output.

Another innovation we asked for is an equalizer that is more directly usable than the previous one (which still remains available) on the EAX console. This new equalizer is a seven-channel graphic equalizer. It can thus be treated as a super-corrector of tone and not a genuine equalizer - but it's perfectly suited to the kind of user this sound card is likely to have. A model containing settings or one with a third of an octave would probably cause more problems than it would solve...You get various pre-setting options but nothing forces you to use them. We would even tend to advise you to avoid them and create your own settings, which are best suited to the kind of music you listen to, to your speakers and the acoustics of the place where you listen. You can save them to memory and with a little effort on your part, you'll get a much better sound.

Software enabling the conversion into a series of sound files is also supplied. Creative Audio Converter lets you change a Wave, MP3 or WMA file into a different format. In the case of WMA, it's the same format but with various options, such as normal, Pro or without loss. You can also convert your original stereo into multichannel sound up to 7.1! This tool should be of interest to quite a few users.

The final innovation is the THX settings console. This is a really cool item that we'll discuss in detail further on, when we review multichannel sound and the possibilities it offers. Overall, it can be said that Mediasource has developed considerably and today constitutes a good tool for managing all the aspects of sound reproduction, including MP3, extraction of the tracks of a CD and burning disks (if you have a CD or DVD burner, of course). As in the previous version, it has an audio DVD player but it's a shame this hasn't been upgraded. If it's capable of reading audio DVDs at 24 bits/192 kHz, the management of certain aspects of their content (especially the video sequences) has been forgotten. So you can listen, but you can't see! An improvement in this area would be welcome, even if Creative appears for the time being to be the only manufacturer to offer playback of the audio part of DVDs.

From Dolby Digital To DTS ES: What Surround Sound?

If we try and quickly summarize the development of multichannel sound, which is indispensable today, you must remember that the first attempts to produce Surround Sound in the movie theater dates back to the 1950s. The process was extremely expensive in those days, using magnetic movie sound tracks, especially on 70 mm film. In the mid-1970s, Dolby introduced a system based on two optical sound tracks. Although it was called Dolby Stereo, it wasn't a twin-channel but a four-channel system (right, center, left, surround) achieved from two tracks on which they were coded. The encoding, entitled MP Matrix (MP for Motion Picture) was given various names, but mainly Dolby Stereo or Dolby Surround. If the designers of Dolby Stereo were restricted to two sound tracks, that's because there was so little space available on 35 mm films. The reduction in the width of tracks in order to increase their number resulted in insoluble problems, but home applications began to be developed with Dolby Surround (three channels), and then Dolby Surround Pro-Logic (four channels).

Switching To Digital

With the advent of digital recording, based on an encoding called AC-3, the number of available channels could finally be increased. The process, known as Dolby Digital, offers five channels, plus a subwoofer channel (5.1) and the performance is a great improvement on Dolby Stereo, in particular as regards bandwidth. Dolby Digital was introduced into movie theaters in 1992, and made its début in the home on LaserDisks in 1995, then on DVD in 1997. While Dolby reigned supreme in the movie theater, digitization enabled other processes to compete with it, including DTS (Digital Theater System). DTS was introduced with "Jurassic Park." It was still a 5.1 system, but the soundtrack compression ratio was lower than that of Dolby and it ran on different equipment. Hence the superior sound quality, at least in theory.

Moving On To 7.1

The known formats were then improved and upgraded to Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES which added a speaker in the rear center (so now there were three speakers in front and three at the back). In the case of Dolby, the process involved a matrix configuration similar to that of Dolby Pro-Logic in order to create a sixth channel. In the case of DTS, the six channel could either be separate or part of the matrix. Real DTS ES 6.1 is the Discrete, as opposed to the DTS ES Matrix. These two versions naturally used DTS ES decoders like the one on the Audigy 2 ZS. You can also reproduce 6.1 Dolby Digital EX or DTS ES sound in 7.1, you just have to add another rear sixth channel. This was originally introduced for the movies, so that the moviegoer could hear rear sound everywhere. The Audigy 2 ZS 7/1 sound reproduction in EX or ES is produced in the same way. Whatever the configuration, compatibility is assured by outputting in 5.1, which is the right way to do it.

Always at the cutting edge of technology, Dolby and DTS have produced "new" technologies that are nothing more than refinements of greater or lesser importance on the basic techniques. Dolby brought out Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS produced its Neo:6. In both cases, they were trying to achieve a better move between sources from two through five channels for outputting in 6.1 or 7.1 using modes suitable for music, movies, and even - in Dolby's case - games. It's funny that the functions of these new forms of "surround" sound can already be found in certain products that don't even claim to be using these standards! In any case, no doubt slightly intimidated by this sudden leap forward, Dolby has confidence in the intrinsic value of 5.1 sound... If you summarize the whole story, the basis of multichannel sound is 5.1 with a possible extension to 6.1and an inflation that would tend to popularize the 7.1. The advantages of the 7.1 lie basically in its practicality. It is easier to install two rear loudspeakers which could be located at the sides than one central rear speaker that is either badly positioned or in an awkward position. Even if it is something of a luxury in a domestic setting, this is the kind of equipment that is pretty standard in a movie theater. On the other hand, it would hard to claim that this is a major advance in the technology of multichannel sound.

How About On Our Card?

At Creative, Dolby Pro-Logic II seems to have run its course, to be replaced by the CMSS 3D system that will transform your stereo into 7.1 sound, but the Neo:6 should soon be available through an update available for downloading from the internet.

In practice, it should be enough to click on the various buttons under the "Decoder" tab to realize that Creative offers almost everything available from Dolby and DTS. There is a choice of mapping from a 4 or 5.1 source, in other words, the additional 7.1 speakers. In respect of the Dolby Digital decoder, you have the choice of activating dynamic compression and Dolby Pro Logic or not. In Dolby Digital EX, you can opt for 6.1 or 7.1, though you need to know that the rear speakers are on a matrix. With DTS, you can choose to matrix the 5.1 sources in order to benefit to the maximum on your loudspeakers or to remain in the source format if you are a purist. In DTS ES, you have the choice between 6.1 and 7.1. Here again, the rear speaker is matrixed because only DTS ES DVDs are in Matrix and not in Discrete. In practice, when in 7.1 mode, differentiating between a movie in Dolby EX or in DTS ES such as "Seven" and a spectacular production mapped in 5.1 such as "Pearl Harbor" becomes mission impossible!

In movie mode on a PC, 6.1 could still be considered to have a slight advantage. If the 7.1 doesn't add much to the movie, it nevertheless noticeably improves the sound in games. The integration of the player into his or her virtual world would be more realistic if there were greater accuracy in the movement of the various elements in the game. The actual contribution made by the sound depends very much on the configuration adopted - size of the listening area, quality and arrangement of loudspeakers, etc. It would be ridiculous to turn up one's nose at the advent of 7.1 systems and it would be just as silly to go hell-for-leather for them if you already have a good 5.1 system: the difference remains pretty minimal.

THX, A Quality Standard

Finally, the last major brand famous in movies and on the home movie scene - THX. This product of Lucasfilm does not offer a new type of sound track encoding (it can use all of them) but imposes standards of quality for output from movie theaters. A technical and commercial approach that is interesting but risky, because quality and mass market rarely go together. Originally, home equipment labeled THX was considered prestige hardware, often designed for large rooms of the kind that are rarely found in the average apartment. They had captured a niche market, an upscale one of course but a pretty restricted one. The THX label developed in several classes of certification so there are multimedia products that bear this label, as there are Creative Audigy 2 cards (including the ZS, of course!).

THX certification ensures that when the sound travels through your THX system, it will have been subjected to various processes suited to home reproduction, such as equalization to ensure that the output destined for movie screen sound systems was adapted to direct output, and monophonic decorrelation of the surround signal. The bass was managed used high-pass and low-pass filters, peaks were compressed in the base, and time delays were managed between the various speakers based on their position in the listening room.

In order to enable better adaptation to your broadcasting system, you now have a THX console with two screens. The first is for basic choices, with an indication of the connections to be made, the second to precisely calibrate the output on the basis of the acoustic system used. You indicate to the system the position of the various speakers and their distance in relation to the listening area so that it can manage the delay between speakers. This new tool has the great merit of clarity to optimize output based on your own personal setup.

A Familiar Tune But An Improved Melody

The Audigy 2 ZS uses the same old Audigy 2 circuit, now so well-known, a DSP audio processor operating at 32 bits and at a frequency of 48 kHz. The reference is not identical here but this is just an upgrade. The circuit is associated with 24 bit converters that can operate at up to 192 kHz in play mode and can record at 24 bits and 96 kHz. You have to understand, however, that one is exclusive to the other. In other words, if the Audigy 2 can operate "direct-to-disk" at 24 bits/96 kHz, an audio stream such as this cannot be processed by the DSP. So there's no point in hoping to apply realtime effects using the card! Furthermore, 44.1 kHz is not always managed natively. That is one of the disadvantages of this type of card in comparison to the more professional models.

Unlike the Platinum EX that was restricted to digital on the PCI card, the Platinum ZS has an analog input on the same card and uses a STAC9721T Sigmatel circuit (18 bits/48 kHz) to do the conversion. This is not one of the most recent circuits... An S/PDIF input is added so it is possible to connect two audio sources to it (one digital, one analog) directly to the card. For the digital/analog conversion, it uses a Cirrus Logic CS4382 circuit (8 channels, 24 bits, 192 kHz). The housing is fitted with TI/BB PCM1804 analog/digital converters and a CS4382 digital/analog converter (stereo, 24 bit, 192 kHz) for the headset output. The base is thus identical to that of the Platinum EX using the same converters, but the conversion is performed differently and the better use of these converters enables Creative to claim a better signal/noise ratio of 108 dB in play mode, making it 2 dB better than the previous version.

As is normal for cards of this level, ASIO (Audio Streaming Input Output) drivers are supplied to work with music software. These drivers ensure a latency that can drop to very weak output, at least 10 ms, depending on the equipment used. The Platinum Pro benefits from ASIO 2 drivers that enable Direct Monitoring (direct signal path that does not need to pass through the application) as well as recording on six channels at 24 bits/96 kHz. On the other hand, direct management of 44.1 kHz remains impossible. The card still operates at 48 kHz. As in the previous range, the Audigy 2 ZS still uses ASIO 1 drivers that only operate at 16 bits/48 kHz.

Test Configuration And Audio Measurement

Although the Audigy 2 ZS is not up to the 44.1 kHz native standard (so that it remains a mass market product?), the results on this sampling frequency have greatly improved. Remember that the measurements are made using a loop between the output line and input line 3. The frequency response still suffers from the problems of frequency conversion and thus remains identical to that of previous models - not bad but not all that great either. On the other hand, the signal/noise ratio, the stereo dynamics and separation offer much better results. In other words, they are up to what one might expect from a card of this quality... So the signal/noise ratio has improved from 88 to 97 dB! Strangely, Creative has not made capital out of this improvement.

Distortion has also noticeably diminished (it has halved) but that wasn't the most annoying feature. Intermodulation distortion seems to have undergone a much more drastic reduction but this is only the consequence of the change of measurement method used by the RMAA software. In fact, the previous technique was unsuitable for measuring cards operating at 44.1 kHz and produced unreliable results. It now uses the SMPTE (60 and 7000 Hz) measuring standard. So you can't compare the current measuring results with the previous ones using this criterion.

To enable you to make a visual comparison easily of the improvement in this new card at a frequency of 44.1 kHz we compared it to the Platinum EX, tested previously.

Comparison At 44.1 KHz

Frequency Response : at 44 kHz, both cards have an identical response which soon cuts into treble with ripples probably created by resampling.

Noise level : You will easily realize that the noise level of the ZS is much lower and very consistent.

Motional capacitance : No surprises here, the results match those of the noise level test...

Distortion : Once more the ZS is way ahead of its predecessor! Though remember all the values are in any case very low...

Intermodulation : Measurement standards are different so results should not be compared point by point.

Diaphonie : The ZS is much better than the earlier model which was very good in itself. What more can we say!

Performance At 48 KHz

Frequency response : The Platinum Pro can always be blamed for having a rather limited level in extreme treble because the drop in quality is noticeable above 15 kHz. With sampling at 48 kHz, it's a case of "could do better"...

Noise level : The result can be described as excellent. As promised, you gain a few decibels in comparison to the Platinum EX.

Motional capacitance : Same as for the signal/noise ration. Excellent, and getting better.

Distortion : Very weak, distortion is similar to the Platinum EX. It's hard to do better.

Intermodulation : Distortion still very slight but it should be remembered that no comparison with previous tests is possible because the measurement method is different.

Diaphony : The values are of the same order as with the previous model, i.e., excellent. The variations may be due to dispersion of features of the components..

Performance At 24 Bits/96 KHz

Frequency response : You have to work at 96 kHz to cover the audio spectrum up to 20 kHz without any noticeable attenuation. You can get up to around 40 kHz to -0.5 dB, which is very satisfactory.

Noise level : No problem, the sound remains as low on the audio track but is slightly louder on the higher frequencies so the figures are not so good.

Motional capacitance : With the weighting, the result improves in relation to other frequencies because the noise on the audio track is quieter.

Distortion : The result for actual distortion (minus noise) is very good. The two predominant harmonics (H2 and H3) were rejected at over 100 dB and others at more than 120 dB...

Intermodulation : The result remains perfectly satisfactory, as in slightly lower sampling frequencies.

Diaphony : Using diaphonics that are higher than 90 dB, the Platinum ZS remains true to its predecessors, which were excellent in this respect.

3D Sound And Games

According to Creative, with the ZS, a new version of 3D sound has arrived. This is the advent of EAX 4.0 Advanced HD, which claims to bring a new dimension to the games that use it. Of course, it is based on the previous version, but EAX 4.0 brings greater realism to the sound atmosphere and a substantial improvement to multi-environments in real time. The player can find his or her way around more easily and handle the events in the game. He or she can hear battles taking place in a neighboring room while fighting in a new environment. Furthermore, this new version is capable of finding hardware resources on the card for start-up effects, originally a feature designed for musicians. The gamer can use them to improve the rendering of the sound environment. Of course, you'll have to wait for games able to use EAX 4.0 to find out if all this is as effective as Creative promises it to be.

For our processor occupation tests, we are now using Right Mark's new 3D Sound software to replace Winbench, which now looks a little outdated... The tests show very low processor occupation because with EAX activated, you can go as low as 2%!

3D Sound And Games, Continued

Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro	Processor load (%)
DirectSound 2D	1.64
DirectSound 3D software	26.8
DirectSound 3D hardware	2.4
DirectSound 3D + EAX	2

For the actual behavior in action, we took our three favorite games (Quake 3, Comanche 4, and Splinter Cell) and included in the comparative graphics the previous version of Audigy 2 (Platinum EX) as well as Terratec Aureon Space, another recent 7.1 card. Naturally, the Audigy 2 ZS is configured in 7.1! In Quake 3, the move to 7.1 seems to have resulted in a noticeable reduction in performance. The result is better than with Terratec but definitely not as good as that of the Platinum EX. In Comanche 4, things were very different because we obtained a much better performance than from the competition! Finally, with Splinter Cell, the ZS obtained exactly the same result as the Platinum EX. So the result is always good with more or less significant variations depending on the resources on which the game in question relies. Splinter Cell automatically activates EAX 3 where it recognizes it, which has slightly handicapped the performance of the Audigy 2 in comparison with the other brands.

Software And Configuration Package

The software shared by the two Audigy 2 ZS models are naturally those that originated with Creative. Two have been added, Tomb Raider (The Angel of Darkness) and Tom Clancy (Rainbow Six 3 Ravenshield). With Platinum EX, Cubasis VST4.0 and Wavelab Lite 2.0 (an audio/MIDI sequencer and audio editor) have been bundled, along with Image Line FL Studio 4. The software package is much smaller than in certain previous models.

To operate the Audigy 2 ZS, the minimum you need is a Pentium II or Celeron 350 MHz or an AMD K6 450 MHz with 64 MB of memory running under Windows 98SE or Millenium and 128 MB running under Windows 2000 SP2 or XP. To exploit all the possibilities - including DVD Audio - a Pentium III 800 MHz or an Athlon 1 GHz are required, with 128 MB of memory running under Windows 98 SE or Millennium and 256 MB running under Windows 2000 SP2 or XP. As you will have realized, Windows 98 SE is the oldest operating system that will run the card.

On the hardware side, of course you will need a free slot for the PCI card and another slot for the installation of the MIDI/games connector if you want to use it. A DVD-ROM X5 player is the minimum requirement for playing DVD Audio or Video. For playing video, Creative recommends WinDVD 2000 or Power DVD 3.0 or something more recent. For games, a DirectX 9- and OpenGL-compatible graphics card with at least 32 MB of memory for textures is needed. Of course the amplifier speaker system for the 7.1 is essential if you want to benefit from all of the card's features...

Conclusion

With this new version of its high-quality cards, Creative has become that much more competitive. This was a vital development in view of the competition, which was already offering 7.1 sound.

However, the increase in the number of loudspeakers is not the only interesting feature the Audigy 2 ZS offers. The other major feature is its DTS decoding capability. Many films have DTS sound - alongside a Dolby Digital track - and it was becoming frustrating not to be able to take advantage of this feature with a Creative sound card.

Finally, if the audio performances are making some progress, the software is developing very positively, even if it is not yet perfect. Creative's current software library makes it possible to manage the card more effectively and allows easier access to the main applications.

Anyone who is not thinking of doing anything more than playing games or a DVD, an Audio CD or audio files in general, the Audigy 2 ZS is certainly the best choice in terms of the ratio between possibilities and cost. On the other hand, if you like to connect and disconnect various types of equipment and perform elaborate recording, you will more likely need the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro. In the case of multimedia and musical creative activities, the external housing makes it easy to use and offers a range of possibilities that will soon prove to be indispensable. Whatever the case and whatever the version you choose, the ZS has become the non-professional sound card that offers the best audio quality on the market.

High-End Audio: Creative and Terratec

Jean-Pierre Roche — Thu, 21 Aug 2003 19:02:23 +0000

Introduction

High-end audio cards commercially available today cast a wide net by offering a variety of functions to satisfy a wide range of customer demands. While the consumer sound cards would not meet the specialty demands of professional use, multi-channel sound control (Dolby Digital, DTS, and others) is one of several audio technologies available in consumer channels today.

Of the cards in this comparative test, Creative's Platinum and Platinum EX have 6.1s channels, Terratec's Aureon Sky has 5.1, and Terratec's Aureon Space has 7.1. The range of available products spans classic Dolby Digital through advanced multi-channel sound. Comparatively, few DVDs offer more than five available channels.

Sound card capabilities also depend on software. Sampling sound at a 192 kHz frequency, for example, requires the Windows XP Service Pack 1. Sound cards that offer 7.1 channels require Windows XP. Older software packages limit sound card performance to 6.1 channels..

Down To Basics

The Creative cards use the well-known Audigy 2 chipset, based on a powerful DSP (digital signal processor) operating at 32 bits and at a 48 kHz frequency. The chipset and related components are combined with 24 bit converters that are capable of reaching a frequency of 192 kHz in playback and 24 bits and 96 kHz in record mode.

There is a great amount of leeway in the cards' different features. While the Audigy 2 has "direct-to-disk" capabilities at 24 bits/96 kHz, the audio stream does not take advantage of DSP technology. Applying real-time effects is not possible.

One of the Creative cards also differs by the inclusion, on the Platinum, of a Sigmatel STAC9721T circuit (18 bits / 48 kHz), that handles the internal analog inputs on the PCI card.

The Platinum EX does not have this capability, so the PCI card has no analog inputs, and the audio streams are routed through the PCI bus. The upside is that a cable connecting the CD or DVD drives is not required, but the downside is that there is that connections to audio peripherals are limited.

The Terratec is based on a VIA Envy 24 HT chipset. The card's main feature is its high-quality playback. It supports 24 bits at up to a 192 kHz frequency, with a maximum of 8 output channels (7.1).

The downside is that it only offers two 24 bit input channels since it is not designed for multi-track recording applications. For the internal analog inputs on the card, Terratec uses an 18 bit Sigmatel STAC9744T functioning at 48 kHz.

The Envy 24HT does not offer many sound-processing options. It can, however, operate at a wide range of frequencies.

The concept of the Creative and Terratec cards is thus appreciably different. The Creative has a powerful integrated DSP but is limited to a sampling frequency of 48 kHz, which allows for the application of multiple real-time effects that are not relied on the capabilities of the main processor.

Terratec has adopted a non-DSP approach. Its effects instead relay on the PC's software and host CPU.

Creative Audigy 2, Audigy 2 Platinum & Platinum EX: Accessible Connections

The Creative, Audigy 2 Platinum sound cards offer a host of connection configurations. The Platinum version, for example, has a 5.25" rack that is inserted at the front of the PC, which also requires a large case.

The Platinum Ex, which comes in an external box form-factor, is linked to the PCI card via cable. Despite the fact that the cable does double duty as a FireWire interface, it remains relatively flexible and is relatively thin.

The only inconveniences that we were able to find with the form factors was with the complexity of their installations and their numerous connections, especially for the power supply, for example. While a connector on an extension cable is provided with the Platinum, an unused power connector for the Platinum EX is required. You might have to consider adding a Y connector.

Obviously, a rackless version of the Audigy 2 exists and it's much less costly than the versions tested here. The potential is fairly similar to that of the Audigy 2 Platinum, but so are the limitations. It has to make do with ASIO drivers operating at 16 bits and 48 kHz. That said, like the more advanced models, it is capable of reading DVD audio at 192 kHz and can manage a host of other nifty functions.

The rackless version of the Audigy 2 offers six line 5.1 outputs and one shared output. You can even add a FireWire interface, which is a good choice for DVD audio and video.

Audigy 2
Interface	PCI
Audio chip	Audigy 2 CA0102-IAT
Max. playback sampling	192 kHz
Digital-analog conversion	24 bits
ASIO	16 bits / 48 kHz
MIDI/ game port	yes
Input
On-board	line-in, mic, FireWire
Internal	"3x line-in, 1x S/PDIF, 1x FireWire"
Front panel	-
Output
Card	"3x line-out (6.1), 1x digital-out, Creative"
Front panel	-
DVD & Cinema
Standards	"Dolby Digital, DTS via S/PDIF-out"
Configuration	up to 6.1
DVD Audio	yes, up to 192 kHz
3D Gaming Audio
Standards	"DS3D, A3D, EAX 1.0/2.0, Advanced HD"
Configuration	2x 6.1
MIDI
Hardware synthesizer	32 channels, 64 voices
Software synthesizer	Creative, 16 channels

Platinum EX : Letting It All (or Nearly All) Hang Out

By housing the Platinum EX in an external casing, Creative managed to incorporate all of the plug-in ports inside the device, except the speaker output ports that remain on the card's connector bracket. There are also three 3.5 mm jack plugs, two twin-channel jacks for the front and back, and a third with three center, center-rear, and bass channels). The three-channel output remains compatible with the 5.1 system: if you configure the card that way and plug in a twin-channel jack, everything should work perfectly.

The external casing offers six input channels, divided into three stereo inputs. There are two 1/4" jacks on the front, and a pair of Cinch sockets at the back. While it's fairly different from a professional-standard card, the six high-definition input channels represent a rare and interesting feature. The mixes or multi-tracks are left up to the user. One of the front inputs is fitted with a potentiometer, which can be used as microphone and instrument input port with gain control. However, the microphone input is not equipped with a phantom feed-cable.

Platinum EX, Continued

For outputs, there is a headphone socket on a 1/4" jack plug on the front, with volume control similar to that of general outputs. At the back, a 3.5 mm jack plug allows you to link Creative's special cable with a digital speaker system. The classic S/P DIF digital inputs and outputs are also present with two Toslink connectors on the front and two Cinch plugs at the back.

For the MIDI interface, Creative has wisely abandoned its use of mini-DIN. There are two classic DIN IN/OUT ports at the back. Finally, two FireWire plugs are available on the front and back. The second socket at the back is for a link to the PCI card, but it has no audio connection. CDs are normally played in digital mode, a logical choice for a card in this category.

Audigy 2 Platinum EX
Interface	PCI
Audio chip	Audigy 2 CA0102-IAT
Max. playback sampling	192 kHz
Digital-analog conversion	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits / 96 kHz
MIDI/ game port	yes
Input
On-board	none
Internal	none
External	"2x line-in, 1x mic/line-in, coaxial & optical digital, 2x FireWire, MIDI"
Output
Card	3 line-out (6.1)
External	1x headphones, digital & optical digital-out, MIDI
DVD & Cinema
Standards	"Dolby Digital, DTS via S/PDIF-out"
Configuration	up to 6.1
DVD Audio	yes, up to 92 kHz
3D Gaming Audio
Standards	"DS3D, A3D, EAX 1.0/2.0, Advanced HD"
Configuration	2x 6.1
MIDI
Hardware synthesizer	32 channels, 64 voices
Software synthesizer	Creative, 16 channels

Platinum: Task Management

The Platinum's PCI card has the expected three 3.5 mm jack plugs for speaker output, but there is also a digital output for a link with a digital-amplification speaker system. A microphone input and a line input as well as a FireWire interface can be added.. Everything else is housed on the 5.25 rack with the same options as on the Platinum EX - two line inputs (one on Cinch plugs, the other on a 1/4" jack with gain control to change it into a microphone input), a headphone output with volume control, digital S/P DIF coaxial and optical inputs and outputs, and a FireWire interface. The small DIN sockets reappear for the MIDI interface. Adaptors are provided for standard DIN connections.

On the PCI card, three analog inputs are available as well as a digital S/PDIF input. However, the read input line is not usable, and it is impossible to select it as a recording source, which is the result of combining a card and a rack with the inputs divided between the two elements

The two Creative cards are supplied with a traditional connector for a joystick and MIDI, which would occupy a second PCI bracket if installed by the user. The cards are equipped with an infrared remote control with a receiver on the external module or on the rack. This is very handy when using your PC as a DVD, video, or audio-player.

Audigy 2 Platinum
Interface	PCI
Audio chip	Audigy 2 CA0102-IAT
Max. playback sampling	192 kHz
Digital-analog conversion	24 bits
ASIO	16 bits / 48 kHz
MIDI/ game port	yes
Input
On-board	line-in, mic, FireWire
Internal	"3x line-in, 1x S/PDIF, 1x FireWire"
Front panel	"1x line-in, 1x mic/line-in, coaxial & optical digital-in, 1x FireWire, MIDI"
Output
Card	"3x line-out (6.1), 1x digital, Creative"
Front panel	1x headphones, digital & optical digital-out, MIDI
DVD & Cinema
Standards	"Dolby Digital, DTS via S/PDIF-out"
Configuration	up to 6.1
DVD Audio	yes, up to 192 kHz
3D Gaming Audio
Standards	"DS3D, A3D, EAX 1.0/2.0, Advanced HD"
Configuration	2x 6.1
MIDI
Hardware synthesizer	32 channels, 64 voices
Software synthesizer	Creative, 16 channels

Terratec: Pure Cards

Unlike Creative, Terratec chose to stick to the pure-and-simple PCI card formula. Moreover, the Aureon Sky and Space are very similar to each other. The components and installation are identical, with the exception of the outputs, which vary with Sky's 5.1 and the Space's 7.1. Three analog inputs and one digital are available for internal connections.

On the connection bracket, on 3.5 mm jacks, the standard elements are consisting of microphone and line inputs. There are six output channels for the Sky and eight for the Space. There are also digital input and output sockets on Toslink connectors. Making the form factor any simpler would be difficult without nixing essential features.

Terratec assumes that the joystick port is now redundant, and does not offer the necessary port. We have to agree that connecting a joystick to a sound card is not something a typical user would want to do.

	Terractec Sky 5.1	Terractec Space 7.1
Interface	PCI	PCI
Audio chip	VIA Envy 24HT	VIA Envy 24HT
Max. playback	192 kHz	192 kHz
Digital-audio conversion	24 bits	24 bits
ASIO	24 bits / 96 kHz	24 bits / 96 kHz
Midi/game port	none	none
Inputs
On-board	Line-in, mic, 1x optical digital-in	Line-in, mic, 1x optical digital-in
Internal	3x line-in, 1x S/PDIF-in	3x line-in, 1x S/PDIF-in
Outputs
On-board	"3x line-out (5.1), 1x optical digital-out"	"4x line-out (7.1), 1x optical digital-out"
DVD & Cinema
Standards	"Dolby Digital, DTS via S/PDIF-out"	"Dolby Digital, DTS via S/PDIF-out"
Configuration	up to 5.1	up to 7.1
DVD audio	none	none
3D Gaming Sound
Standards	DS3D, A3D, EAX 1.0/2.0	DS3D, A3D, EAX 1.0/2.0
Configuration	2x 5.1	2x 7.1
MIDI
Hardware synthesizer	none	none
Software synthesizer	Microsoft	Microsoft

Seeking The MIDI

Terratec has obviously reached a dead end when it comes to the MIDI interface. This doesn't mean that you can't use MIDI as it's all managed through software. The card, thus, is not geared for replicating superior musical instrument sound quality.

Creative has followed a very different route since the company's cards are still held in high regard by musicians. This quality is due to the cards' "Soundfonts," which allow musicians to create and modify their MIDI sound databases.

The Creative cards combine a 2 x 16 channel hardware synthesizer with 64-voice polyphony, a software synthesizer, and 48 internal channels.

Here, the split between "music-making" and audio-centric cards becomes evident. Consumer cards, for example, are aimed at the general public who, almost without exception, are mainly interested in audio. Audio-centric cards offer a wide range of applications, such as MP3 and DVD audio and video while MIDI-centric cards are geared for professional use. The split between the two applications is thus widening.

Creative's Drivers: Finding The Right Slot

The possibilities offered by the Creative drivers are particularly extensive. However, they are sometimes difficult to spot. Creative is in the habit of supplying multiple software modules and finding the one that offers the required function can become something of a game of hide-and-seek.

A central management system interface would be a welcome addition. For example, to activate the automatic headphone detection to eliminate sound from the speakers requires finding "Audio HQ" in the Windows configuration panel, then to "Peripheral controls." This function should be available in the speaker configuration management system.

We won't repeat the details of these drivers, as they are now well known, but we can hope that, in the case of certain functions, the user interface might be improved.

A graphic interface would have been a big step forward, for example. The fact remains, nevertheless, that the range of possibilities offered by the Audigy 2 processor is impressive and offers interesting functions, such as controlling the speed of the player from 50% to 200%, source fault corrections, and various other features.

For music applications, the use of ASIO (Audio Streaming Input-Output) drivers is a popular way to managing audio streams, created by the software publisher Steinberg. The drivers offer a weaker latency compared to traditional Windows drivers. These drivers are thus largely used with music software.

The ASIO 2 drivers come with the Platinum EX and allow Direct Monitoring as well as six channels recording at 24 bits/96 kHz. However, direct control of 41.1 kHz is still not possible.

The card works at 48kHz, which is definitely an inconvenience. Platinum retains the ASIO 1 drivers that only work at 16 bits / 48kHz. This may be adequate for most users, but if the manufacturers can sweat the difficult stuff then they could just as easily get the less-advanced features right as well.

Terratec Drivers: Strictly Basic

Unlike Creative, Terratec uses a single control panel for all of the card's functions. The controls are very well laid out on clearly-marked tabs. So at first sight, everything is very positive. After that, it all gets a lot more complicated for certain functions.

However, we noted that that the level controls for the multi-channel playback are impractical. It has to be said that Creative's virtual joystick is much better adapted than Terratec's multiple linear potentiometers. Terratec wins, however, in the way it controls the S/PDIF links with extensive and very obvious possibilities, at least for anyone who understands their nature and usefulness because the average user will almost certainly have some difficulty.

Good grades should also be awarded for the ASIO control function, in which choices such as buffer size, the frequency of sampling, and its relationship to latency are obvious pluses. The chipset used by Terratec provides only a minimum of sound processing, so you won't find functions comparable to those offered by Creative. Instead, processing software is required for this functionality.

DVD Player: Custom Decoding

Creative still doesn't provide any DVD video player software with its sound cards. This will disappoint a lot of people. On the other hand, the decoding possibilities are numerous. Using DVD playback software, such as Power DVD, can also be used to decode the disk.

To obtain an AC3 flow on the S/PDIF output and to enable external Dolby Digital decoding, the "peripheral controls" function must be selected.

Creative still continues to ignore DTS, and limits available choices to Dolby sound, except for Dolby Pro-Logic II.

The CMSS system's features, which allow stereo sound to be mixed at up to a 6.1 channel configuration, are not very clearly explained. That said, normal usage is still with DVD playback though most people use Dolby Digital (5.1). It should be pointed out that the two Creative cards are THX-certified, a well-recognized brand.

DVD Player, Continued

With Terratec, Power DVD 4.0 is provided. It offers a classic version of Dolby Digital decoding and Dolby Pro-Logic. However, there's no DTS technology, as is the case with Creative. Adding DTS sound requires the additional purchase of Power DVD software.

It is difficult to award grade points to one manufacturer over another as all of the devices offer sufficient power.

In any case, the sound is of very good quality whether it is at 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 sound channel levels because very few DVDs offer anything more than 5.1. During a visit to the DVD section of a retail outlet, for example, we found only two DVDs that offered anything greater than 5.1.

Audio DVD: High Sound Definition

While audio DVD remains marginal, it is nevertheless of great interest to aficionados. Creative is the first sound card company to provide a specific Audio DVD driver for its cards. To understand the interest, you need to sample the content of commercially available DVDs.

Audio DVDs normally come with a disclaimer stating that they are compatible with such and such DVD video-players but are incompatible with CD audio players. The anomaly is explained by the fact that audio DVDs have offer Dolby Digital sound, which can be read only by DVD video players.

Audio DVDs that offer Dolby Digital sound use AC-3 coding at 48 kHz. They can also offer DTS sound.

A separate player for quality DVD sound is normally required for a multi-channel, 24 bit / 96 kHz or 24 bit / 192 kHz stereo track at a multi-channel track, which usually functions at 5.1 channels and a 24 bit / 96 kHz frequency.

Audio DVD, Continued

Certain audio DVDs sometimes offer a list of the tracks they include and indicate which players can read them. While the lists are not systematically provided, the lists are sometimes wrong as well. For instance, "Hotel California" by The Eagles has DTS tracks that are not listed.

For DVD audio, Creative was able to jump on the bandwagon and offer features of interest to new media buffs. Nevertheless, certain DVD audio features were left out.

Test Configuration

System Hardware
Processor	Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR
Graphics card	NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4200
Hard drive	80 GB, 7200 rpm
Optical drive	DVD LG16/48X
OS	Windows XP Pro + SP1
DirectX version	9.0
Audio System
Speakers	"Creative MegaWorks 510D (DVD & multi-channel)"Amplification 2 x 12W effective (music
Benchmarks
Right Mark Audio Analyser 5.0
Audio Winbench 99
DAAS audio measurement system
Neutrik 3337 audio measurement system

Audio Measurements

All the cards tested provided a sufficient level of output.

The Creative card operated at 2.25V, while the Terratec operated at 2.5V.

The sensitivity of the line inputs varied more noticeably, from 560 mV for the Platinum EX to 1.16V for the Platinum, with the Terratec at 820 mV. While the Creative Platinum EX was the most sensitive, it was also the one that was more likely to reach overload, which occurs after 2.1 V is surpassed.

The Audigy cards enable redirection of the bass or, to put it another way, filtering satellite high-pass, an interesting technology for those who do not have a speaker system with a suitable filter or for users who want to build their own system.

The frequency of the filter cut-off point can be adjusted, but it's a pity that this feature is not clearly indicated.

As for performance, Creative cards demonstrated their usual weaknesses at 44.1 kHz.

At higher frequencies, the Creative Platinum EX is clearly in the lead, followed by the two Terratec cards that have a slighter higher noise level and have a slightly worse level of overall performance. There is noticeable crosstalk, for example, that increases perceptibly at high frequencies.

The Creative Platinum comes in last because of its noticeably louder interference. This problem may have been partly due to our test configuration but it is also the result of the PC's internal connections - which are very noisy. We noticed a similar phenomenon with other cards using an internal rack.

All cards tested, however, still fall under the high-end sound card category. Rightmark testing software, for example, awarded the grades of "very good" for three of the cards and "excellent" for the Platinum EX. For average-Joe users, it would be hard to find audibly noticeable faults with any of these cards.

For an easy visual comparison between these four cards, we plotted the results in a single graph, feature by feature, for the various frequencies sampled.

Comparison At 44.1 KHz

Frequency response : at 44.1 kHz, the Creative cards had a slightly narrower response for treble sounds, which could possibly be due only to problems with the sample card we had. However, the end result was not first rate. The frequency response of the Aureon cards, however, was almost perfect.

Noise level : the noise level was very low on all the cards but the Creative Platinum was clearly the "noisiest". The Platinum EX offered the best result and the two Aureons came somewhere between these extremes.

Dynamic capacity : Unsurprisingly, the noise level results were the same.

Distortion : The Platinum places last while the other three models had similar results. Seeing as they all had two zeros after the decimal point, however, the differences are negligible.

Intermodulation : Here again, re-sampling played a dirty trick on the Creative cards, which performed considerably worse than the Terratec cards.

Crosstalk : The two Creative cards results were excellent, with the Platinum EX slightly ahead. The Aureon produced crosstalk, which reduced as the frequency rose. The overall result was good, but could have been better.

Comparison At 48 KHz

Frequency response : The Platinum's bandwidth remained at the 15 kHz mark, while the Aureon cards' bandwidth levels were significantly higher. While the difference is minute, there is never the less a disparity between the two frequencies.

Noise level : It's the same story as at 44.1 kHz, with the Platinum EX in the lead, and the Platinum last.

Distortion : Again the Platinum lagged behind the three others, all three of which generated the same benchmarks.

Intermodulation : The Platinum was clearly last but the other three were very close.

Crosstalk : the results at 44 kHz were repeated here but the gap widened because the Platinum EX improved whereas the Aureons trailed off.

Comparison At 24 Bits/96 KHz

Frequency response : Here the Creative devices came out ahead over the Aureon cards. The audio spectrum of all of the cards test, however, generated negligible errors.

Noise level : No surprise with the ranking order that had by now been well established. Platinum EX was first, Platinum last and the two Aureons in between, closer to the Platinum EX.

Dynamic capacity =: same ranking here again!

Distortion : The Platinum EX had very extremely small distortion levels, while the Platinum was slightly handicapped by one particularly noise variable. However, all the results were excellent.

Intermodulation : at this frequency, all the contestants achieved excellent results.

Crosstalk : The general pattern of the results - the crosstalk of the Aureons increased with the frequency - remained unchanged, with the Platinum EX still in the lead.

3D Sound And Games

Fairly logically, the Creative cards, with their hardware synthesizers, were better than the Terratec cards, overall. The tests performed on the Comanche 4, Quake III, and Splinter Cell consistently demonstrated the superiority of the two Creative cards, followed by the Terratec Sky, with the Space card bringing up the rear, which was handicapped by its 7.1 channel sound.

It's up to the user to see if operating at 6.1 or 7.1 channels is indispensable for gaming applications. The difference with a 5.1 configuration, for which the speakers are correctly positioned, will be slim and possibly inaudible.

Background sound results depended largely on what the games. Still, Creative, with its EAX HD technology, did well with the games that took advantage of the capability.

Audigy 2's DSP technology elaborate background sounds did justice to even the most amazing gaming graphics. There is more realism than ever before, thanks to techniques such a sound morphing, which assures smooth sound changes when changing scenes in a game, such as moving between different rooms in Quake.

The Software

As you would expect with top-of-the-range cards, more software is bundled in with the players compared to what value-category products usually offer.

With Platinum - apart from "in-house" software such as Mediasource - you will find Cubasis VST4.0 and Wavelab Lite 2.0 (audio/MIDI sequencer and audio editor), Videostudio 5.0SE video editor, Traktor DJ (dubbing, MP3 and DJ functions), and several games, such as Soldier of Fortune II, Double Helix, and Hitman 2 Silent Assassin. With the Platinum EX, you also get Ableton Live 1.5 (sampler), and Fruity Loops Pro 3.5 (loop management).

The software that comes bundled with the cards is generally stripped-down compared to what is offered when the software is purchased separately. However, the software is still a major plus and can, in some cases, be upgraded.

With Terratec, the bundle is identical for both cards: Power DVD for playing DVD videos, Wavelab Lite 2.0 for audio-editing, Emagic Logic Fun for audio/MIDI sequencing, and Musicmatch Jukebox for MP3s. The software is limited, although the main bases are covered.

Conclusion

At the outcome of our test, it became apparent that we were dealing with top-of-the-range cards, capable of meeting the needs of most users, while the range of options and features also varied widely.

However, the Platinum EX gets the prize as the best of the best in the high-end sound card market, although its price tag is significantly higher than Terratec's offerings. The Platinum EX offers many more possibilities for users wishing to interface the PC with elaborate peripherals, ranging from sound recording devices to synthesizers, which is an important feature for users wishing to easily link external devices to their sound card. The Terratec cards, however, take up less space since they come in a small, PCI card form factor. Terratec's cards also offer excellent performance, and come with a range of software that will satisfy the average user.

A Prima Donna on PC: Creative Labs Audigy 2

Philippe Ramelet — Wed, 06 Nov 2002 18:00:18 +0000

Introduction

To keep its place as pioneer in sound, Creative Labs has to break new ground all the time. Challengers to Creative Labs' established leadership in multimedia sound cards are never very far behind. With the Audigy 1, Creative Labs strengthened its 3D sound advantage by the EAX Advanced HD, and took a decisive step in non-professional use with the inclusion of ASIO drivers and a rather timid incursion into the 24 bit/ 96 kHz domain. One year later, the release of the Audigy 2 has confirmed this move towards mainstream use and proves how clever Creative Labs can be.

Just take a look at its main new features and you will see for yourself:

Supports DVD Audio;
Plays at 24 bits/ 192 kHz;
Plays and records at 24 bits/ 96 kHz;
Dolby Digital EX decoding;
Seven analog outputs;
Supports 6.1 sound in games and movies;
THX Certification;
Signal-to-noise ratio of 106 dB;
CMSS 3D.

Audigy 2 And Audigy 2 Platinum

As usual, Creative Labs' Audigy 2 sound cards come in three versions:

Audigy 2:

The Audigy 2 is the basic offer. At $129, this card has the following connections:

Mini-jack stereo analog outputs: front and surround;
Mini-jack three-speaker analog outputs: center, subwoofer and center surround;
5.1-compatible S/ PDIF mini-jack output;
Line-in;
Microphone-in;
SB1394 port;
Internal Tad-in input;
Internal CD-in input;
15-pin MIDI/ game port on internal bracket;
SB1394/ FireWire connector;
AD-EXT connector for extra internal rack.

The software package includes the following features:

Creative Media Source;
Audio Stream Recorder 2;
Creative Diagnostic;
Mini Disc Center;
Creative Wave Studio;
Speaker Calibrator;
SoundFont Bank Manager;
Surround Sound Mixer;
Speaker Settings;
Soldier Of Fortune II: Double Helix;
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

Audigy 2 Platinum:

The Audigy 2 Platinum will cost $199. It has the Audigy 2 card and an internal 5.25" input/output rack to add the following connections:

Second SB1394 port;
Headphone output with volume control;
Optical and coaxial S/ PDIF outputs;
Optical and coaxial S/ PDIF inputs;
RCA x2 analog input;
Two-jack Microphone/ Line-in 2 input with gain control;
MIDI-in and MIDI-out;
Infrared port for IR remote control.

The software package is the same as for the Audigy 2, plus the following programs:

Steinberg Cubasis VST;
Native Instrument Traktor DJ;
Ulead 5.0.

The internal 5.25" rack is connected via a ribbon cable (similar to an IDE cable) and another round cable for connecting the SB1394 port on the outside.

Audigy 2 Platinum eX:

The Audigy 2 Platinum eX uses the same system as the Audigy Platinum eX, meaning a card and an external rack, but it has some extra technical features that will interest music-makers, especially the fact that it alone supports the ASIO 2.0 standard, and so it can handle recording and processing in 24 bits/ 96 kHz with Cubase VST. The basic Audigy 2 and Platinum only have ASIO 1, so they are limited to 16 bits/ 48 kHz in this respect. What's more, the external rack has been completely redesigned and will look like the Extigy.

The Audigy 2 Platinum eX is due for release early in 2003.

Audigy 2: Technical Details

The Audigy 2 architecture is based on the DSP Audigy 2 CA0102. This is a separate version of the Emu10k2 because it includes the following new features:

Supports DVD Audio playback: 24 bit/ 96 kHz Advanced Resolution 5.1 and 24 bit/ 192 kHz Stereo;
Dolby Digital EX 6.1 decoding;
Signal-to-noise ratio of 106 dB in playback;
6.1 sound in Direct Sound 3D games;
32 bit effects engine with real-time effects, mixing and 3D positioning;
64 hardware-managed DS3D voices;
Supports DS3D, EAX 1.0, 2.0 and EAX Advanced HD;
Supports SB1394;
16/ 24 bit 48/ 96 kHz input and output;
8, 16 and 24 bit recording at 8 kHz, 11.025 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 24 kHz, 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz and 96 kHz;
ASIO drivers;
2x16-channel MIDI hardware synthesizer;
64 hardware-managed polyphony voices;
Windows Media Audio 9 compatibility.

No doubt about it, the Audigy 2 is the most full-featured and versatile card on the market. It will change your PC equipped with a DVD-ROM player into a system complete with hi-fi, Home Cinema decoding, gaming 3D sound platform, digital video acquisition and 24 bit/ 96 kHz Home Studio. In short, a whole range of features to silence the nitpickers who still think that sound is the weakest link in computers. Such an orgy of features could make you think most people will have no use for many of them. True enough, but at least they're there, and it can't be denied that Creative has pulled off the impressive feat of combining them all on a single card managed by a single controller!

Apart from the Audigy 2 DSP, Creative Labs has used some new chips to ensure the card really does support 24 bit/ 96 kHz playback, recording and DVD Audio. The key element in this support is the Cirrus Logic CS4382. This is an eight-channel DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), providing 6.1 and 24 bit/ 192 kHz support for playing DVD Audio. Here are the features of this classy chip:

Eight channels;
24 bit conversion;
4 to 192 kHz sampling rate;
Dynamic Range of 114 dB;
Total Harmonic Distortion -100 dB;
PCM and DSD format support;
Volume control in steps of 1 dB (transition without clicks);
Simultaneous support of two synchronous sampling rates.

When Creative decides to go for 24 bit sound, they don't do it by halves. The CS4382 enables the Audigy 2 to support 24 bit/ 192 kHz playback and even reproduce sound on eight channels (5.1 for DVD Audio). And CS4382 is also compatible with the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) technology used for SACD encoding.

Another component not found on the Audigy 1 is the Sigmatel STAC9721. This is an AC97 codec designed on the whole for internal inputs since it is limited to a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz. So, it acts as an internal DAC and uses delta sigma technology, the most usual for digital-to-analog conversion. Its signal-to-noise ratio is given as 95 dB, and the chip has a DAC and an ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) with the following analog inputs and outputs: four stereo inputs, two mono inputs, two stereo outputs and one mono output.

So What Is 24/ 96 For?

To understand the advantage of sound encoded in 24 bits and sampled at 96 kHz, here is a brief explanation of the way sound is digitized. When an analog sound is digitized, the analog flow is sampled at given intervals. At each of these intervals, the sound level is measured and represented by a numeric value. In CD Audio for instance, 16 bits are allocated for each value, so there are 65,536 values for one measurement (2 to the power of 16). Now, as digitization only accepts integers and not decimals, there will be an error, or, rather, an approximation when the analog signal falls between two integers that can be represented. This error is different for each value represented. The difference between the real value and the digitized one appears as superimposed when played, and is called "quantization noise." However, quantization noise is theoretically 96 dB lower than the maximum quality control parameter, which is infinitesimal compared to most of the inevitable interference observed in digitization. This being so, it would seem pointless to increase the digital resolution in order to decrease quantization noise, yet we shall see later on that this is not just theory.

To ensure there is no over-modulation during digitization, an ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) must reserve part of its resolution for what is called "headroom." And this is where the 24 bit system has the edge, because it retains most of its resolution (20 bits) whereas 16 bit headroom is only 14 bits at the most. And given that 24 bit resolution provides 16.7 million values to represent an analog flow, the quantization noise of a 24 bit converter is theoretically -144 dB, a truly negligible amount of interference.

So, the input signal in digitization is like this:

This signal is then broken down into a series of sampling periods:

After sampling, the converter eliminates the intermediate signals and rounds off those found by the sampling rate.

A value is then allocated to each signal; in 16 bits the value ranges from 0 to 16,536, and in 24 bits from 0 to 16,700,000. If a signal has a value that does not match an integer which can be allocated, the converter rounds it up or down to the nearest integer. This method is the source of the errors called quantization.

The converter next uses a reconstruction filter to rebuild a curve which is truer to the original than the one above. Note that our example is greatly exaggerated to make the demonstration more clear. After filtering, the curve looks like this:

The main point of this operation is to cut out the high frequencies, these being most inclined to generate errors, so a Low pass filter is applied to cut out sounds above a certain frequency. The fewer errors there are in digitization, the less need there is to cut out high frequencies. So, when 16.7 million values are available for each change in amplitude, it is easier to preserve the fidelity of the high frequencies. According to the Shannon theorem, the highest frequency that can be represented amounts to half the sampling rate. So, if the sampling rate is 44.0 kHz, the highest frequency that can be reached is 22.05 kHz. This cutoff frequency is also called the "Nyquist" frequency.

If the sampling rate is raised to 96 kHz, the Nyquist frequency rises to 48 kHz, making it possible to reproduce a much wider range of high frequencies. But let's not forget a very important detail in this respect: the bandwidth in the best of human hearing never exceeds 20 kHz and is around 17 kHz in adults, though a number of sound buffs believe that increasing the bandwidth beyond what can actually be heard substantially improves perception of sound because of the harmonics created by the sounds beyond the limit. This is known as "residual listening." Scientific experiments on this have never been able to prove once and for all the beneficial effects of residual listening, but we can establish some things about sound resolution and sampling rates:

If the aim is to digitize, work on, and recreate an analog sound, there is no doubt about the advantage of 24 bits/ 96 kHz. The object of the exercise being to retrieve the original curve in the end, you are more likely to do so if your source base contains as much information as possible. In this instance, a sound "captured" 96,000 times a second and encoded each time on a panel of 16.7 million values is better than one "captured" 44,100 times and encoded on a panel of 65,536 values.

For a more detailed explanation of this subject, we strongly recommend two online files: http://www.tonmeister.ca/main/ and http://www.terratec.de/4G/2496-en.pdf .

5.1, 6.1 And 7.1: A Speaker Multiplication Table

In movie or DVD sound, 5.1 means the recording has been made on five main channels - right, left, center, right surround and left surround - plus one for LFE (Low Frequency Effects), represented by the .1 in "5.1." When it comes to speakers, the terms 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 represent the number of elements in the sound system. The difference between them is simple: it just depends on the number of surrounds - two for 5.1, three for 6.1 and four for 7.1.

Some DVD sound tracks use a variation of Dolby Digital called Dolby Digital EX. This format uses a matrix system, which includes a third surround channel based on the left and right surround channels of the conventional 5.1. This matrix system means Dolby Digital EX is still considered a 5.1 system. Especially because Dolby Digital 5.1 decoders can read these sound tracks, the only difference being that sounds encoded for the third surround channel are re-transcribed on the surround channels of the conventional 5.1.

So a Dolby Digital EX sound track can be read in 5.1 by a Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder. But the reverse is also true. You can get a 6.1 or 7.1 from a 5.1 sound track. The signals on the two surround channels are mixed and redistributed through all three or four loudspeakers. This distribution can be done either with a Dolby Digital EX decoder or a THX Surround EX decoder.

So you can see that the figure describing the recording is not the same as the figure meaning the number of loudspeakers in a sound system. With Dolby Pro Logic II, you can even play a stereo sound track on a multi-channel system.

Dolby Digital

In 1965, an American physicist and engineer named Ray Dolby founded the Dolby Laboratories in London. His idea was to develop noise reduction systems to improve sound quality for professionals and the general public alike. The name Dolby is now known throughout the world, and the surround sound standards he created are used both in movie theaters and private homes. First of all, a description of the two Dolby Digital ancestors:

Dolby Surround: This has three channels, two for the front and one for the rear, with a bandwidth of 100 Hz to 7 kHz.
Dolby Pro Logic: This is an enhancement of Dolby Surround with four channels, including a center one and two elements sharing a channel for the rear sound.

As for Dolby Digital 5.1, also called AC-3 (for Audio Code-3), this has six channels - two front, two rear, one for the center speaker, and one for the subwoofer. When a movie is shot, the sound effects and the voices are realized on five channels. Unlike Dolby Surround and Pro Logic, the bandwidth here ranges from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The term AC-3 refers to a coding technology which eliminates sound data the user cannot hear and produces a Dolby Digital sound track coded on six channels. An absolute prerequisite for Dolby Digital sound is a decoder, such as the one on the Creative Labs Extigy, or else a sound card like Fortissimo III.

Dolby Digital uses a fixed sound compression method of about 1:12. This means that, however much sound there is to encode, compression will always be the same, so we have a compression algorithm with a constant output. The practical side of this is in the disk space, but the downside is that sound quality decreases as its quantity increases. But to counter this is the fact that the less space used on a DVD, the more space is available for different languages or bonuses, and this can compensate for a loss of quality. In general, AC-3 sound is coded in 18 bits, so the standard output of an AC-3 flow is 384 kbps (6 channels x 18 x 48 kHz). On restitution, the Dolby Digital decoder transmits with a delay of one millisecond on the front channels because the listening position is usually closer to the rear speakers than to the front or center ones. This optimizes simultaneous sound reception. With some decoders, you can adjust this delay to give the best listening configuration.

The main advantage of the Dolby Digital standard is that it is the digital audio surround standard for DVD. In the rules defining the DVD standard, no other kind of digital sound track can be inserted on a DVD unless there is also a Dolby Digital sound track. So you'll never find, say, a DTS sound track alone, and most DVDs only have the one digital sound track, the Dolby. This leads to the second advantage of the standard - it is virtually universal. The first movie with a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track was Batman Returns in 1992. Since then, practically all DVDs have extended the standard.

Dolby Digital EX is an enhanced version of Dolby Digital 5.1 in that it has a support for an extra surround speaker or two behind the listening position. This means you can put your side speakers in the right position and gain in sound effects and immersion from the back. Remember, though, that Dolby Digital EX is not a "true" 6.1 or 7.1 sound standard because the surround channel is matrix-encoded from the conventional 5.1 surround speakers. The sound is recorded as in Dolby Digital, and the sixth channel is added when the initial encoding is done. The sound engineers view the film and decide which sounds should be moved to the rear, so the EX is definite progress. As for the argument over whether 6.1 or 7.1 is better, this is rather pointless. In 6.1, the rear center speaker produces mono sound. In 7.1, the two rear center speakers produce the same mono sound. The advantage of the Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digif alt=>ire 7.1 is that you can have either 6.1 or 7.1 depending on whether you want more or less. The choice between the two modes is a purely technical one: if you have a large room with lots of widely spaced listening positions, the 7.1 is best, otherwise the 6.1 is perfectly adequate.

DTS

DTS, for Digital Theater System, was introduced by Steven Spielberg with the release of Jurassic Park in 1993. So far, this standard applies more to the big screen than to the private home. It, too, is 5.1, with sound coded over six channels like it is in Dolby Digital. There are now many DTS-compatible systems around for speakers and sound cards that decode the standard by software. However, while DTS quality is undeniable, and even a bit better than Dolby, remember no movie comes out in DTS alone and Dolby is considered a digital sound standard while DTS is not.

The main feature of DTS is that its coding system favors sound quality over disk space. So a DTS sound track codes in 20 bits (specifications allow for coding in 16, 18, 20 and 24 bits) instead of the 16, 18 or 20 bits with Dolby. Compression uses a dynamic process where the compression rate varies with the amount of sound to encode. This rate ranges from 1:1 to 40:1, and generally results in better sound quality than Dolby Digital with an average rate of 1.5 Mbps. The main drawback, obviously, is that the sound track takes up much more space (about three times as much) than a Dolby one. So DVDs coded in DTS can only have one language and a limited number of bonuses. Until recently, very few DVDs had a DTS sound track, but there are a lot more around now, owing to the quality advantage this system has over Dolby Digital. This quality advantage is due mainly to the way DTS encodes dynamically, but also to other factors, such as the fact that Dolby Digital mixes the channels above 15 kHz at 448 kb/s and above 10 kHz at 384 kb/s. This means Dolby Digital can reduce the space needed for the sound track on a DVD and retain a maximum of bandwidth at high output, but to the detriment of overall quality. DTS encoding never mixes the channels. This remark is not intended to kindle an argument over Dolby and DTS, just to show that each format has opted for different encoding systems. Dolby Digital goes for disk space and bandwidth, while DTS prefers quality above all.

The DTS quality advantage also applies in 6.1 and 7.1, because only the DTS ES standard has discrete encoding on the sixth channel, meaning independent of the other surround channels and integrated during recording (on at least five sound effects mikes) and editing. But be warned: movies encoded in DTS ES Discrete are as yet few and far between, and what you mostly find is a DTS ES Matrix track which has a rear center channel matrixed into the left and right surrounds, as in Dolby Digital EX. So for the time being, there is only one true 6.1 sound system standard and it is not exactly mainstream.

Audigy 2: My Captain, My King!

With its four analog outputs and its drivers, the Audigy 2 can decode DVD sound tracks encoded in Dolby Digital EX. You need a DVD playback software like Power DVD Pro or Win DVD. It is not needed to get the multichannel version of your DVD playback software as the Audigy 2 drivers will perform the decoding job themselves. If you have a stereo or a 5.1/6.1 version the setting is the same: just switch the audio configuration to "S/PDIF Out". By the way, it's a pity Creative Labs still does not provide the relevant software with its cards.

The card was tested subjectively with DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital EX, like Star Wars Episode One: Phantom Menace and Lord of the Rings, and with DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital, like Alien Resurrection and Saving Private Ryan. There is nothing in particular to say about decoding itself - the job was done brilliantly and came very close to the quality and clear positioning results of a dedicated decoder. The advantage of 6.1 over 5.1 is patent - the center surround speaker bathes you in sound much better. An appreciable point is that music and background noise are on these speakers, and so free up the main surround channels for sound effects. However, the gain in the sound effects themselves is negligible because 90% of them are still on the standard 5.1 channels. They are hardly to be heard on the center surround channels.

As we already said, a system that can decode sound in 6.1 or 7.1 is also good for playing DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1. Positioning is not as good as with EX sound tracks, but still effective. The surround sounds are spread over the three speakers so listeners are more fully bathed in sound. This should be avoided in some movies, however, because it reduces the force of the sound effects.

Test Configuration And Methods

Hardware
AMD Athlon 1800 XP - 256 Mo PC2100
MSI KT7 Master
Enceintes Megaworks 510D - 210D - Inspire 6700 - Logitech Z680
DVD-ROM Toshiba SM1302
ATI Radeon 64 Mo DDR
Drivers & Software
DirectX 8.1a
Windows XP Pro

The Audigy 2 sound card was tested objectively and subjectively. The following software and DVDs were used:

Right Mark Audio Analyser 4.2
Audio Winbench
Dungeon Siege
DVD Test Platinum Series
DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 and EX
Windows Media 9
Win DVD 4.0
Power DVD Pro EX
Creative Media Source

Audigy 2: Input/ Output Quality

The section on subjective and objective tests of converters and inputs/ outputs is usually at the end of our articles. But the quality of the Audigy 2 is so outstanding, especially of its digital-to-analog conversion, it deserves to be pointed out before all the other good features of this card.

In the subjective tests, whether of DVD, CD Audio or DVD Audio, the quality of the sound restored was the best we have ever heard from a multimedia sound card. We can even state that, when combined with high-class speakers, the Audigy 2 is better than most basic hi-fi systems and is, in some respects, nearly as good as professional-range sound cards. The sound from the digital-to-analog converter, and so from the analog mini-jack outputs, has unprecedented clarity and precision. Creative Labs had already taken a step in this direction with the first Audigy and again with the Extigy, but the Audigy 2 is way ahead in the quality of restored sound. We particularly noted how good it was in 24 bit/ 96 kHz and 24 bit/ 192 kHz playback.

The objective tests with Right Mark Audio Analyser proved this unquestionable quality. Just look at the results for playback in 24 bits/ 96 kHz with the Audigy 2 Rear Out - DMX 6Fire 24/ 96 Line in Rear test line:

Results Right Mark Audio Analyser
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.01, -0.05	Excellent
Noise level, dB (A):	-98.1	Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A):	95.1	Excellent
THD, %:	0.0015	Excellent
IMD, %:	0.0069	Very good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-89.8	Excellent

Here is an overall table that speaks for itself, giving excellent marks at practically all levels.

Frequency range	Response
From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-0.15, +0.01
From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.05, +0.01

The card's bandwidth curve shows whether its frequency reproduction over the entire sound spectrum is balanced. The test is measured from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, the usually accepted limits of human hearing.

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS power, dB:	-89.8	-88.5
RMS power (A-weighted), dB:	-98.1	-97.4
Peak level, dB FS:	-76.3	-76.5
DC offset, %:	0	0

Audigy 2: Input/ Output Quality, Continued

The second test is of noise and interference levels, and measures in particular where the card's background noise is located and its sensitivity to interference from the computing environment: power supply, transformers and monitors.

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	87.2	85.9
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	95.8	95.1
DC offset, %:	0	0

Related to the above test, the dynamic range test gauges the level of noise generated in the presence of a sound signal, in this instance, a sine wave (1 kHz at -60 dB) at card input.

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.001	0.002
THD + Noise, %:	0.003	0.003
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.003	0.003

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	0.007	0.008
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.005	0.006

Parameter	L <- R	L -> R
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-85	-86
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-86	-89
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-85	-87

Audigy 2: Input/ Output Quality, Continued

The 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz tests gave positive results, though not the same level of quality. This is because when the Audigy 2 resamples all the 44.1 kHz flow rates in 48 kHz, corresponding to the DSP's internal frequency, rates above 48 kHz do not get resampled. So here we have a paradox: the Audigy 2 produces near-perfect sound in 24 bit/ 96 kHz playback (i.e. DVD Audio), but is not as good in 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz playback (such as CD Audio).

Results Right Mark Audio Analyser
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.05, -0.17	Very good
Noise level, dB (A):	-92.5	Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A):	87.3	Good
THD, %:	0.0018	Excellent
IMD, %:	1.393	Poor
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-85.1	Excellent

You can see the test results are generally positive, except for the intermodulation one. This is evidently due to resampling in 48 kHz.

Frequency range	Response
From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-1.79, +0.05
From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.17, +0.05

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS power, dB:	-89.5	-88.3
RMS power (A-weighted), dB:	-92.5	-91.1
Peak level, dB FS:	-75.5	-75.4
DC offset, %:	0	0

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	86.3	85.4
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	88.2	87.3
DC offset, %:	0	0

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.002	0.002
THD + Noise, %:	0.009	0.009
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.008	0.008

Audigy 2: Input/ Output Quality, Continued

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	1.482	1.393
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	1.333	1.253

Parameter	L <- R	L -> R
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-80	-80
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-84	-84
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-76	-82

For your information, the restored sound is of the same quality on the card's three analog outputs, apart from a definite drop of about 10 dB in the signal-to-noise ratio on output 3. This does not stop this output from being better than the main outputs on middle-range sound cards.

Here are the 16 bit/ 48 kHz results:

Results Right Mark Audio Analyser
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.05, -0.17	Very good
Noise level, dB (A):	-96.6	Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A):	92.1	Very good
THD, %:	0.0032	Very good
IMD, %:	0.0095	Very good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-89.2	Excellent

The following results show the quality of the Audigy 2 in 24 bit/ 96 kHz recording via the line-in stereo input. The test line was: DMX 6Fire 24/ 96 Stereo Out - Audigy 2 line in.

Results Right Mark Audio Analyser
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.01, -0.11	Excellent
Noise level, dB (A):	-90.1	Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A):	87.7	Good
THD, %:	0.0022	Excellent
IMD, %:	0.014	Very good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-74.8	Good

So no trouble with recording then; the Audigy 2 is a good card for 24 bit/ 96 kHz recording. The subjective tests also showed that a significant effort has been made with recording from an analog source. The sound is a bit less "plump" with less coloration than on the previous cards, and benefits from the extra precision of the 24 bit/ 96 kHz.

DVD Audio

Audio and video supports have evolved over the years. The audio world has settled for the CD, an accurate, highly practical and economical support, while video is changing directly from the VHS cassette to DVD. But the music industry and the DVD Forum prefers a uniform format, so they are now thinking they will sell us our favorite albums on DVD, and this is why the DVD Audio has come into being. A bit of technical information: DVD has the edge over the CD in its storage capacity. A CD can hold 80 minutes of music at most in a single format, whereas a DVD can hold ten times as much and supports all sorts of sound formats. In terms of data, an ordinary DVD has a capacity of 4.7 GB, but a double-layer DVD has 8.5 GB! A CD holds no more than 700 MB. The problem for DVD developers is whether this huge space will be used to increase the amount of music or its quality. The answer is a combination of the two since the innovative thing about DVD Audio is that its quality is improved because its output is higher.

On a CD, music is stored digitally in PCM format, and the format is invariable. The sound is encoded in 16 bits with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. The technology used for a DVD Audio is MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing), and data can be varied to raise quality or lower it if necessary. With higher encoding and sampling rates, the quality of the sound and its restoration are substantially better. Now on a DVD Audio, the sample size can be lowered by 12 bits or raised by up to 24 bits. The same goes for the sampling rate, which can be taken to 192 kHz in stereo or 96 kHz in multi-channel mode. Unlike a CD, a DVD Audio can contain music encoded in Dolby Digital and DTS. Most DVD Audio encoding will be in Dolby Digital, or in DTS, this being one of the main assets of DVD Audio, apart from the gain in sound quality.

Sony and Philips have also developed a format that can be described as halfway between CD and DVD Audio: this is called SACD, for Super Audio CD. While standard CDs encode in PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), SACD uses a new kind of encoding system called Direct Stream Digital (DSD). This system keeps filter adding down, and is less harmful to sound quality than PCM. Moreover, the sampling rate is much higher and can reach 2,822,400 samples per second. The catalogue of disks available is fairly extensive, but SACD means you have to have the player that goes with it, so that pushes prices up quite a lot. The last point to note is that, like DVD Audio, SACD can also be encoded on six channels to play a track in 5.1.

DVD Audio, Continued

To play a DVD Audio, the Audigy 2 has 5.1/ 6.1 decoding capacity and DACs compatible with 24 bit/ 96 kHz and 24 bit/ 192 kHz sound. The software package contains a DVD Audio Player which runs automatically when a DVD Audio is put in the DVD-ROM drive. By default, the player starts at the first track and you have to open the source selector if you want, say, to change from a stereo to a multi-channel track. Note that many DVD Audios have two layers: one with a 24 bit/ 192 kHz stereo track, and another with Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 sound tracks.

The listening tests to compare the same album on CD and on DVD Audio -(we used "The Captain and Me" by the Doobie Brothers and Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana") showed definitely better quality in stereo mode. This is mainly due to the 24 bit/ 192 kHz encoding which provides unusually fine sound and, above all, a much clearer stereo image than does the 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz encoding of CD Audio. But beware; the advantage of DVD Audio depends on the quality of the speakers connected to the card. You will have a different effect with Megaworks 510D or Inspire 6700... and different again with hi-fi speakers.

It is important to note that as soon as the DVD Audio playback module is run, the card deactivates all the digital outputs, both on the card and on the input/ output rack. This is a restriction imposed by DVD Forum to prevent digital copying. This is pretty tiresome, especially if you own an external decoder and want to listen to your Dolby Digital or DTS tracks via the decoder and not via the card's software decoding system and analog outputs. Furthermore, it means you have to have two connections to your amplifier/ speakers, in case you need the digital outputs for the other uses. The quality of the analog outputs does, of course, mitigate this failing, but we hope this sort of restriction will be avoided in future. When you pay $199 for a sound card, you'd expect to be allowed to use all the connections.

EAX Advanced HD And 6.1 Sound In Games

Like the Audigy 1, the Audigy 2 is compatible with the DirectSound 3D, EAX 1.0, 2.0 and EAX Advanced HD 3D sound standards. The chip can manage up to four environments at the same time on 32 channels. It can also handle sources with different sampling rates, and, on top of that, can add a sound track encoded in Dolby Digital for things like background sound. Note the Audigy 2 supports up to 64 hardware-managed DS3D voices.

Here, in detail, are the strong points of EAX Advanced HD:

Multi Environment: In EAX 1.0 and 2.0, the environment effect depended on a given geometrical zone. But now each sound can have its own separate independent effect. The Audigy can manage and mix four different environments to give a real gain in lifelike results. Suppose you are standing still in a room; a sound of gunfire will be affected by the size of this room and the nature of its walls and floor, whereas the sound of gunfire coming from the next room, say a corridor, will be affected by the nature of that one.
Environment Morphing: This is one of the most significant developments in the EAX Advanced HD, formerly known as Dynamic Morphing. In the EAX 2.0, each environment was assigned a given place in a game and there was no mixing in particular when changing from, say, indoors to out. But with Dynamic Morphing, environments can merge in some places or one will dominate in others as the person moves around.
Environment Panning: This is a complement to Environment Morphing since it is used to add an environment giving the impression of a place about to come, such as a cellar or tunnel.
Environment Reflection: With this effect, sounds are not only transmitted by the source, but also redirected by the environment. Primary reflections and reverberations are controlled the way the Aureal A3D 2.0 did it some years ago.
Environment Filtering: Less explicit than the effects described above, Environment Filtering contains a series of data to hone and control the differences in tone between environments.

With regard to games, the most important new feature of the Audigy 2 is that you can play in 6.1 with any DS3D game. The result in GTA 3, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, or Dungeon Siege is certainly convincing with a definite gain in sound immersion for the player. Positioning as such may sometimes be a bit fuzzy, but this is a rare occurrence. Games like Dungeon Siege with a music background gain hugely from the center surround channel. DirectX 9 is going to make 5.1 games the norm, and it is more than likely that 6.1 3D sound managed by EAX will soon be part of games.

3D Benchmarks

Here are the benchmark results from Audio Winbench, Half Life and Dungeon Siege. There's no more to add: Creative Labs is still CPU champion in applications using DS3D.

THX, ASIO And SB 1394

The Audigy 2 is the first multimedia sound card to be awarded THX certification. This must be a good thing, except that nobody at THX or Creative Labs could (or would?) tell us what that means for a sound card. When asked "What are the technical improvements made to the Audigy 2 to obtain THX certification?'' Creative Labs answered:

"THX certification is kept purposely very secretive so that product manufacturers cannot 'claim' THX compatibility unless it has actually been tested. It is highly unlikely that we would release data on what we had to change to get it as this simply tells our competitors the areas that they need to focus on."

To find out more about THX and Audigy 2, see the interview with Franco de Bonis.

ASIO 16/ 48 Drivers

Though the Audigy 2 has 24 bit/ 96 kHz compatibility, the ASIO drivers on the CD are ASIO 1.0 and not ASIO 2.0. They are limited to 16 bits/ 48 kHz for recording, so there is no difference with the Audigy 1. And the effects engine is in 48 kHz only. So you can do 24 bit/ 96 kHz recording but not stay in this resolution to apply effects because if you do, the flow will be resampled in 16 bits/ 48 kHz. You can resample it in 24 bits/ 96 kHz later, but you'll have all the quality defects that resampling implies. With regard to latency times, we noticed no special improvement compared to the Audigy 1, which was, in any case, quite up to the mark in this respect. So you can work with latency ranging from 10 to 15 ms on an Athlon XP1800+. We should just add that with ASIO multimedia drivers, you can do 24 bit/ 96 kHz recording, but you will lose the advantage of the very short latency time.

Musicians who would have liked to use the Audigy 2 and ASIO 2.0 drivers will not be completely disappointed, because in early 2003 Creative Labs plans to release an Audigy 2 Platinum eX with a completely redesigned external input/ output rack and a card with 24 bit/ 96 kHz compatibility in all these areas.

The SB1394 Is Still There

Like the fist Audigy, the SB1394 port on the card and on the facing for the Platinum are used to plug and play peripheral devices requiring fast data transfer up to 400 Mbps. Peripherals with this standard are coming in thick and fast. There are DVD camcorders and external burners, and much more. Another advantage is that you can network up to 63 PCs. In practice, this function is more likely to be used for games networks on two, three or four workstations.

We tested the Audigy 2 SB1394 port with an external hard disk and a CD-RW burner, with no trouble at all. The peak transfer rate we found was 7 MB/s, which is adequate but a bit below dedicated IEEE1394 controllers.

Audigy 2: Drivers

For the control panel and drivers, Creative Labs has gone for continuity and offers a raft of modules built around a core in three parts: EAX Control Panel, Speaker Settings, Surround Mixer Audio HQ. They have also included a speaker calibrator.

The EAX Control Panel contains all the options linked to DSP effects and Advanced HD software modules, such as Time Scaling, CMSS and CMSS 3D, as well as Audio Clean Up. We found Audio Clean Up very efficient in our tests, especially for noise reduction. You can use it for playing/ recording vinyl disks, but also for MP3s of middling to poor quality.

Audigy 2: Drivers, Continued

Creative has also come up with a new module called Mediasource, which contains the accesses to all the modules and some services. The DVD Audio Player has a rather well-designed interface, and displays all the information needed for playback.

Creative Labs Inspire 6700

Inspire 6700s are the first 6.1 PC speakers on the market. We ran our tests on a set of Megaworks 510D and 210D for the center surround channel, then on Inspire 6700s, which are supposed to be the perfect match for the Audigy 2.

They consist of five speakers with 8 RMS watts each, a center channel of 20 RMS watts, and a subwoofer of 22 RMS watts. The bandwidth is stated as ranging from 40 Hz to 20 kHz with a signal-to-noise ratio of 75 dB. The connections are all at the back of the subwoofer. There are three analog inputs, one of which is a triple combination for powering the center channel, subwoofer and center surround channel. Creative supplies a special cable for connection to an Audigy 2. If you have another card like the Fortissimo III 7.1 with four separate analog outputs, you'll have to dig into your pocket and set your mind to connecting the 6700 properly to your sound card. The Inspire 6700 has a switch to change from real 6.1 mode to emulated 6.1 mode and back, so you can use these speakers with a 5.1 card of Audigy 1 or other type and benefit from the center surround channel. The sound from the 5.1 surround channels is then mixed to the center channel. The result is quite good for music and some movies, but, as usual, you lose in 3D positioning. Creative has also taken pains with the remote control, which, though still wired, has an overall volume control and another for the low frequencies, plus a headphone input.

The subjective listening tests showed that Creative Labs has taken trouble with quality compared to the Inspire 5300. High frequencies have been overhauled and are much clearer and truer and saturation less noticeable when you turn up the volume. Medium ones have also improved; they are quite detectable but a bit less marked, so as not to drown out the other frequencies. The subwoofer uses SLAM technology and turns out deep, percussive low frequencies, but does not really reach the floor of 40 Hz claimed. We found it a bit under 50 Hz, which is not to be sniffed at. The stereo image and distribution are very adequate. In short, Inspire 6700s are excellent 6.1 speakers with a good quality/ price ratio. That said, though there is no doubt as to their intrinsic quality, we do wonder whether they are the "perfect match" for the Audigy 2. Don't forget that Creative Labs' new sound card restores sound of a quality far beyond what has ever existed in multimedia sound cards, so it deserves something a bit more effective, more like hi-fi. Anyway, don't worry, in early 2003 Creative Labs is bringing out a top-range Megaworks 6.1 speaker system at the price you would expect. It all comes down to money, and if you don't want to go mad, Inspire 6700 is a perfectly adequate solution.

Interview With Franco De Bonis, Worldwide Audio Sales/ Marketing Manager

Q: Are there major changes in the Audigy 2 DSP compared to the Audigy?

Is the better quality observed mainly due to DACs and other components changes, or is it due to improvement of the DSP?

Although loosely based on the original design, the Audigy 2 silicon has been improved over the Audigy. There are more gates in the chip to handle specific enhanced features. For instance, it was upgraded to support a clean 24 bit/ 96kHz and 24 bit/ 192kHz path, you will find that the Reverb algorithms are greatly improved, as is the performance of EAX ADVANCED HD in that we can now support 64 3D hardware voices. This improves overall gaming audio quality and performance. However, as you have observed, the biggest improvements in quality are clearly due to our implementation of extremely high quality components, such as the multi-channel DAC and ADC.

Q: To what kind of users is the Audigy 2 aimed?

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 is aimed at the PC users who are looking for a quality audio experience in whatever they do. Not just quality playback, but quality performance, too. Whether a gamer, music lover, musician, or MP3 enthusiast, Audigy 2 provides the features and quality for the best experience on the PC.

Q: What would you say to a gamer that already has, let's say, an nForce

motherboard with analog and digital ouputs, to convince him that an Audigy 2 would enhance his gaming time?

This is simple and obvious. Nothing can beat the experience of playing an EAX ADVANCED HD enabled game on a Sound Blaster Audigy 2! Not only does EAX ADVANCED HD vastly improve the gaming experience, but, coupled with 6.1 outputs, you really have a whole new gaming experience! Now, you have to remember that the nForce was originally developed for the X-Box. This means that the technology was developed for the audio to be played through the audio system in someone's living room (like every other console out there). Because of this, it achieves multi-channel audio playback by encoding the audio stream into Dolby Digital in real-time, which then travels to the external decoder to be decoded and played out. This achieves multi-channel audio but inherently adds latency into the playback of the audio stream, which for certain types of games is not a problem, but for any title that requires precise syncing of audio with the action, it is not a good experience.

In addition, there are other issues with the nForce, which our implementation resolves. A quick example is that we can decode Dolby Digital in our driver, giving users the freedom to choose any software DVD player, and we will be able to deliver multi-channel playback. With the nForce, a user must use the software DVD player that ships with the solution, as it is this software that the Dolby decodes. This means that, as titles appear with Dolby Digital encoded music, we will be able to decode that stream, mix it together with the DS3D/ EAX stream, and play it out. This is not possible on the nForce.

Finally, in talking to our customers, we have found that nobody is just a "gamer." Anyone who plays games on the PC has other interests, too. Whether it's simply MP3 playback or he or she is a real audio enthusiast who wants to experience DVD-Audio, or wants to watch Dolby Digital EX movies, or record audio and music, or even just wants to make home movies using a DV camera through our SB1394/ FireWire interface, Sound Blaster Audigy enables all of these. Our competitors provide a good experience in one area, but cannot match our performance or deliver in every area.

Q: The Audigy 2 DSP and the effects engine are still working internally in 48 KHz, is there any plan in the future to get a full 24 bits DSP without resampling?

There are always plans to improve our technology more and more. This is one of many areas we are considering based on user requirements, etc.

Q: You chose to support Dolby Digital EX but not DTS; do you think DTS

is not interesting, or is it just a matter of cost?

There are a number of issues to define/ resolve in supporting any technology. One is user requirement and the value it adds to a product. We are constantly appraising this and will react accordingly. Secondly are the business and contractual aspects. If the two can come together, then the technology can be rolled out. DTS may be an area of support for the future, dependent on user requirement and business clearance.

Q: The digital outputs are disabled during DVD Audio playback, are there

any plans to add more Digital Right Management and copy limitations to the Audigy 2 or any future product?

At Creative we don't look at it as adding "limitations" to our technology. We wanted to add DVD-Audio, which we feel (and I am sure all your readers will agree) adds a massive benefit to our product line. However, DVD-Audio incorporates certain copy-protection features that MUST be in place before support of the format is allowed. This is not unique to our card. Even standard DVD-Audio players are not allowed any form of "bit-for-bit" digital output while playing DVD-Audio. Some solutions use proprietary digital connections to deliver the digital content to their amp, etc., which means that you can't plug the digital output into a digital recording device.

Therefore as an "Enabler," we evaluate the benefit of a format against the limitations to the user. For instance, we also support WMA. This has requirements to support their DRM implementation, which we do. Remember that all these technologies do NOT stop you from making personal copies of unprotected media. They simply protect that content using the protection methods of the format.

In short, will we ever add generic "Copy-Protection" technologies to our products that stop users doing what they want with their music/ audio? No.

Will we ever add more formats that may incorporate stringent copy-protection technologies to protect itself? Most definitely, if the format is desirable to our users.

Finally, although there may be very stringent copy-protection formats, it is normally in the field of protecting "exact" digital copies. There is normally flexibility where analog/ low quality copies wish to be made. For instance, the DVD-Audio format does give some flexibility in the areas of 16 bit/ 44.1kHz Digital outputs, or for making analog copies. It was not possible to enable this from day one, but we will work to expose this and provide as much flexibility to our users as we move forward.

Interview With Franco De Bonis, Continued

Q: Audigy 2 offers full support of 24/ 96 for playback and recording,

excellent overall sound quality, DVD Audio support and Dolby Digital EX decoding; what's next?

I think a built-in microwave and coffee machine would be awesome ;-) Seriously, I can't answer this question, but rest assured that Creative is committed to showing the world that Sound Blaster can deliver features that make a real difference to the audio playback of a PC in terms of quality as well as enhancement, and to enable users to do new and amazing things with audio.

Only last week I visited our group of top engineers in Scotts Valley. We call this group the "ATC," which stands for "Advanced Technology Center." I work for Creative and you could say that I should be used to it all, yet I was amazed at the technologies that I witnessed. Some of the stuff will not be ready for at least 12 to 18 months. This just proves that there is far more to audio than CD or MP3 playback!

Q: The THX certification of the Audigy 2 seems rather unclear to most

of the users when it come to soundcards, can you tell us a bit more about it?

OK, I can see how some people may not understand the relationship between THX and the PC. Therefore, for a full explanation, allow me to start from the very beginning.

THX started their Quality Certification campaign in Cinemas. However, they didn't just certify the audio systems in the cinemas. To THX, quality audio starts at the recording stage. Therefore, they incorporated programs that would certify the recording devices used during filmmaking and the studios used to process the audio tracks. This is why you will often see movies that carry the THX logo. It basically means that if you watch a "THX" audio certified movie in a THX certified cinema, you are guaranteed a quality audio experience.

In the late 80s, a new phenomenon happened that started to greatly reduce cinema customer attendance. VHS swept across the world, and more and more people started watching movies at home. In response to this, THX wanted to port their quality audio experience into the home, so they started the same certification program for home-audio amplifiers, etc.

In the late 90s, THX started to expand the program to the PC, in recognition of the massive growth of PC-based recording products and the expected huge installed base of DVD-Video playback. Creative's Sound Blaster Audigy 2 is the first stand-alone sound card to achieve THX certification. The testing methodology is extremely stringent and very well protected to ensure that no audio device supplier can "claim" THX without having been tested and officially certified by them.

In essence, what this delivers to our users is an assurance of quality from the recording itself to the playback, whichever platform that may be. The folks at THX have put their stamp of approval on Sound Blaster Audigy 2, which makes the user's decision to buy our product that much easier.

Conclusion

With the Audigy 2, Creative has shown how skilled it is in multimedia sound cards, and has gone even further into product versatility. The Audigy 2 is a total success both for its features and its sound restoration capacity. We cannot say it enough: its converters and analog outputs are a model of their kind for most non-professional usage. And promoting DVD Audio is another good point, though it means others in the PC and hi-fi industry should work at making this support as affordable as CD Audio. Dolby Digital EX and the capacity to restore sound in 6.1 is also very welcome, though we would have liked DTS decoding, if only in 5.1. Most Home Cinema buffs will agree that more quality is better than more channels, though they are not mutually exclusive. Apart from this detail, the Audigy 2 is without any doubt a must-have multimedia sound card.

But this quality and all this innovation come at a price, literally, which is what you will pay for the card. Not everyone can afford to shell out $199 just because they feel like it. For someone who only plays games, the Audigy 2 is the very best sound card. But they will only be using a small portion of its capacities: the EAX Advanced HD, CPU performance and surround sound quality. All the other functions, however attractive, make it work out to be very expensive. So, our gamers would be better off with the Audigy 1, which has all the advantages of the Audigy 2 in games, with a slightly lower sound quality. On the other hand, if you use your PC for playing music or watching DVDs (as gamers may do), then you have no reason to hesitate, provided you use speakers worthy of the Audigy 2. And you will be satisfied with the Audigy 2 Platinum and its IR remote control and digital inputs/ outputs. Amateur musicians will also love its converters, the full 24 bit/ 96 kHz support and the ASIO drivers.

Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1

Philippe Ramelet — Wed, 23 Oct 2002 19:00:11 +0000

Introduction

The Fortissimo range has been the delight of gamers ever since its first version in 1999. But so far Hercules had only ventured into the field of home cinema for PC with Game Theater XP and, more recently, Muse 5.1 DVD. To give the latest Fortissimo the versatility it lacked while maintaining the performance and quality/price ratio the range is noted for, Hercules has kept the Cirrus Logic CS4624 chipset but given the Fortissimo III Dolby Digital EX decoding in 7.1. So this really is a new feature and an important innovation in home cinema for PC.

The Digifire 7.1 is even more versatile in that it has greater connectivity in addition to Dolby Digital EX decoding. This addition comes in the shape two IEEE1394 ports for plugging in a digital camcorder or any other device, such as an external hard drive or CD burner. Hercules drives the video side home by adding to the card PowerDirector Pro 2.5 PM, a video editing program. Apart from this difference, Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 are exactly the same with an architecture built round the Cirrus Logic CS4624 chipset.

Before going into detail on the technical features and performances of the cards, we must give an exact rundown on the sound standards of home cinema in general and Dolby Digital EX in particular.

The 5.1, 6.1 And 7.1: A Speaker Multiplication Table

In movie or DVD sound, 5.1 means the recording has been made on five main channels - right, left, center, right surround and left surround - plus one for LFE (Low Frequency Effects) represented by the .1 in "5.1". When it comes to speakers, the terms 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 represent the number of elements in the sound system. The difference between them is easy: it just depends on the number of surrounds - two for 5.1, three for 6.1 and four for 7.1.

Some sound tracks use a variation of Dolby Digital called Dolby Digital EX. This format uses a matrix system which includes a third surround channel based on the left and right surround channels of the conventional 5.1. This matrix system means Dolby Digital EX is still considered a 5.1 system. Especially since Dolby Digital 5.1 decoders can read these sound tracks, the only difference being that sounds encoded for the third surround channel are retranscribed on the surround channels of the conventional 5.1.

So a Dolby Digital EX sound track can be read in 5.1 by a Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder. But the reverse is also true. You can get a 6.1 or 7.1 from a 5.1 audio track. The signals on the two surround channels are mixed and redistributed through all three or four loudspeakers. This distribution can be done either with a Dolby Digital EX decoder or a THX Surround EX decoder.

So you can see that the figure describing the recording is not the same as the figure meaning the number of loudspeakers in a sound system. With Dolby Pro Logic II you can even play a stereo sound track on a multi-channel system.

Dolby Digital

In 1965, an American physicist and engineer called Ray Dolby founded the Dolby Laboratories in London. His idea was to develop noise reduction systems to improve sound quality for professionals and general public alike. The name of Dolby is now known throughout the world and the surround sound standards he created are used both in movie theaters and the private home. First of all a description of the two Dolby Digital ancestors:

Dolby Surround: this has three channels, two for the front and one for the rear with a bandwidth of 100 Hz to 7 kHz.
Dolby Pro Logic: this is an enhancement of Dolby Surround with 4 channels, including a center one and two elements sharing a channel for the rear sound.

As for Dolby Digital 5.1, also called AC-3 (for Audio Code-3), this has 6 channels - two front, two rear, one center and one for the subwoofer. When a movie is shot, the sound is generally recorded with at least five microphones (a boom for the voices and four mikes for background sound effects). Unlike Dolby Surround and Pro Logic, the bandwidth here ranges from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The term AC-3 refers to a coding technology which eliminates sound data the user cannot hear and produces a Dolby Digital sound track coded on six channels. An absolute prerequisite for Dolby Digital sound is a decoder, such as the one on the Creative Labs Extigy, or else a sound card like Fortissimo III.

Dolby Digital uses a fixed sound compression method of about 1:12. This means that however much sound there is to encode, compression will always be the same, so we have a compression algorithm with a constant output. The practical side of this is in the disk space, but the downside is that sound quality decreases as its volume increases. But to set against this is that the less space used on a DVD, the more space is available for different languages or bonuses, and this can compensate for a loss of quality. In general, AC-3 sound is coded in 18 bits, so the standard output of an AC-3 flow is 384 kbps (6 channels x 18 x 48 kHz). On restitution, the Dolby Digital decoder transmits with a delay of one millisecond on the front channels because the listening position is usually closer to the rear speakers than the front or center ones. This optimizes simultaneous sound reception. With some decoders you can adjust this delay to give the best listening configuration.

The main advantage of the Dolby Digital standard is that it is the digital audio surround standard for DVD. In the rules defining the DVD standard, no other kind of digital sound track can be inserted on a DVD unless there is also a Dolby Digital sound track. So you'll never find, say, a DTS sound track on its own, and most DVDs only have the one digital sound track, the Dolby. This leads to the second advantage of the standard - it is virtually universal. The first movie with a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track was "Batman returns" in 1992. Since then, practically all DVDs have extended the standard.

Dolby Digital EX is an enhanced version of Dolby Digital 5.1 in that it has a support for an extra surround speaker or two behind the listening position. This means you can put your side speakers in the right position and gain in sound effects and immersion from the back. Remember though that Dolby Digital EX is not a "true" 6.1 or 7.1 sound standard because the surround channel is matrix encoded from the conventional 5.1 surround speakers. The sound is recorded as in Dolby Digital and the sixth channel is added when the initial encoding is done. The sound engineers view the film and decide which sounds should be moved to the rear, so the EX is definite progress. As for the argument over whether 6.1 or 7.1 is better, this is rather pointless. In 6.1, the rear center speaker produces mono sound. In 7.1 the two rear center speakers produce the same mono sound. The advantage of Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 is that you can have either 6.1 or 7.1 depending on whether you want more or less. The choice between the two modes is a purely technical one: if you have a large room with lots of widely-spaced listening positions, the 7.1 is best, otherwise the 6.1 is perfectly adequate.

DTS

DTS, for Digital Theater System, was introduced by Steven Spielberg with the release of "Jurassic Park" in 1993. So far, this standard applies more to the big screen and is only just beginning to be used in the private home. It too is 5.1, with sound is coded over 6 channels like it is in Dolby Digital. There are now many DTS-compatible systems around like the sound cards which can decode the standard by software. However, while DTS quality is undeniable, and even a bit better than Dolby, remember no movie comes out in DTS alone and Dolby is considered as a digital sound standard and DTS is not.

The main feature of DTS is that its coding system favors sound quality over disk space. So a DTS sound track codes in 24 bits instead of the 18 bits with Dolby. Compression uses a dynamic process where the compression rate varies with the amount of sound to encode. This rate ranges from 1:1 to 40:1 and generally results in better sound quality than Dolby Digital with an average rate of 1.5 Mb/s. The main drawback is obviously that the sound track takes up much more space (about three times as much) than a Dolby one. So DVDs coded in DTS can only have one language and a limited number of bonuses. Until recently, very few DVDs had a DTS band, but there are a lot more around now owing to the quality advantage this system has over Dolby Digital.

This quality advantage is due mainly to the way DTS encodes dynamically, but also to other factors, such as the fact that Dolby Digital mixes the channels above 15 kHz at 448 kb/s and above 10 kHz at 384 kb/s. This means Dolby Digital can reduce the space needed for the sound track on a DVD and retain a maximum of bandwidth at high output, but to the detriment of overall quality. DTS encoding never mixes the channels. This remark is not intended to kindle an argument over Dolby and DTS, just to show that each format has opted for different encoding systems. Dolby Digital goes for disk space and bandwidth while DTS prefers quality above all.

The DTS quality advantage also applies in 6.1 and 7.1 because only the DTS ES standard has discrete encoding on the sixth channel, meaning independent of the other surround channels and integrated during recording (on at least five sound effects mikes). But be warned: movies encoded in DTS ES Discrete are as yet few and far between and what you mostly find is a DTS ES Matrix track which has a rear center channel matrixed into the left and right surrounds as in Dolby Digital EX. So for the time being, there is only one true 6.1 sound system standard and it is not exactly mainstream.

Fortissimo III 7.1 And Digifire 7.1: Technical Data

Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 architecture is built round the Cirrus Logic CS4624 chipset, the same as the Fortissimo II Digital Edition. Its technical specs are as follows:

AC `97 2.1 Link CODEC, PC `99 and PCI 2.1 interface
DSP 255 MIPS SLIMD architecture
Supports DirectSound 3D, EAX, A3D 1.x and echo cancellation
Wavetable synthesis with unlimited number of channels, DLS and 10-band graphic equalizer
Supports 4 output channels
SRC hardware and SNR 90 dB
96 hardware-managed 3D sound channels
Secondary AC `97 1.0/2.1 Link CODEC for multi-channel sound and digital connection
Asynchronous digital serial interface
Optical S/PDIF input/output interface (PCM, AC3 5.1)
MPU-401 MIDI Interface
3.3V power supply

The first thing that these specifications show is that CS4624 is supposed to be a chipset for managing 4.1, and not 7.1. To cope with two extra analog outputs and Dolby Digital EX decoding, Hercules has had to bring two parameters into play. The two cards each use two CS4294 AC97 codecs - a main and a secondary. In the first place the secondary AC97 codec is put in action. For this Hercules has opted for a "crossover" function, given that each codec manages 4 channels, so there are two stereo outputs: the main one manages outputs 1 (front speakers) and 3 (center channel + subwoofer) and the secondary one manages outputs 2 (surround) and 4 (center surrounds). In the second place, decoding is done by software not hardware, as is usual for 5.1 sound cards. So it is the main processor and not the sound card which provides the CPU time for decoding. The optical digital input found on the Fortissimo II Digital Edition has gone. This is due to lack of space on the card itself and the cost of moving it to the bracket with the MIDI/game port.

So by pushing the CS4624 to the hilt, Hercules can claim to offer cards with high performance in 3D sound for games and which can also decode Dolby Digital EX sound tracks on DVD. The full technical data for this card is as follows:

PCI 2.1 interface
Cirrus Logic CS4624 chipset
16 bit 44.1 kHz sound quality
4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 sound for games and DVD
96 hardware-managed DirectSound channels
CD in and Aux in internal inputs
Mike, Stereo Line in external inputs and MIDI/Game port on internal bracket
4 stereo analog outputs for 7.1 sound
Optical S/PDIF output
Sensaura 3D sound engine
Supports DS3D, EAX 1.0, 2.0, A3D 1.x, Sensaura Virtual Ear/Macro FX/Multidrive
52 hardware-managed DS3D channels
General Midi and Yamaha XG compatibility
8 MB Wavetable software
64 hardware-managed polyphony channels
Dolby Digital and DTS pass-through compatibility
DLS and DOS real-mode compatibility

Fortissimo III 7.1 costs $49.99. It is delivered with Power DVD Pro EX, Hercules Media Station and Acid eXpress.

Digifire 7.1 is more powerful than Fortissimo III 7.1 in, that it has two IEEE1394 (FireWire) ports and its software includes PowerDirector Pro 2.5 PM. So it is designed for video but any IEEE1394 device can be connected to it. If you look at both cards, you'll see that apart from the odd capacitor they are identical except for the two extra chipsets dedicated to management of the IEEE1394 ports. The first is the Agere FW323-05 which is an IEEE1394 controller compatible with outputs of 400, 200 and 100 Mb/s. Note that this controller can be used to create an IEEE1394 network between two PCs, like the Creative Labs Audigy. The second is the HINT HB1-SE33, a PCI-PCI bridge for integrating and managing a PCI element (the FW323-05 chipset here) on the sound card. The PCI bus created by the card works at 33 MHz like a standard PCI bus. We tested the output performance of one of the IEEE1394 ports on the Digifire 7.1 using a LaCie external disk and the result was more than convincing because it reached a rate of 10 MB/s. Compatibility should be no problem since the FW323-05 is one of the most commonly used components for dedicated IEEE1394 cards. The card also has an internal IEEE1394 connector.

Another difference is that Digifire 7.1 has a combined line-in/ mike input which are separate on the Fortissimo III 7.1. You select which one you want via the General tab in the control panel. It also has a 20-pin port called "Feature" where all the card inputs and outputs are connected. In future, this port should allow you to connect an internal or external rack (via bracket), a bit like the Game Theater XP. There is as yet no definite information on when this rack will be released.

So the difference between Digifire 7.1 and Fortissimo III 7.1 boils down to the software, combined inputs and two IEEE1394 ports. The Digifire does not have an IEEE1394 cable. It costs $79.99.

Fortissimo III 7.1: Drivers

As usual with Hercules, great care has been taken with the card driver interface. It is good-looking, complete and very well organized. Among its good points is the "Small Speaker" checkbox in the General tab. You should know there are two ways of managing low frequencies in 5.1, depending on the size and type of speakers connected to the sound card.

In theory, the Cirrus Logic 4624 chipset only manages one mode: Large Speaker Mode. This means that the output device sends a full-frequency signal to all the elements without redirecting or filtering low frequencies to the subwoofer alone. So sounds logically dedicated to the LFE channel by the DVD software are dispatched to all the elements. In Small Speaker mode the card can redirect low frequencies specifically to the subwoofer, making for clearer and better positioned sound. So Hercules had a good idea in adding this configuration mode to the drivers. You can use amplified multimedia or hi-fi speakers, but also non-amplified ones like the ones in mural systems.

Digifire 7.1: Drivers

The Digifire 7.1 drivers have the same interface as Fortissimo III 7.1 with the five General, Mixer, Midi, EQ and Others tabs.

Test Setup And Methods

Hardware
Processor	AMD Athlon 1800 XP - 256 MB PC2100
Motherboard	MSI KT7 Master
Speakers	Megaworks 510D - 210D
DVD-ROM	Toshiba SM1302
Graphics card	ATI Radeon 64 MB DDR
Drivers & Software
DirectX version	8.1a
OS	Windows XP Professional

The Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 sound cards were tested objectively and subjectively. The following software and DVDs were used:

Right Mark Audio Analyser 4.1
Audio Winbench
Dungeon Siege
DVD Test Platinum Series
DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 and EX

Fortissimo III 7.1 And Digifire 7.1: Dolby Digital EX Decoding

The drivers and four analog outputs give Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 the capacity to decode DVD sound tracks encoded in Dolby Digital EX. To do so, you have to use the Power DVD Pro EX provided with the cards. Hercules has done things neatly so that the card driver and software sound configuration dovetail and activate 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 decoding depending on what you choose. This means you don't have to configure the same thing twice in two different places.

Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 were tested subjectively with DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital EX like Star Wars Episode One, Phantom Menace and Lord of the Rings, and with DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital like Alien Resurrection and Saving Private Ryan. Nothing in particular to say about decoding itself - the job was done more than adequately, even though you don't get quite the quality and clear positioning results of a dedicated decoder. The advantage of 7.1 and 6.1 over 5.1 is patent - the rear surround speaker(s) envelope you in sound much better. An appreciable point is that music and background noise are on these speakers and so free up the main surrounds for sound effects.

However, the gain in the sound effects themselves is negligible because 90% of them are still on the standard 5.1 channels. They are hardly to be heard on the rear surround channels. This is as true for 7.1 as for 6.1, especially since in 7.1 the Dolby Digital EX matrix system means the same sounds are heard on the two rear center speakers, so 7.1 is only better if you have a large room and a lot of people, otherwise 6.1 is quite adequate. Note that the Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 analog outputs give a lower sound level than the Creative Labs Audigy. This is a good thing in a way because it limits distortion but it does also limit the maximum reachable volume. Overall, we can say both cards do a good job of Dolby Digital EX decoding.

As we already said, a system which can decode sound in 6.1 or 7.1 is also good for playing DVDs encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1. Positioning is not as good as with EX sound tracks but still effective. The surround sounds are spread over the four speakers so listeners are better enveloped in sound. This should be avoided though in some movies because it reduces the power of the sound effects. Another thing to remember is that 7.1 emulation from a DVD encoded in 5.1 substantially impairs the quality of the sound on the rear surround speakers (see explanation below).

Performance In Games

The theoretical and practical tests of the capacities of Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 were all run on both cards. Their drivers and components being virtually identical, some of the results are too, so in this case we shall only publish one set, as with the results for Audio Winbench 99. These are not bad at all, though slightly higher than for Fortissimo II, which is a bit surprising.

Dungeon Siege results are very conclusive and also virtually identical to the odd tenth of an FPS. We should point out though that this game is compatible with EAX 2.0 and EAX Advanced HD, so in theory, if you activate EAX with these cards Hercules should run the game in EAX 2.0. Yet, while the bench tests show a significant drop in performance, the quality results are rather odd: when EAX is active, 3D positioning is practically non-existent and sound effects not very marked, whereas when it is deactivated, positioning is excellent and you are totally enveloped in sound. What's more, the 7.1 mode is amazingly efficient in this game and in Soldier Of Fortune II. Directional effects are focused on the loudspeakers in conventional 4.1 but background and music are on all the surround speakers. It has to be said though that the quality of restitution is sometimes defective on the rear surrounds. More on this later.

Digifire 7.1: Input And Output Quality

Here are the results given by Right Mark Audio Analyser for front stereo output quality with Digifire 7.1 using the following test line: Digifire 7.1 Stereo Out 1 - DMX 6Fire 24/96 Line In.

Right Mark Audio Analyser Results
Bandwidth (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.01, -0.02	Excellent
Signal-to-noise ratio, dB (A):	-82.0	Good
Dynamic range, dB (A):	78.0	Average
Total harmonic distortion, %:	0.017	Good
Intermodulation distortion, %:	0.040	Good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-81.4	Very good

So results are very good, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 82 dB. Here are the corresponding graphs:

Bandwidth	Reponse
20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-0.25, +0.04
40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.02, +0.01

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS Power, dB:	-78.6	-80.1
RMS Power (A-weighted), dB:	-80.4	-82.0
Peak level, dB FS:	-67.6	-68.3
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	+76.1	+77.7
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	+78.0	+79.5
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Related to the above test, the dynamic range test gauges the level of noise generated in the presence of a sound signal, in this instance a sine wave (1 kHz at -60dB) at card input.

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.020	0.017
THD + Noise, %:	0.023	0.021
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.020	0.018

The next test measures harmonic distortion or THD. It assesses the card's sound fidelity, noting the appearance of harmonics when a single but high (-3 dB) sine wave is sent to the card.

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	0.046	0.040
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.039	0.034

Parameter	G <- D	G -> D
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-76	-77
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-80	-80
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-65	-65

Digifire 7.1: Input And Output Quality, Continued

The following results show the quality of Digifire 7.1 recording via the line-in/Mike-in stereo input. The input was of course configured in line-in. The test line was: DMX 6Fire 24/96 Stereo Out - Digifire 7.1 line in.

Right Mark Audio Analyser Results
Bandwidth (40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.02, -0.16	Very good
Signal to noise ratio, dB (A):	-79.6	Average
Dynamic range, dB (A):	67.6	Average
Total harmonic distortion, %:	0.011	Good
Intermodular distortion, %:	0.045	Good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-75.0	Very good

Digifire 7.1 also comes out pretty well at all levels in recording via the analog stereo input. The signal-to-noise ratio is not top rate but average at -79.6 dB.

Bandwidth	Reponse
From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-0.55, +0.02
From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.16, +0.02

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS power, dB:	-67.2	-78.6
RMS power (A-weighted), dB:	-71.1	-79.6
Peak level, dB FS:	-51.6	-66.2
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	+63.4	+75.4
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	+67.6	+77.2
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.015	0.011
THD + Noise, %:	0.073	0.024
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.057	0.023

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	0.205	0.045
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.158	0.043

Parameter	G <- D	G-> D
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-66	-47
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-74	-57
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-65	-59

Fortissimo III 7.1: Input And Output Quality

Here are the results given by Right Mark Audio Analyser for front stereo output quality with Fortissimo III 7.1 using the following test line: Fortissimo III 7.1 Stereo 1 out - DMX 6Fire 24/96 Line In.

Right Mark Audio Analyser Results
Bandwidth (40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.02, -0.13	Very good
Signal to noise ratio, dB (A):	-81.2	Good
Dynamic range, dB (A):	78.4	Average
Total harmonic distortion, %:	0.0084	Very good
Intermodular distortion, %:	0.039	Good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-80.8	Very good

Like Digifire 7.1, Fortissimo III 7.1 gives good quality output which bodes well for playback. Bandwidth compliance is more than adequate and the signal-to-noise quite good enough for a card in this range. There are a few differences compared to the Digifire 7.1, notably with regard to the THD which is lower (so better) on the Fortissimo III 7.1.

Bandwidth	Response
From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-0.51, +0.02
From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.13, +0.02

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS power, dB:	-79.7	-79.5
RMS power (A-weighted), dB:	-81.2	-81.0
Peak level, dB FS:	-68.5	-68.3
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	+76.9	+76.6
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	+78.7	+78.4
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.008	0.008
THD + Noise, %:	0.020	0.021
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.018	0.018

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	0.039	0.041
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.035	0.036

Parameter	G <- D	G -> D
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-76	-76
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-78	-80
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-75	-76

Fortissimo III 7.1: Input And Output Quality, Continued

The following results show the quality of Fortissimo III 7.1 recording via the line-in stereo input. The test line was: DMX 6Fire 24/96 Stereo Out - Fortissimo III 7.1 line in.

Right Mark Audio Analyser Results
Bande passante (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+0.02, -0.07	Excellent
Signal to noise ratio, dB (A):	-81.0	Good
Dynamic range, dB (A):	78.4	Average
Total harmonic distortion, %:	0.0084	Very good
Intermodular distortion, %:	0.043	Good
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-76.1	Very good

Once more Fortissimo III comes off very well with excellent bandwidth compliance and a very good signal-to-noise ratio, even though it comes nowhere near the 95 dB and more of more music-focused cards.

Bandwidth	Response
From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB	-0.40, +0.02
From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB	-0.07, +0.02

Parameter	Left	Right
RMS power, dB:	-79.5	-79.3
RMS power (A-weighted), dB:	-81.0	-80.8
Peak level, dB FS:	-66.2	-66.8
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
Dynamic range, dB:	+76.8	+76.7
Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB:	+78.6	+78.4
DC offset, %:	-0.00	-0.00

Parameter	Left	Right
THD, %:	0.009	0.008
THD + Noise, %:	0.022	0.022
THD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.021	0.021

Parameter	Left	Right
IMD + Noise, %:	0.043	0.043
IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %:	0.037	0.037

Parameter	G <- D	G -> D
Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB:	-71	-72
Crosstalk at 1 kHz, dB:	-73	-75
Crosstalk at 10 kHz, dB:	-63	-63

Fortissimo III 7.1 And Digifire 7.1: Input And Output Quality

Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 have four separate analog outputs, so these each need to be tested to see if they do all have the same quality. Given that outputs 1 and 2 (front and surround) are on the main codec and that 3 and 4 (center channel/subwoofer and center surround) are on the secondary one, there may be some differences to notice.

Still using the Right Mark Audio Analyser and subjective tests with Sennheiser HD570 Symphony headphones, we did indeed notice substantial quality discrepancies between outputs 1-2 and 3-4. We discovered when we listened that the sound from outputs 3 and 4 was really poor, while from 1 and 2 it was very good. So you have good quality sound on the front and surround speakers while the rest are inadequate. Contrast this with cards like the Terratec DMX 6Fire LT or the Creative Labs Audigy Player where the sound quality is identical on all outputs.

In the objective RMAA tests, this quality difference of Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 was blatantly obvious. It was definitely noticeable in the bandwidth and appalling when it came to stereo crosstalk. This, by the way, is a measure of the isolation between the card's left and right sound channels, in other words the highest level of sound that can be heard on a channel before it starts to be heard on the other as well. This is an important factor in multi-channel environments.

To see what we mean, here is an example of results obtained with RMAA 4.1 for Digifire 7.1, the Fortissimo III results being virtually identical and with the same symptoms. We have just used output 2 as reference to make the charts simpler.

Test	DIGIFIRE 7.1line out 4	DIGIFIRE 7.1Line out 3	DIGIFIRE 7.1Line out 2
Bandwidth (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:	+7.30, -20.09	+7.30, -20.11	+0.01, -0.02
Signal to noise ratio, dB (A):	-82.7	-83.6	-82.8
Dynamic range, dB (A):	79.4	76.3	80.3
THD, %:	0.010	0.011	0.015
IMD, %:	0.076	0.062	0.033
Stereo crosstalk, dB:	-6.3	-6.1	-72.8

Basically, these results prove that bandwidth compliance is appalling and crosstalk more than inadequate on outputs 3 and 4 while they are excellent on 2 (and therefore 1).

Fortissimo III 7.1 And Digifire 7.1: Input And Output Quality, Continued

The reason for this quality difference is quite easy to explain for output 3, which handles the center channel and subwoofer. Hercules has added a filter to it to cut out low frequencies on the center-dedicated channel. This results in a 300 kHz crossover on the output which explains the crosstalk results because the two channels are not getting the same sound information. The reason for the filter on output 3 is to allow Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 to be easily connected to a subwoofer with no integrated cutout system. It is a technical compromise which is detrimental to sound quality but advantageous for compatibility with speaker systems. This is a pity for those who do have an integrated cutout system (like MegaWorks 510D) and it may be that Hercules will include an option for deactivating the filter in its future drivers. Let's hope so.

For output 4, the explanation is similar in that it has a software-applied filter for when the eight elements are used from a source not encoded in 6.1 or 7.1. So if you play a DS3D game, watch a movie encoded in 2.1 or 5.1, or listen to a CD Audio with all the loudspeakers running, Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 "virtualize" the sound into 7.1 instead of stereo panning it over the four surrounds. The result is convincing with regard to background sound, but it has negative effects on the "virtual" sound on the rear surrounds.

Hercules is aware that this technical arrangement can sometimes impair the quality of the sound and so has decided to develop new drivers which will have an option for deactivating virtualization to reproduce the same sounds on the four surround outputs. Users will then be able to choose according to taste. The filter on output 3 could also be deactivated to optimize use of speakers with electronic crossover.

Conclusion

The Fortissimo III 7.1 is meant to be a multi-purpose card for games and DVD. With Digifire 7.1, it's the same, but with more advanced connectivity and software focusing on acquisition and editing of digital video. Their two main new features (7.1 sound and Dolby Digital EX decoding) are certainly not negligible, but we do rather wonder what their real advantage is. 7.1 sound can only be a deciding factor for movies if the PC (or DVD/DivX box) are located in a good-sized room and not in an office or other room of ordinary size, but it is unlikely that users with a room like that would hesitate to invest a bit more in a card or decoder of home cinema quality. That said, you can always stick with 6.1 which will give you truly better sound immersion for Dolby Digital EX movies. In fact, Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 are cards in a very low price range ($49.99 and $79.99) which makes them very affordable. This economy choice obviously does not place them in the music or top-of-the-range cards for sound fidelity. But we reckon their quality is quite adequate for leisure purposes like DVD and games. Moreover, within a few weeks Hercules should have overcome the quality problems caused by the filters on outputs 3 and 4 by releasing optimized drivers enabling users to choose the way the sound is restored.

After all, if you discount this quality problem, there is no denying the attraction of Dolby Digital EX in movies and the sometimes significant advantage of 6.1 and 7.1 in games. The quality/price ratio of Fortissimo III 7.1 and Digifire 7.1 is a definite and deciding advantage compared with other solutions for games and Dolby Digital decoding. Performance in games is really good and the driver interface is a model of its kind for appearance and simplicity.

Entry-level Multi-channel Sound Card: Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD

Philippe Ramelet — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 19:08:14 +0000

Introduction

The Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD is built upon the same chip as the Muse XL, which is used to process the six-channel LX. This means that its gaming and music capabilities are the same as for the previous versions of Muse. The CMI8738-6ch component incorporates 5.1 sound for decoding output from DVD videos. Sound decompression is not handled by the card itself, however, but rather, by the central processor. On the other hand, the card contains all the components and outputs needed to distribute sound correctly over the six channels. We discovered that the Muse 5.1 DVD only decodes Dolby Digital tracks, but not DTS. It is interesting to note that the CMI8738-6Ch chip is used as the only sound chipset in this motherboard and many others, for instance, in the Asus A7V333.

Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD
Manufacturer	Hercules
Interface	PCI
DSP/Chip	C-Media CMI8738-6ch-LX
Sound quality	16-bit - 48 KHz
Inputs/Outputs
Card inputs	Line In, Mic In
Internal inputs	Aux In, CD In 2X
Card outputs	Minijack Front, Back, LFE + Central, Joystick
3D Features
Standards supported	DS3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0/2.0
3D sound management	2.1, 4.1 and 5.1
Number of hard-wired/software voices	16/16
Music Features
Midi characteristics	FM synthesis
Capacity	NA
Hard-wired voices Software voices	064
AD signal/noise ratio	n.c dB
DA signal/noise ratio	n.c dB
Price	$29.99

Introduction, Continued

As for connections, the Muse 5.1 DVD is simplicity itself. The three stereo analog outputs in mini-jack format for 5.1 sound are attached to the back of the card. The third output is dedicated to the central channel and LFE (Low Frequency Effects), i.e. the bass. The inputs are those typically found on this type of card with a "line-in" and a micro mini-jack input. There are two "CD-in" internal inputs on the card itself, one with an MPC3 format, and the other an auxiliary input. Since the CMI8738 chip is also capable of managing S/PDIF output, it is labeled as such on the board, but there is no connector for it. The reason is simple, namely, the location in question is occupied by the third output.

As far as the player is concerned, the Muse 5.1 DVD is relatively well-supplied with features, although much less so than the "Rolls Royces" of the range, Creative Labs' Audigy Sound Blaster and the Hercules Fortissimo II Digital Edition. It manages the features that have now become pretty much standard, such as DirectSound, DirectSound 3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0, and 2.0. But its capabilities are limited to 16 DirectSound hard-wired voices, as in DirectSound 3D. This isn't particularly serious in and of itself, because the card can rely on the central processor for adding additional voices. But it means that the central processor will have a much heavier load, especially because recent games that take full advantage of sound, such as Soldier Of Fortune II or GTA 3, often use as many as 16 channels simultaneously. Performance would thus be adversely affected in this type of game, in comparison to a card such as the Fortissimo II DE.

In any case, music is not the strong point of the Muse 5.1 DVD. Yet quite honestly, at that price, you can't expect much more. The card supports the General Midi and restricts itself to FM synthesis with a maximum of 64 voices handled through the software. Therefore, the features of the Muse 5.1 DVD don't seem wildly attractive at first glance. But, at the risk of repeating myself, don't forget the price, which is one of the lowest on the market, when taking its numerous features into account.

The Drivers

The Muse 5.1 DVD software interface is spartan to say the least. Why didn't Hercules copy the interface on the Fortissimo II, a classic of its type? As you can see, it consists of a small gray strip containing the mixers for the outputs and inputs. It is very functional, but lacks the extra refinement to make it comfortable and easy to use, especially as the icons are not always self-explanatory. There is also a button for accessing more advanced choices. Click on it, and four tabs appear, marked Loudspeakers, Volume, Sound Effects, and Options.

Bundled Software

The software for the Muse 5.1 DVD may not look glitzy, but it includes everything a user would need for this type of card, starting with the indispensable DVD driver, Power DVD 4.0, in its multi-channel version that is compatible with the Muse 5.1 DVD. This is one of the most complete DVD drivers, as well as one of the easiest to use. It is used by the Hercules and is also integrated into MediaStation II. It is a multimedia driver capable of reading audio files, such as MP3, WMA, etc., as well as BMP, JPEG and video images of the MPEG 1, ASF and even AVI types (depending on the internal codec used). MediaStation II uses a fairly pleasant and ergonomic "Winamp-style" interface. The software bundle also includes Acid Xpress, beginners' software for composing music.

Test Setup And Methodology

System
Processor	Intel Pentium 4 - 2 GHz
Memory	256 Mb RDRAM
Hard disk	Western Digital 40 GB
CD drives	Pioneer DVR103
Speakers	Cambridge Megaworks 510D
Graphics card	Creative Labs GeForce 4 Ti 4400
Drivers & Software
DirectX Version	8.1
OS	Windows XP Professional

The Muse 5.1 DVD was tested in a single environment using subjective and objective methods. The speakers used for the tests were Cambridge SoundWorks' MegaWorks 510D. The software used for these tests was as follows: Audio Winbench; Penguin Audio Meter; Right Mark Audio Analyzer 3.4; Spectra Labs SAS; American MCGee's Alice; Soldier of Fortune: Double Helix; and Quake III Arena.

Sound Quality In 5.1 And Game Modes

The most interesting part, and the main contribution, of Muse 5.1 DVD is the management of 5.1 Dolby Digital sound thanks to the CMI8738-6ch-LX chip. For this to work, all you need to do is install the Power DVD 4.0 software that comes with the card and connect up the three analog outputs to speakers such as MegaWorks 510D or the Hercules XPS 510. The result is more than acceptable, even if it cannot match the quality of an external, dedicated decoder. The sound is distributed correctly over the six elements and the additional load on the processor used for the purpose is only about 5%. The sound is generally acceptable, though not as good as on an Audigy or a DMX 6Fire 24/96.

The Hercules Muse 5.1 DVD supports DirectSound, DirectSound 3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0 and EAX 2.0 standards, thanks to the Sensaura engine. We tested the card on games using standards such as Grand Theft Auto 3, Soldier of Fortune II, Double Helix, and American MCGee's Alice. No problems here either, the sound performance is acceptable. The sounds are correctly positioned in 4.1 mode and the reverberation effects are rendered properly. They do not have the same environmental quality of the effects of the Audigy Sound Blaster, but they make a pretty good go at it, nonetheless.

Coverter Quality: Benchmarks

We tested the Muse 5.1 DVD's converters using Right Mark Audio Analyzer 3.4 exclusively (you can buy this software from here ). The following results represent the card's performance on the following chain: 44.1 KHz - 16 bits - Muse 5.1 DVD Rear In - DMX 6Fire 24/96 Front Out.

Bandwidth Test

The bandwidth curve indicates whether the card balances the frequencies evenly over the entire sound spectrum. This test is measured from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, within the limits normally audible by humans. The result can be considered to be very good, because no substantial deviation was noted.

Signal/ Noise Ratio

The second test concerns the noise and interference level. This measures the location of the background noise produced by the card and indicates the card's sensitivity to various types of interference in the computing environment, such as power supplies, step-down motors, or computer monitors. The result was -67 dB, which is more or less average, and well below that produced by such cards as DMX 6Fire 24/96 or Audigy.

Total Harmonic Distortion

The following test measured the total harmonic distortion, or THD. It is a study of the audio fidelity of the card - the harmonics that appear on the card when one sends a single but strong sinusoidal sound wave (-3 dB) to the card. The result is more or less average, but acceptable, at about 0.07% on both channels.

Game Performance: Benchmarks

DirectSound 3D Static and Steaming results

Using the theoretical benchmark Audio Winbench 99, the Muse 5.1 DVD can be seen to far outstrip the Audigy Sound Blaster with respect to the load on the processor when the card is in operation. This can be explained by the fact that very few voices are hard-wired, and even those voices require the PC to perform only a minimum amount of work. That is certainly not the case for the Audigy. Theoretically, this ought to translate itself by a reduction in games performance, which the following graphics demonstrate to a certain extent. This reduction is not totally damaging - far from it - but anyone who wants maximum performance is advised to look for a card that is better adapted for the purpose.

Conclusion

In tests, the Muse 5.1 DVD did not prove to be an outstanding performer for either music or games. However, considering its extremely low price ($29.99) and its many functionalities such as decoding 5.1 sound, it performs a great feat. In fact, with the exception of integrated chipsets, it is the lowest priced sound card in its category. For anyone who wants to play DVDs and benefit from Dolby Digital at the lowest cost, we don't hesitate to recommend the Muse 5.1 DVD. Even gamers who are not the slightest bit interested in 5.1 sound should also give it a go, although they will probably prefer the Fortissimo II Digital Edition, which is a much better performer in this field.

External Sound: Creative Labs Extigy

Philippe Ramelet — Fri, 05 Apr 2002 19:07:26 +0000

For The PC Or For The Living Room?

The concept of an external sound card connected via the USB port isn't a new one. Both Altec Lansing and Microsoft have already offered USB-based solutions that made it possible to do without a sound card. Abit's solution was closer to that of Extigy, and the company had already developed USB Theater, a little box capable of decoding stereo sounds and Dolby Digital, though its functions were very limited.

For a price of $149.99, Extigy is now offering a great deal more. It is already producing the equivalent of a SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum in terms of connections. No other ports are suitable for use with sound cards, with the obvious exception of the SB1394 port, but that is of little interest since it has a limited bandwidth in the USB 1.1 version (1.5 MB per second).

Furthermore, this is a true Dolby Digital decoder that is independent of the CPU and can function as a standalone without being connected to a computer. It can be used as effectively on a PC as on a hi-fi system, a game console or even a full-sized DVD player. To summarize, the Extigy is much more than a mere deluxe USB card. It functions as if it is perfectly at home in environments that have nothing to do with computing.

The 24 Extra Bits

Before going any further, however, we'd like to make a couple of small things clear. In fact, ever since Creative Labs first rolled out the Audigy, they have been making claims about their communications card, which is questionable, to say the least. First of all, they claim that it is capable of 24 bit sound sampling at 96 kHz. The 24 bit logo appears all over the place - on the box, on the installation CD, even on the product itself. Yet it has been confirmed, even by Creative Labs' own technicians, that neither the Audigy nor the Extigy are capable of recording or playing 24 bit sound at 96 kHz. There is actually entry-level support that the card automatically downmixes to 16 bits / 48 kHz to process the sound. So why is the 24 bit logo featured on packaging for products such as the Extigy or the Audigy cards? Then there is the fact that this same logo indicates a signal-to-noise ratio of 100 dB, where our tests have shown that neither the Audigy nor the Extigy are capable of levels above 90 dB - and even this is less than optimal, for both analog and digital.

In the computer world, it is currently accepted that the theoretical performances claimed are often better than the true figures, but this does not apply to the audio world. This means that a professional who buys a card that claims to have a 100dB SNR is entitled to expect a result that is within 1 or 2 dB more or less than that. Once again, this is not the case for either the Audigy or the Extigy. Finally, the Extigy also has an EAX Advanced HD logo. This is very strange because this product only supports EAX version 2.0, but no higher. Creative Labs explains this with the fact that the Extigy is delivered with Audio Clean Up, Time Scaling and Dream modules that are capable of handling music but not games. So it refers to a version of an EAX Advanced HD working at reduced capacity! Furthermore, these are software modules that are unable to take advantage of the Extigy hardware.

In conclusion, of the four logos on the box, only the Dolby Digital logo has been proven to be totally justified and relevant. It is a pity that Creative Labs seems to feel the need to "exaggerate" the characteristics of its products in this way. Certainly, both the Extigy and the Audigy are innovative sound cards that are technologically advanced when compared with the competition. Their real performance is perfectly sufficient to make them attractive and competitive. They have no need to make dishonest marketing claims that embellish their advantages.

Inputs And Outputs

The Extigy consists of a fairly wide, flattish, gray and black box. This rather conservative look gives it an air of quality. On the front, there is a power switch and all the main controls, as well as the sort of connections that are normally found at the back of the sound card (main input, mike input and headphone output). There is a potentiometer for adjusting the microphone input gain and another for the overall volume. On the far left, there are optical digital inputs and outputs protected by hoods. Between the power switch and the volume control there is a CMSS (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround) activation knob. This makes it possible to simulate a sound on six channels using only the front two analog inputs. Finally, there are four LED lights to indicate the status of playback, CMSS or Dolby Digital mode and transmission via the infrared remote control.

The loudspeaker connections are on the back of the Extigy. There are three mini-jack analog outputs for 5.1 sound and a digital mini-jack output for connecting loudspeakers such as the MegaWorks 510D, for example. Creative Labs has also considered people who have a full-sized DVD player with the addition of a coaxial digital input. The midi inputs and outputs are on the right, as are the USB port and the power socket. It is a pity that Creative did not think of completing the Extigy by adding a small USB hub, which would have come in very handy, but overall, this is a very complete set-up that is not lacking in any type of audio connection.

The Extigy is delivered with an infrared remote control similar to those supplied with the Audigy Platinum and Platinum eX. It not only incorporates the controls needed to operate the external rack, but is also associated with Remote Center software. The latter displays information on the screen in overlay form, regardless of what software is being used at the time. The Extigy is supplied with PlayCenter 3.0 software that can convert your PC into a virtual jukebox. This offers armchair listening for MP3 files or audio CDs, thanks to the remote control.

Characteristics

The Extigy is built around Creative's DSP CA0181-DCT. This means that the chip is not wholly an Audigy creation, but a derivative thereof. The chip has been modified to operate via a USB connection and has been made lighter so that it can be supported by an IEEE1394. You can see that the size of the CA0181-DCT is less than half that of the chip in the Audigy. The equipment also contains another Creative Labs chip, the CA0180-IAG, as well as a Philips UDA 1328T chip, which is also found inside the Audigy.

The Extigy has a pretty wide range of capabilities. On the other hand, as has been explained above, support for 24 bit / 96 kHz sound is relative. The Extigy cannot actually read or record a sound file of that quality, or even work on it. The only task that can really be performed at 96 kHz is connecting to another peripheral via the S/PDIF input. All the components are, in fact, more or less compatible with 24 bits / 96 kHz, but in practice the Extigy is limited to 16 bits / 48 kHz. Recording and analog recovery are possible at 24 bits / 48 kHz, but in actual fact the processor downmixes to 16 bits and then upmixes back again.

On the MIDI side, the Extigy is much more limited than the Audigy. It does not officially support SoundFonts and is therefore not supplied with adequate software, but this system can still be used by means of the plugins available for CakeWalk and Cubase VST (these can be downloaded from www.livesynth.com or homepage.mac.com/bismark/ , respectively). The same applies to ASIO drivers that are not supplied in the package, although various unofficial drivers can be found at ici . Of course, you don't get great latency rates via the USB port. Creative has managed to reduce it to 40 ms, which isn't bad for a USB sound card.

The 32-track DirectSound 3D hardware support and the EAX 1.0 and 2.0, as well as the A3D 1.0, are valuable features. Note that the Extigy, unlike the Audigy, does not support multi-environment management. As a reminder, here is a list of functions supported by the first two versions of the EAX:

EAX 1.0

Support for echo and reflected sound, depending on position, within a game

Incorporation of 26 pre-selected effects

Possibilities for adjusting effects

Automatic echo correction depending on distance between source and receiver

EAX 2.0

Support for obstruction and occlusion

Adjustable interface for regulating effects with the addition of such factors as room size and echo delay

Improvement of distance model for handling echo and initial reflex depending on the position of the user

Advanced model for simulation of sound waves emanating from their sources and adjustable air absorption model

Finally, Dolby Digital decoding is handled exclusively by the Zoran ZR38601 chip, whose older brother, the ZR38650, is found inside Creative Labs' Inspire 5700 decoder. The decoding has the following characteristics:

50 MIPS multi-operation instructions
Proven architecture and utility
Built-in decoding for AC-3 & MPEG
Hostless operation, no glue chips needed
SiliconSoftware: Virtual 3D Surround, Music Modes
Serial, parallel data and control I/O
Built-in S/P-DIF Transmitter & Receiver
Multiple sample rates from 32k to 96k
8-channel output capable

Test Configuration

System
Processor	Intel Pentium 4, up to 2 GHz
Memory	256 MB RDRAM
Hard disk	Quantum Fireball AS60
CD drives	Pioneer DVR103
Loudspeakers	MegaWorks 510D
Graphics card	nVidia GeForce2 GTS
Drivers & Software
DirectX	8.1
OS	Windows XP Professional

The Extigy was tested both in a PC configuration and in stand-alone mode using a full-sized DVD player. The two sound cards serving as reference models were the Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum and Terratec's DMX 6Fire 24/96.

Converter Performance

We performed a series of tests using Right Mark Audio Analyser 3.1 and Penguin Audio Meter software. We then made analog to digital recordings, and ended with a subjective listening test to evaluate the quality of the converters. For the analog to digital recordings, we used Terratec's DMX 6Fire 24/96. The pre-amplified mike input test produced similar results to those of the Audigy Platinum, which is to say that the quality was accurate, although not without a certain amount of hiss and distortion.

Bandwidth Test

The frequency response curve for each card indicated whether it was capable of reproducing frequencies with balance for the whole sound spectrum. The test was measured from 20Hz through 20 kHz, these being the limits of normal human hearing. It can be seen that the Extigy did not produce perfect results, with performance ranging from -10.10 to +0.82 dB. There was a major peak at 1 kHz and very serious fluctuations from 5 kHz.

Noise And Interference Levels

The second test concerned the noise and interference levels. It measured the position of the card's background noise and indicated the sensitivity to various forms of interference in the computer environment, such as power supply, transformers and computer screens. The result obtained from the Extigy was more than acceptable, with a figure of -84.6 dB.

Dynamic Range

The dynamic range test, which supplements the previous one, calculates the noise level generated in the presence of a sound signal, in this case a sine wave (1 kHz at -60 dB) at the card input point. This test provides as reliable a guide as possible to the dynamics of the card during recording. The peak observed at 1 kHz is therefore normal. The Extigy again acquitted itself very well with a score of 80.9 dB.

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

The next test was designed to measure the harmonic distortion, or THD. It tests the audio fidelity of the card, in which the harmonics are detected when a single but powerful sine wave (-3 dB) is sent. With an observed THD of 0.038%, the Extigy proved itself to have high fidelity and scored well on musical recording.

Diaphony

Finally, we examined intermodulation, or diaphony. This test measured the separation between the left and right audio channels on the card, in other words, the highest sound level that could be heard on one channel before it begins to be heard on the other as well. This is a test of particular interest in a multi-channel environment. The Extigy had no problem in this respect, and had an excellent score of 101.2 dB.

Gaming Results

DirectSound And DirectSound 3D Results

The level of use of processor capacity measured represents how much of the central processor's capacity was used when the card was playing on 8, 16 and 32 DirectSound 3D tracks. The figures noted were unequivocal. The Extigy behaved like one of the worst sound cards we have ever tested. This is not the fault of the Extigy itself but of data transfer via the USB port, which monopolizes up to 20% of the Pentium 4 at 2 GHz! These figures have been extrapolated from a theoretical benchmark. It only remains to be seen if the performance drops as drastically in practice in a gaming environment.

Results In Quake III Arena

In Quake III, the Extigy again put in a poor performance. When compared to the Audigy, there is a loss that can be as much as 24 images per second, or an almost 20% reduction in performance.

Half Life Results

The same performance level was noted in Half Life using the Survive demo that uses EAX. The activation of the EAX with the Extigy did not produce a major deterioration in performance, but there was still a loss of around 20% of images per second in comparison to PCI cards.

In Use

Installation of the Extigy is a mere formality. All you need do is plug in the external power supply and the USB cable and insert the installation CD. The external card is recognized instantly, and all that remains is installation of the drivers. We first tried the Extigy on its own, and then added in turn the Audigy Player and a DMX 6 Fire 24/96 in the PC. There were no problems; no lack of compatibility between the cards was detected. So an Extigy can be installed on a PC that already has a sound card. All you then have to do is to decide which card will handle play-back and recording in order for everything to work perfectly.

Once installed, you can see that the Extigy's controller is much simpler and more concise than that of the Audigy. The mixer makes it possible to adjust the sound level of each input and output and the various sound parameters. The Extigy automatically recognized the outputs connected to the back, so there is no need to specify the type of loudspeaker used. For anyone who is in doubt, however, there are three options for "forcing" the restitution mode. These are stereo, 4.1 or 5.1. The Settings button offers access to several additional adjustment features, such as the height of the housing and the central track or activation of redirection of the bass, a very useful feature for most multimedia loudspeakers.

In Use, Continued

The Extigy is at its best when decoding 5.1, thanks to its Zoran chip. Whether on a PC or accompanying a full-sized DVD player, it performs miracles and offers excellent positioning quality. When attached to loudspeakers such as MegaWorks 510D, the result is a feeling of total immersion in movies. Tests performed on the movies Saving Private Ryan and Matrix were very conclusive and show that the Extigy is not only a high-quality external sound card, but also an effective external decoder, which takes up little room. It can thus be used easily with a games console, a DVD player, or a PC. It should be noted, however, that unlike the Audigy cards, the Extigy only decodes Dolby Digital, and not DTS. This is mainly due to the fact that DTS works with variable flow that can exceed that of the USB port. Despite everything, the quality of the Extigy's Dolby Digital decoding remains much better than that of any other card that performs this operation through the software, such as the Audigy.

Conclusion

At first glance, the Extigy does not appear to be of particular interest because it is marketed as primarily a PC product, so this type of usage is rather unspecific. It is unlikely that novice users who don't want to open up their PC and install a new card would choose such a complete, top-of-the range product. It is more likely to be used with a laptop, because you cannot add a PCI card to one of these. But portability is not the Extigy's greatest asset, especially as it requires power. Yet for a price of $149.99, you get an external decoder with the same functions and features as an Audigy Platinum, though without the SB1394, of course.

Anyone who wants to keep their PCI sound card for games, yet still have high quality 5.1 decoding and the possibility of extremely accurate recording, should consider buying the Extigy. But for games players who are serious about performance, it would be better to hang on to an internal sound card. The Extigy gobbles up too much of the processor's resources for usage of this type.

To summarize, the Extigy could also prove to be a very advantageous solution in terms of value for money if you are looking for an external AC3 decoder to use with a DVD player or games console. The price of $149.99 is unbeatable in the home cinema market, where premium decoders cost more, and are often of lesser quality.

Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96 vs. Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum

Philippe Ramelet — Tue, 15 Jan 2002 18:06:49 +0000

Introduction

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 and the Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum are cards designed specifically for budding musicians who want to make the most of their PC's potential without having to pay a fortune. Of course you can always find professional cards of impeccable quality, but, on the average, they cost just about as much as a standard PC system, if not a good deal more. With the DMX 6Fire and the Audigy Platinum, the user has a wide range of possibilities and multimedia capabilities that the more specialized cards don't offer.

The Audigy Platinum relies on its high versatility and claims to excel in fields such as games, music creation and recording, thanks to its all-purpose DSP. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 focuses much more on recording and music as the hub of the whole sound system. It does not bother with extended MIDI functions, but proves to be a proper card that can record and process 24 bit/96 kHz sound.

Virtually identical in price and target users, the DMX 6Fire 24/96 and the Audigy Platinum try to be attractive in different ways. It remains to be seen which is the best, and for which kind of use.

Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96

Terratec DMX6Fire 24/96
Manufacturer	Terratec
Interface	PCI
DSP	IC Ensemble Envy 24
Sound quality	24 bits/96 kHz
Inputs / Outputs
Card Inputs	Line In, Mic In
Rack Inputs	Line In, Phono in, Mic In, Midi In, Optical and Coaxial In
Card Outputs	Mini-jack Front, Back, LFE + Central
Rack Output	Headphones, Midi Out, Line Out, Optical and Coaxial Out
3D capabilities
Standards supported	DS3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0/2.0
3D sound management	2.1, 4.1 and 5.1
Number of voices - hardware/software	32/16
Music capabilities
MIDI characteristics	FM Synthesis
Capacities	NA
Number of voices - hardwareNumber of voices - software	064
AD signal-to-noise ratio	100 dB
DA signal-to-noise ratio	104 dB
Price	$249

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 evolved from the EWX 24/96, and is based on an ICE1712-BBABA revision of an Envy 24 DSP by IC Ensemble. The card we tested is a 1.2C revision, i.e., the final retail version of the card as you will find in stores. Unlike the Creative Labs Audigy, the Envy 24 is a fully 24 bit/ 96 kHz compatible DSP. It supports 2 x 12 simultaneous digital or analog inputs/ outputs. This means the DSP manages 12 mono inputs and 12 mono outputs. Note that only 10 of the 12 inputs or outputs are 24 bit/ 96 kHz-compatible. The chip includes a 36 bit hardware digital mixer to ensure that none of the 24 bit channels loses in dynamic frequency. The most striking difference with the Audigy is that the Envy 24 is not, strictly speaking, a DSP, but more like the chips on video adapters or the old Aureal Vortex 2s. Note, too, that the DMX 6Fire 24/96 does not have an AC'97 codec.

The Envy 24 has AKM 4524VF, Philips 74HC4316D analog-to-digital (AD) and digital-to-analog (DA) converters, and a Cirrus Logic CS8427-CS chip for managing S/PDIF inputs/ outputs. This and the converters both support sound sampled at 96 kHz without exception, and the card needs no software or hardware Sample Rate Conversion. So you can input 24 bit/ 96 kHz sound in analog or digital form, edit it and play it back in digital or analog with a sample rate ranging from 11 to 96 kHz. In addition, as the card works mainly in digital, any incoming analog signal is converted into PCM 24 bit digital sound first.

The card's Midi capabilities are minimal since it has no Wave table (sound samples) or Midi management system; it performs only a simple software emulation. Terratec justifies this choice with the argument that the DMX 6Fire 24/96 is designed to be integrated into a complete sound system and does not aspire to the same versatility as the Audigy Platinum. The Terratec card is focused on a more "professional" market, and is more expensive because you need the extra hardware in order to take advantage of its full potential.

The multimedia functions of the DMX 6Fire 24/96 are quite extensive. Its hardware supports 16-voice Direct Sound and handles A3D 1.x standards via DS3D, EAX 1.0 and 2.0. Its 3D engine is a Sensaura. Unlike the EAX, the Sensaura is absolutely not an API. Its technology operates mainly using DS3D and EAX instructions. So there are no games optimized for Sensaura, but any game using DS3D will benefit from it. And don't try and find a Sensaura-made chip on the card either, everything is in the software. The company develops 3D sound technologies and sells the licenses to sound card manufacturers.

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 can also decode Dolby Digital or DTS sound (software decoding) from a DVD video. It can also be connected to 5.1 speakers without an ad hoc decoder to take advantage of Home Cinema. The card comes with the following: Power DVD 3.0 and Sound Laundry software to process sound from vinyl records; Wavelab Lite 2.0 for recording; and a control panel developed by Terratec.

Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96: Drivers

The DMX 6Fire control panel is divided into 4 main tabs. The first contains the mixing desk and related settings. This includes the volume controls and potentiometers to adjust the gain for each input/ output. There are the settings for CD 1 and 2 inputs, front and back Line Ins, pre-amplified phono and mike inputs, digital inputs and the overall volume and Wave sound control. The potentiometers for gain act directly on the AK4524 converters, and range from 0 to 18 dB, in 0.5 dB increments. Recording options are all grouped into this tab. Note especially the "Input Source" and "Record Source" buttons, which are used to switch easily from one input to another, to decide exactly which input is to be recorded, and from which source. Below the phono and mike mixer is a button to activate or deactivate the RIAA phono filter on the pre-amplifier. Remember that a phono input has the specific feature of integrating a single special filter for sound improvement.

The second tab, called "Surround," contains management of the speakers connected to the card, as its name implies. There is a choice of 2 satellites, 4 satellites and 5.1 speakers, but not a specific headphone mode, which could definitely be a drawback for night-time players. An HRTF filter dedicated to headphones would be much better than using the default 2 satellite mode. The Surround tab can also be used to deactivate the Sensaura 3D, which is advisable if you want to play a DVD video with a Dolby Digital track.

The third tab has a number of options. You can adjust the frequency of the card's internal workings, from 8000 to 96000 Hz, and specify the frequency of input digital signals. There is a menu to adjust the size of the DMA buffer, from 1 to 15 milliseconds. The ASIO button is used to set the number of samples per buffer to find the best latency time in Cubase. This setting depends on the sample rate chosen for sound processing. So, with 336 samples per buffer, you get excellent results of 3 milliseconds in 96 kHz or 8 milliseconds in 44.1 kHz. This tab features the options for digital outputs, as well. Also note that you can save several series of settings, which can be useful if you use the card regularly for repetitive tasks.

Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96: The Rack

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 comes with a 5.25" internal rack, which gives it an attractive metallic gray color. The design of its golden connectors and two-color potentiometers makes it look very professional. The rack is connected to the card via an internal cable, the same as an IDE layer. Furthermore, no extra power supply is required, unlike the Audigy Platinum rack. When you open the DMX 6Fire 24/96, you will notice that is has very few components; the AKM converters are on the card and not in the rack. This is a rather unimportant detail, given that this is an internal model and will suffer from the same magnetic interference as the other internal components of your PC.

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 rack has several types of connections. On the right is the digital section, containing the Midi IO with S/PDIF coaxial and optical IOs. The middle section has the mike input and headphone output, both with potentiometers to adjust mike gain and headphone volume. Note that the card comes with two jack-to-mini-jack adapters. On the left are the analog inputs/ outputs, i.e., the front Line In, phono input, and front Line Out.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum

Creative Labs SB Audigy Platinum
Manufacturer	Creative Labs
Interface	PCI
DSP	Audigy CA0100-IAF
Sound quality	24 Bits - 96 kHz
Inputs / Outputs
Card Inputs	Line In, Mic In, SB1394
Rack Inputs	Line In, Mic In2, Midi In, Optical and Coaxial In SB1394
Card Outputs	Front and back mini-jack, LFE + Central/SPDIF, SB1394,
Rack Output	Headphones, Midi Out, Line Out, Optical and Coaxial Out, SB1394
3D capacities
Standards supported	DS3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0/2.0 and HD
3D sound management	Headphones, 2.1, 4.1 and 5.1
Number of voices	32
Music capacities
Midi characteristics	GM - SoundFonts
Capacities	RAM-dependent
Number of voices - softwareNumber of voices - hardware	641024
AD signal-to-noise ratio	100 dB
DA signal-to-noise ratio	100 dB
Price	$200

As a leading innovator in multimedia sound cards, Creative had to review its revered Sound Blaster Live! and the others which followed it without being as successful. Creative Labs adjusted its arsenal by developing the Audigy with a powerful and versatile multifunction DSP. It is officially called Audigy, though it is actually nothing more than the 10K2 by E-Mu, the famous music company taken over by Creative Labs. For more details, read our earlier article on the Audigy.

The Audigy Platinum not only has 32 bit processing but also includes an IEEE-1394 port and a new version of the EAX - the EAX Advanced HD. But be warned, the Audigy's ability to support 24 bit/ 96 kHz sound is very relative. Unlike the DMX 6Fire 24/96, the Audigy Platinum is not a "true" 24/96 and cannot play or record a file of this quality, nor even work on it. Actually, the only task it does in 96 kHz is a linkup with another device via the S/PDIF input. The card and rack components are all supposed to be 24 bit/ 96 kHz compatible, but, in practice, the card is limited to 16 bits/ 48 kHz. Analog recording and restitution is possible in 24 bits/ 48 kHz, but, in fact, the processor downsamples in 16 bits and then upsamples. The card also has to be used with the sample rate conversion (SRC) software provided in order to work in 44.1 kHz. It's just a pity that Creative has not given this product an automatic SRC hardware option by using, say, a Cirrus Logic CS8420 chip. And it's really a pity that the card is not completely 24 bit/ 96 kHz compatible. But the Audigy can model, process and position several sound sources separately and in real time.

The Audigy Platinum MIDI capabilities are fairly attractive. It uses the SoundFonts system, which can import instruments stored in your PC RAM to be used by the MIdI synthesizer. This makes a considerable number of instruments available if your PC has, say, 256 or 512 MB of RAM. As SoundFonts are customized, they can integrate anything you want in your MIdI, including your own voice. The card is a standard feature with a 4 MB SoundFont and support of 64 instruments. The only drawback with this system, which helps to overcome the constraints of the General MIdI banks, is that you have to remember which are the right SoundFonts if you want to reproduce a piece of sound. Fortunately, Creative has developed a system called Automatic SoundFont Support, which saves and loads the SoundFonts automatically whenever a piece is played. The Audigy has overcome another drawback by allowing all the instruments stored in the RAM to be used, whereas the old SB Live! was confined to 32 MB at a time.

The Audigy chip makes the Audigy Platinum very well-equipped for games. This not only manages DirectSound 3D, A3D 1.0x, EAX 1.0 and 2.0, but also EAX Advanced HD (High Definition). See the next page to find out more about this new standard. More technically speaking, the card supports up to 32 DS3D voices in hardware, which is quite ample for most games. Of course, 5.1 decoding is not left out, and the Audigy is compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS formats. The actual decoding is done by the processor with an occupancy rate of about 8% (on a Celeron 800 in our case). The management of the six channels is done by the Audigy DSP and a Philips UDA1328T chip. For DVD playback, the Audigy has prime assets in the shape of an infrared remote control and Remote Center software, so you can use your PC as a jukebox or DVD player.

The software bundle is a bit more extensive than that for the DMX 6Fire 24/96: Creative Diagnostic 2 Creative PlayCenter 3.0; Creative Recorder; Remote Center; Creative Task Bar; WaveStudio 4.12; Dolby Digital Music Samples EAX Advanced HD; MiniDisc Center 2.0; Oozic Reactor Vienna SF Studio 2.3; Sound Blaster Audigy Experience; MixMiester 3.03; FireNet 2.0 by Unibrain S.A.'s;

Storm Platinum Edition by Arturia Suite; Steinberg Cubasis VST Creative Edition (including WaveLab Lite and ReCycle Lite); SoundFont Collection by E-Mu; Ulead VideoStudio 4.0 SE Basic; plus a guide for creating music ( "Sound Blaster Audigy - The Definitive Music Creation Guide," by Paul White).

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum: Drivers

Unlike the DMX 6Fire 24/96 control panel, the Audigy Platinum settings are spread over a number of different modules. The main one is the mixer, accessed via the Audio HQ tool. It contains the mixing desk for the inputs/ outputs, along with the bass, treble and overall volume controls. The balance/ fade button opens a small window for adjusting the Wave sound position in space. The two little red crosses are used to activate the "digital only" mode and +20dB gain on mike input.

In the top window are two tabs - EAX and Speakers. There is a choice of configurations to suit whatever kind of speaker you may have. You can also access another menu where you can activate bass redirection and AC-3 decoding, or adjust the volume of the middle channel, LFE and crossover. In the EAX menu, you can select which environmental effects you want to apply.

The EAX control panel gives access to two effects buses, active simultaneously in Windows. Here you get an idea of the Audigy's myriad possibilities, though it is frustrating when you are unable to get this interface to interact quickly and easily with the sound effects of the card's inputs/ outputs, if only to apply one effect to one output and another to a second. However, you can select an array of effects and apply it in real time to the output. This is quite effective and avoids the need to process in the software. The potential of the effects editor is pretty remarkable for a card designed for the general market. You can have reverberation, chorus and several other effects at the same time, as well: Auto Wah; normalizer; distortion; echo; parametric equalizer; flanger; frequency shifter; pitch shifter; ring modulator; vocal morphing.

From the Play Center 3.0 you can access modules such as Time Scaling, which changes the play speed without affecting pitch. The DREAM module provides some sound modifications musicians will not find very useful, but which could still be fun to use. The last module is where you will find the Audio Cleanup manager, for sound from vinyl disks.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum: The Rack

The Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum comes with a 5.25" inch internal rack, similar to the old Live! Platinum ones. The only significant difference is the addition of an SB1394 port beside the MIdI inputs/ outputs. It needs to be powered through a PC connecter to run it, which is not the case with the DMX 6Fire 24/96. Note that the Audigy rack directly integrates most DACs and ADCs, whereas with Terratec, they are mostly grouped together on the card.

The Audigy Platinum rack has optical and coaxial digital inputs/ outputs, a mike input with volume control, headphone output, an auxiliary RCA analog input, MIdI in/ out ports, an SB1394 port and an infrared port for the remote control.

Note that the Audigy Platinum supports EAX Advanced HP, but, apart from the demos supplied by the manufacturer, there was no game to test how efficient it really was in this respect.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum: EAX Advanced HD

To distinguish it from the competition and offer a new range of sound sensations, Creative had to perfect its development onward from the EAX 1.0 and 2.0. The features of what was known as the EAX 3.0 were well-known for some time, though the name, "EAX Advanced High Definition" was found to give them shape in the Audigy. The chip can manage up to four environments simultaneously, all of them on 32 channels. One of the improvements here is the ability to manage sources with different sample rates and top the lot off with a sound tape encoded in Dolby Digital for, for instance, the sound background.

Below are the new features provided by this standard and supported by Audigy cards alone:

Multi Environment: In EAX 1.0 and 2.0, the environment effect depended on a given geometrical zone. But now each sound can have its own separate and independent effect. The Audigy can manage and mix four different environments, giving a real gain in lifelike results. Suppose you are standing still in a room; the sound of gunfire will be affected by the size of this room and the nature of its walls and floor, whereas the sound of gunfire coming from the next room, say a corridor, will be affected by the nature of that one.
Environment Morphing: Environment Morphing is one of the most significant developments in the EAX Advanced HD, and was formerly known as Dynamic Morphing. In the EAX 2.0, each environment was assigned a given place in a set and there was no "in between" or mixing when changing from one environment to another, say, from indoors to out. But with Dynamic Morphing, environments can merge in some places or one will dominate in others as the person moves around.
Environment Panning: This is a complement to Environment Morphing as it is used to add an environment giving the impression of a place about to come, such as a cellar or tunnel.
Environment Reflection: With this effect, sounds are not only transmitted by the source, but also redirected by the environment. Primary reflections and reverberations are controlled the way the Aureal A3D 2.0 did it some years ago.
Environment Filtering: Less explicit than the effects described above, Environment Filtering integrates a series of data to hone and control the differences in tone between environments.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum: SB1394 Port

One of the big innovative features in the new Creative labs cards is the addition of an IEEE 1394 port (alias FireWire) managed by Audigy. Named SB1394 by the manufacturer, it is a FireWire port such as that you might find on a dedicated card. It is used to connect any device of this type, such as a burner, hard drive or DV camera. Creative Labs also plans to adapt the SB1394 to future devices, such as the Jukebox or an external burner. But the SB1394 does not stop there. It also has network capacities as amazing as they are attractive. You can link several PCs fitted with Audigy cards, via a cable supplied on option. The network can also be made up of Audigy cards and dedicated cards like Adaptec or Lucent, no problem. Management is handled by the FireNet software supplied with the card. So, you'll have a network that supports TCP/IP and IPX at a theoretical transfer rate of 400 Mbs.

Creative says it has paid great attention to ensuring compatibility with most IEEE1394 devices. We tried it with a Sony camcorder, the DVRP100, a QPS Que! Fire 16X burner and a QPS Que! Drive 20 GB hard drive based on Western Digital mechanics. We transferred files to test the Audigy processor's ability to process data from the FireWire port. With a dedicated FireWire card using the Lucent FW323-04 processor, a 100 MB copy to disk took 15 seconds. With the Audigy card, the same operation took 22 seconds. So don't expect maximum output from FireWire on the Creative system. However, sound occupancy on the card does not seem to hamper output since the time only increased to 24 seconds when playing music from a digital source and with a Concert Hall effect.

Test Configuration And Methods

System
Processor	Intel Celeron 800 MHz
Memory	256 MB PC100
Hard drive	Western Digital 40 GB
CD drives	Teac CD540E and Pioneer A105S
Video adapter	ATI Radeon 64 DDR
Drivers and software
DirectX	8.0a
OS	Windows XP Professional

Both cards were tested in the same environment and with the same measuring equipment. The speakers we used were Altec Lansing 621 and 641. Test software was as follows: Audio Winbench; Pinguin Audio Meter; Right Mark Audio Analyzer 3.1; Spectra Labs SAS; American MCGee's Alice; Quake III Arena; Half Life; MDK2.

Converter Quality: Benchmarks

We did a series of tests using Right Mark Audio Analyzer 3.1 and Pinguin Audio Meter software, and then a series of tests recording from analog to digital with subjective listening in order to assess the quality of conversion. Note that the Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96 has a head-start in two respects: you can use the external input/ output of the rack, whereas the Audigy Platinum has no analog RCA output on the rack and you have to use the back mini-jack output; we also did recording tests in 24 bits/ 96 kHz on the DMX 6Fire 24/96, something you can't do on the Audigy. The following results are therefore those of 16 bits/ 44.1 kHz, to give a valid comparison. The results obtained with the Audigy Platinum may differ slightly from those of our earlier Platinum eX tests. This is because the test platform was not the same as before and because the Right Mark Audio has since been upgraded.

Bandwidth Test

DMX 6Fire 24/96

Audigy Platinum

The frequency response curve of the card indicates whether it reproduces all the frequencies of the sound spectrum equally well. The test measured from 20 Hz to 20 KHz, the standard accepted range of human hearing. The graphs speak for themselves and require no further explanation. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 curve (-0.02; +0.08) shows that the card is the best of its kind and pretty close to professional cards. The Audigy Platinum (-5.90; +0.87), on the other hand, is not as commendable. It fluctuates quite a bit and its stability is not exactly faultless.

Noise Level And Interference

DMX 6Fire 24/96

Audigy Platinum

The second test dealt with the level of noise and interference, especially measuring the background noise of the card and indicating the sensitivity of the card to various forms of interference that arise near computers: power supplies, transformers or monitor screens. Here again the DMX 6Fire 24/96 beats the Audigy Platinum, with respective results of 89.7 dB versus 85 dB (A-Weighted).

Dynamic Range

DMX 6Fire 24/96

Audigy Platinum

In addition to the preceding test, the dynamic range test estimates the level of noise generated in the presence of a sound signal, in this case a sine wave (1KHz at -60dB) at the card input. This test gives a true idea of the card's dynamics during a recording. Yet again the DMX 6Fire 24/96 wins, with a slight lead at +82.8 dB against +81.9 dB.

THD

DMX 6Fire 24/96

Audigy Platinum

In the next test, we measured the total harmonic distortion, or THD. This is an examination of the audio fidelity of the card where one notes the appearance of harmonics when a simple but strong sinus wave (-3dB) is sent into the card. Yes, you've already guessed, the DMX 6Fire 24/96 beats its rival with a splendid 0.001% against 0.004% for the Audigy Platinum, though this figure is also very good.

Diaphony

Finally, we examined the intermodulation, or diaphony. This test measures the separation between the card's left and right audio channels - in other words, the highest sound level at which one can hear on one channel before beginning to hear on the other one as well. This test is of particular interest in a multi-channel environment. Our cards reached the finish line in the same order, though they were pretty much neck and neck: 83.4 dB for the DMX 6Fire 24/96 and 82.2 dB for the Audigy Platinum.

Converter Quality: Subjective Tests

To complete our assessment of the two cards' recording capacity, we did a range of recording tests, which gave the following results:

Digital To Digital

The tests of recordings from a digital source to the coaxial S/PDIF input on each card were done from a Pioneer DV-343 DVD player with a digital output. The same cable was used in both tests. Overall, the cards provided much higher quality than the multimedia cards we usually test. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 has a slight lead, in that it can record directly in 96 kHz. Its fidelity is flawless and no crude loss can be heard. The 44.1-kHz tests showed the Audigy behaving pretty well, with better bass than treble and very satisfactory overall quality.

Analog To Digital

This tests the most common usage situation with this kind of card. We connected the Pioneer player to the analog input on each rack via the RCA outputs in order to see how the analog-to-digital converters worked. Here the AKM AK524 chips on the DMX 6Fire 24/96 performed better, with regard to sound fidelity and reproduction. Whether you play the master on the player or the recording on the PC, no difference can be heard. It was almost the same with the Audigy Platinum, but with a slight loss of sound dynamism and presence. Regarding the frequency range, we cannot make the same remarks as for the previous test. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 does not prioritize between bass and treble and no particular color can be heard. The Audigy Platinum reproduces the bass very well, but the treble sometimes lacks precision in playback. The Terratec card will thus please sound lovers in search of neutrality, even though it does not reach the perfection of more professional systems. The amplified mike inputs are also very different on each card. Our first Audigy tests have already shown their mediocrity. The Terratec is better, but still not adequate for professional recording.

Vinyl Disk Recording Test

Yet again, the Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96 has the lead on its rival. Its rack has a pre-amplified input dedicated to vinyl disk players. On the Audigy, you have to use the rack's mike input or the card's mini-jack input. All you have to do on the DMX 6Fire 24/96 is plug the player's RCA wire in to hear the sound and make recordings. As we already explained, it has a button on the control panel to activate or deactivate the RIAA phono filter on the pre-amplifier.

So, if only for reception, the DMX 6Fire 24/96 is better off than the Audigy. Their software is also unequal in that the Sound Laundry is way ahead, feature-wise, than the Creative Lab Audio Cleanup module. You can modify two parameters for processing clicks and scratches, and two parameters for noise reduction. You can also directly modify bass, treble and recording volume levels, all monitored in real time. The result is obviously in favor of the DMX 6Fire 24/96, both in terms of ergonomics and processing quality and precision.

ASIO And Latency Time

With both cards, the Celeron 800 on our test PC rose from 9 to 14% CPU occupancy by reducing latency time from 50ms to 4ms, a negligible amount for such a system. The cards propose an incredibly low rate of latency in each settings module. Remember that such short times are obtained by reducing the number of samples per buffer, with the effect of increasing the amount of resources required. The advantage of the DMX 6Fire 24/96 demonstrates this principle explicitly in its adjustments system because the latency times are not chosen, as such, but obtained by setting the number of samples per buffer. With a PC such as we used, a latency time of 7 to10ms is a very good compromise if you are working in 48 kHz. Below this, the system resources are inadequate for optimal operation. Furthermore, musicians know that once the latency time is set, you only need to shift the tracks by so much to get the right synchronization.

On the Audigy Platinum we noted that, in ASIO mode, sampling frequency blocks at 48 kHz, whereas MME drivers offered a choice of 11, 22, 44.1 and 48 kHz. This is why Creative provides a Sample Rate Conversion program, to change from 44.1 to 48 kHz and vice versa. While the DACs on the card give a 24 bit resolution, the card downmixes to 16 bits, which is a pity, even if the end quality is considerably better in straight 16 bits because there is less loss. As for the DMX 6Fire 24/96, it handles processing directly in the desired resolution, whether it is 16 bits/ 48 kHz or 24 bits/ 96 kHz. No SRC is required.

Of course, this superiority in the DMX 6Fire 24/96 can only be ascertained in Cubase if your card has effects DSP. The Envy 24 is not one of these, and only a few effects like predefined chorus or reverberation can be applied. This high-power DSP is directly integrated into the Audigy and can give effects in real time. So, while the Terratec card is technically better than the Creative Labs one, the Audigy wins hands-down in versatility. It requires no extra investment.

Using The Cards For Games

DirectSound 3D Static And Streaming

The following tests show the processor occupancy rate needed for both cards when playing games. The first Audigy test showed that it behaved well, so now let's see how the DMX 6Fire did.

Quake III Arena

Half Life

MDK 2

The results obtained with Audio WinBench and in the games are very eloquent and show that the Audigy Platinum and its DSP are quite capable of impeccable 3D sound hardware processing. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 is less so, given that all the DS3D voices are processed in the software.

The Audigy Platinum also has the undeniable lead in quality. The tests we did with these games (or in Alice, Operation Flashpoint or Alien Vs Predator) give a definite advantage to the Creative Labs card. No sound is missing or patchy as it is sometimes with the Terratec DMX 6Fire 24/96. Note that the Audigy Platinum supports EAX Advanced HP, but, apart from the demos supplied by the manufacturer, there was no game to test how efficient it really was in this respect.

Conclusion

So what ought to have been a duel turned out to not really be one, at all. The DMX 6Fire 24/96 and the Audigy Platinum are both 24 bit cards with an internal rack, but each has a completely different approach, different functions and a different target market.

We observed that in the music field, especially with regard to inputs/ outputs, the DMX 6Fire 24/96 is way ahead of its rival, which is not a "true" 24 bit/ 96 kHz card. But, when it comes to games, the Audigy takes the lead. However, it would be a mistake to stop your evaluation at these two areas where direct comparisons can be made.

The DMX 6Fire 24/96 is a card dedicated to recording, and it does this impeccably. The Audigy Platinum does not offer such a specialized choice and is much more versatile. Don't forget its SB1394 port, real-time effects DSP of virtually professional quality, its infrared remote control and its host of possibilities for games.

So, the user whose sole desire is a high-performance card for digital recording and for working in 24 bits/ 96 kHz should choose the DMX 6Fire 24/96, without forgetting that, for music creation and effects, it will need the extra investment of a dedicated card. And the user who is a bit less exacting about sound fidelity and neutrality but wants a lot of choice without having to invest too much money will have no trouble in opting for the Audigy Platinum. It's just a shame that Creative Labs did not go all the way to 24 bits/ 96 kHz, as this certainly would have drawn in more musicians.

In the United States, there is another good card, like the Terratec, but without the rack, called the M-Audio Delta 410. It is sold for a similar price and integrates more or less the same components, notably the IC Ensemble Envy 24.

Big Sound, Low Price: Creative Audigy

Stéphane Moreau — Thu, 27 Sep 2001 19:06:09 +0000

Creative, A Pioneer Always In The Race

Creative's Soundblaster cards, which came onto the market at the end of the eighties, have become a benchmark in the field of sound cards. Since the first models using the ISA bus, they have come a remarkably long way: the Soundblasters have contributed to establishing a digital audio standard with first 8, then 16 bits for the PC, to the creation of musical instruments using synthesis and wave table synthesis, to the adoption of the MPU401 and General Midi formats, to the creation of downloadable sound fonts, and more recently to the management of multi-channel sound and spatialization effects for games and home cinema.

In March 1993, Creative took over the American company E-Mu, an important brand name making electronic musical instruments and known for its synthesizers and samplers. It will surprise no one to find a processor with E-Mu's name on it in the Audigy range, nor to hear effects (chorus, time stretch) equal to those of today's best synthesizers. The processor on the Live! sound card was none other than the famous 10K1 that created E-Mu's reputation. It was already a surprise to find this DSP on a sound card destined for the general public, when the electronic instruments that use it are so expensive. In fact, an operation like this is feasible because the processor has already largely paid for itself in the field of professional music, and because it is not production that is expensive, but R&D.

For its new range, Creative has simply used its successor, E-Mu's 10K2. Renamed Audigy for the occasion, it is 32 bit and, as its name indicates, twice as powerful as its predecessor (2000 MIPS). It is capable of modeling, processing, and positioning several sound sources independently in real time, a great advantage for three-dimensional spaces, games, cinema, surround mixing, etc.. Creative has linked this processor to digital-analog and analog-digital converters (DAC & ADC) able to create 24 bit samples at 96 kHz. In practice, it is possible to process the sound in real time using the card in 24 bits at 48 kHz. Previously, these specifications had been solely the province of professional soundcards.

Optimal Compatibility

After its Live! series, people wondered what Creative would be able to do to improve its recipe. But the introduction of 24 bit quality, as well as new ultra-rapid, ASIO standard musical drivers and the FireWire interface reawoke the interest in this system, tested by the preceding generation. In fact, these cards will satisfy all types of PC users.

For those interested in games, the Audigy cards offer impeccable reproduction quality together with excellent conversion of digital to analog. In addition, the card is already in a position to cope with games that need more than 16 bit, 44 kHz quality. It manages its 3D sound on six channels, all the current norms, such as 3D and EAX, are supported, and the card goes perfectly with what according to Creative is the sound environment of the future: EAX Advance HD. Audiophiles will also find exactly what they need with the sound capacities of the card and an extensive software package. They will be able to encode to MP3, copy their audio CDs, and even digitize their old vinyl records while removing hiss and crackle.

Videophiles will be able to profit from Dolby Digital sound with their DVDs, because the Audigy card includes 5:1 decoding. And the Audigy will give experienced amateur musicians impressive sound capacity, along with the software they need. What's more, the use of the ASIO drivers reduces the latency time. The Audigy cards come in three versions in order to suit each user. First up is the Audigy Player / X-Gamer (available for under $100), a new 24 bit PCI card clearly oriented towards multimedia and games. The Player will be the name for Europe, and X-Gamer the name for the U.S.

In its Platinum version (around $200), the Audigy adds the Audigy Drive input/output rack and software that will interest gamers as much as musicians. Finally, the Platinum eX version (priced at $250 among some online vendors) makes it possible to place the rack far from the computer using an external cable two meters in length. As far as software is concerned, the eX version has the excellent musical software, Fruity Loops and Acid, which, combined with Cubasis VST, make a complete outfit for creating music. We tested the Platinum eX version.

Hardware/Software Accessories Sound Blaster Audigy Player / X-Gamer

The Sound Blaster Audigy Player / X-Gamer comes with:

Sound Blaster Audigy PCI sound card
Joystick port/separate MIDI
Audio cable for internal connection of the CD player
Installation manual
Easy-to-use complete online manual

Creative software package including:

Creative Diagnostic 2
Creative PlayCenter (ver. 3)
Creative Recorder
Creative Task Bar
Creative WaveStudio (ver 4.12)
Dolby Digital Music Samples
EAX ADVANCED HD Gold Mine Demo
MiniDisc Center (ver. 2)
Oozic Player
Vienna SF Studio 2.3
Sound Blaster Audigy Experience
Sound Blaster Audigy Quick Start
"iM Tuner" from iM Networks Inc. (radio via the internet)
"MixMiester" 3.03 from MixMiester Technology
"FireNet" 3.03 from Unibrain S.A.
Storm "Player Edition" from Arturia
Game "Giants" from Interplay

The X-Gamer package includes also the game Deus Ex.

Hardware/Software Accessories Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum

The Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum comes with:

Sound Blaster Audigy PCI sound card
5.25" Sound Blaster Audigy rack (with infrared sensor)
Remote control with batteries
Internal cable SB 1394
Audio cable for internal connection of the CD reader
Joystick port/separate MIDI
Extension feed cable to power the rack
Ribbon cables going from the Sound Blaster card to the rack
1/4 to 3.5 mm adaptor
Screws for installing the Audigy Drive rack
Adaptor cable (mini to standard MIDI DIN)
Installation manual
Easy-to-use complete online manual

Creative software bundle:

Creative Diagnostic 2
Creative PlayCenter (ver. 3)
Creative Recorder
Creative Remote Center
Creative Task Bar
Dolby Digital Music Samples
EAX ADVANCED HD Gold Mine Demo
MiniDisc Center (ver2)
Oozic Reactor
Vienna SF Studio 2.3
Sound Blaster Audigy Experience
Sound Blaster Audigy Quick Start
"iM Tuner" from iM Networks Inc. (radio via the internet)
"MixMiester" 3.03 from MixMiester Technology
"FireNet" 2.0 from Unibrain S.A.
"Storm Platinum Edition" from Arturia
Suite Steinberg "Cubasis VST Creative Edition) (including WaveLab Lite and ReCycle Lite)
"SoundFont Collection" from E-Mu
"Sample Rate Converter" from E-Mu
"Video Studio" from Ulead 4.0 SE Basic
Also includes the booklet "Sound Blaster Audigy - The Definitive Music Creation * * Guide" by Paul White

Hardware/Software Accessories Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX

Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX comes with:

Sound Blaster Audigy PCI sound card
Audigy extension cable with MIDI/joystick interface for external placement of the rack
Sound Blaster Audigy external rack (fitted with an infrared sensor)
Remote control with batteries
Internal cable SB 1394
Extension 15-pin Audigy cable with MIDI/joystick interface
Internal audio cable to connect the CD player to the sound card
Extension feeder cable to power the rack
1/4 to 3.5 mm Adaptor
Screws for installing the Audigy Drive rack
Adaptor cable (mini to standard MIDI DIN)
Installation manual
Easy-to-use complete online manual

Creative software bundle:

Creative Diagnostic 2
Creative PlayCenter (ver. 3)
Creative Recorder
Creative Remote Center
Creative Task Bar
Creative WaveStudio (ver. 4.12)
Dolby Digital Music Samples
EAX ADVANCED HD Gold Mine Demo
MiniDisc Center (ver2)
Oozic Player or Oozic Reactor
Vienna SF Studio 2.3
Sound Blaster Audigy Experience
Sound Blaster Audigy Quick Start
"iM Tuner" from iM Networks Inc. (radio via the internet)
"FireNet" 2.0 from Unibrain S.A.
"Storm Platinum Edition" from Arturia
Suite Steinberg "Cubasis VST Creative Edition" (including WaveLab Lite and ReCycle Lite)
"SoundFont Collection" from E-MU
"Sample Rate Converter" from E-MU
"VideoStudio" 4.0 SE Basic from Ulead
Also including the booklet "Sound Blaster Audigy - The Definitive Music Creation Guide" by Paul White
"Fruity Loops - Creative Edition" from Image Line
ACID DJ" from Sonic Foundry

The Connections

There are a host of inputs and outputs to be found just on the PCI card itself. All the audio connections use mini jacks, a question both of space and of tradition. There is a first stereo audio output which provides either a digital multichannel AC3, meant for an external Dolby 5.1 decoder (amp or digital active speakers), or an analog stereo signal, as desired. For musicians, this corresponds to two separate audio outputs, and for clued-up cinephiles to the central channel (speech) and the sub-channel (sub-bass) of a Home Cinema system. Just below this there is a first stereo line level input able to take many devices: tape recorder, radio, external CD player, MiniDisc, etc.. Following this, there is a good quality microphone input that can take dynamic vocal mikes or a guitar pick-up. Then you will find two analog stereo line outputs. The first one can be slightly amplified to take a headset or small, passive multimedia loudspeakers. Finally, at the bottom of the card there is a FireWire connector that can take digital cameras, hard discs and other high-speed devices of the IEEE 1394 norm. The Audigy card alone thus provides six outputs for analog sound and one digital multichannel output.

With the Player / X-Gamer and Platinum versions, it is possible to connect MIDI/joystick via a "bracket" card and a cable. It is also possible to connect three analog audio inputs of the CD-ROM type internally (using Molex connectors), as well as a digital CD input.

For the eX version, you have a supplementary card to which a two-meter cable can be connected to allow the rack provided and the joystick connection to be placed at a distance. There is also a socket for the transfer of FireWire to the rack. But that's not all: for its functions the little, secondary "bracket" card has an internal ribbon cable, a FireWire connecting cable and an electric power supply suitable for a disc drive. All these connections make fitting and installing the Platinum eX card a little complicated, even with a diagram in front of you. Be careful, particularly with the ribbon cables.

The Connections, Continued

In the Platinum and Platinum eX versions, the Audigy card is accompanied by a 5.25" rack. It is intended to be placed either at the front next to the computer's CD-ROM drive, or externally at a distance from the noise of the central unit and interference from the monitor, which microphones and electric guitars don't really like.

It is thus connected to the sound card either by an internal ribbon cable, or by using a two-meter cable, which allows the musician or singer to get nearer to his/her instruments and sound system while having direct control over the recording level and headset volume. Even Home Cinema users will appreciate being able to position the infrared sensor of the rack right opposite the sofa where they have settled down comfortably with the remote control.

This rack, cream in the Platinum version, a sober black in the eX version, provides the equivalent of a mini mixing desk: a digital, coaxial input/output and another optical one, an analog stereo line level input with an RCA cinch and a mic/line-in input for a jack, accompanied by a potentiometer for regulating the volume. A second potentiometer regulates the headset output, which didn't seem to us to be of phenomenal quality, but will be enough for most uses.

This output can also be used as a line-out that is easily accessible from the front of the computer. A FireWire port and a true MIDI interface (with female plugs) complete this well-designed rack. Some musicians will regret the lack of an XLR microphone input with 48V power feed for studio mikes, but to get a result worthy of a condenser mike it is better to use an external, separate preamplifier.

The Drivers And The Commands

The installation of the drivers and start-up programs is performed without any difficulty. On the other hand, when restarting the computer, you are dazzled by the number of icons and the Creative task bar, which invade your workspace. In Version 3, Creative provides the PlayCenter, which controls the essential functions of the card.

It is used for playing and recording, allows access to the EAX controls and effects just like with a mixer. We would advise you to keep only its shortcut icon. The task bar, which allows the user to preset the effects, is more trouble than it is worth.

The mixing desk is the most important tool to master. On the "small" mixing desk of the sound card, you find the general output of the card, fitted with a treble/bass control. A second menu opens a window where the sound balance is carried out by positioning a ball in a space defined by four points: left speaker, right speaker, front and back. There is a volume control for the Wave/MP3 output and the MIDI output, and two others for the CD Audio and Line In fixed inputs. For the two audio inputs remaining, you have to choose what to listen to from the following list: mic/line2 input of the rack, digital S/PDIF input, auxiliary input, or digital CD input.

In its higher-level section, accessible via the Advanced Mode button, it is possible to choose the listening system connected to the card: stereo listening via 2 speakers, 5.1 listening. A button marked "Settings" even enables you to regulate the volume of the central audio system, the sub, and even to choose the cut-off frequency at which the bass processor comes into play: a welcome tool to correct the presence of an over-intrusive subwoofer. Next to it, the EAX icon, takes you to the simplified effects menu, where you can quickly choose a sound quality for the main sound output.

Test Of Sound Capacities

To keep our results clear and coherent, we limited ourselves to simple tests that would best reflect normal usage. We carried out a series of analog recordings while using the card's input/output converters to measure realistically the hiss or distortion that could be expected on a normal recording. To take our measurements, we used the Bench The Right Mark Audio Analyzer developed by ixbt.com, which will soon be available in open source. We also carried out two tests with the help of the measuring software Pinguin Audiometer (www.masterpinguin.de). Here are the details of our tests and results.

Bandwidth

The frequency response curve of the card indicates whether it reproduces all the frequencies of the sound spectrum equally well. The test measured from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, the accepted limits of human hearing. Our results show a nice response curve, and although it is not perfect, especially above 16 kHz, it still ought to satisfy most users.

Noise And Interference

The second test dealt with the level of noise and interference, especially measuring the background noise of the card, and indicating the sensitivity of the card to various forms of interference that arise near computers: power supplies, transformers or monitor screens. Here, we found an excellent noise level of -95 dB (A), which means almost absolute silence when playing or recording under normal conditions. If you use the mike preamplifier on input 2 instead of the line-in, you will of course lose quality, take on some hiss, and climb to around -70 dB.

Dynamic Range

In addition to the preceding test, the dynamic range test estimates the level of noise generated in the presence of a sound signal, in this case a sine wave (1kHz at -60dB) at the card input This test gives a true idea of the card's dynamics during a recording. We achieved 91.7 dB (A), a result that is more than acceptable with a card in this price range.

Total Harmonic Distortion

In the next test, we measured the total harmonic distortion or THD. This is an examination of the audio fidelity of the card during which one notes the appearance of harmonics when a simple, but strong sinus wave (-3dB) is sent into the card. We measured a distortion of 0.006 %, which is minimal and would not be of any account to most users.

Intermodulation / Diaphony

Finally, we examined the intermodulation or diaphony. This test measures the separation between the card's left and right audio channels: in other words, the highest sound level at which one can hear on one channel before beginning to hear on the other one as well. This test is of particular interest in a multi-channel environment. With a result of -68 dB, it can't be said that we're in the top range here, but it seems to us to be certainly good enough for listening at home where the volume of the sound system rarely goes beyond this level.

Ground Noise

To refine our tests, we set about the mixing desk of the Audigy, our only weapon being the Pinguin Audiometer decibel meter. This software is both simple and efficient: it permanently shows the ground noise present at the input of the card. We shifted all the cursors of the sound card to see how the Audigy would react if one chose to record via the line or microphone input, and not always under the best conditions. Here are the results. By only pushing the recording cursor and taking care to lower all the volume controls that serve no purpose, we obtained -78dB on the line-in with the volume cursor halfway. By comparison, the SoundBlaster live! 5.1 reaches this figure with the cursor lower (12%), while the ground noise climbs to -69 dB with volume halfway. With zero gain, and when the mic/line input is used, the Audigy displays a very comfortable -80dB at line level.

But when we attached a dynamic microphone, we had to increase the volume to three quarters before reaching a recording level high enough for a voice. We left the mike connected, and checked the ground noise with this new set-up: the ground noise level had risen to -55dB. In practice, the card's preamplifier turns out not to be very capable of gradual variations and was thus a little difficult to manage; we also advise you to use a separate preamplifier for serious recording work. If you don't, use a three-quarter setting to obtain the best dynamic response without creating too much background noise. You should also take care to unselect the "20 dB boost" box on the mixing desk, which doesn't help matters.

Test Of Sound Capacities Conclusion

In general, all our tests show that the card's ratio of signal to real noise is worst around 70 dB and best around 89 dB, with the result varying according to the sound source and the sensitivity of the input. The ratio s:n indicated by the manufacturer can only be applied to the output when the card is reading a digital source, which doesn't at all reflect a typical recording using one of the analog inputs. In practice, we achieved 96 dB here, which is excellent in view of the fact that the theoretical value is seldom reached, whatever the card. To record well, the sensitivity of the input has to be finely tuned using the potentiometer of the mike and the volume cursors on the mixing desk of the Audigy card. We noticed that we had to set the cursor for the recording level at between 20% and 50% to obtain the best results. As always, the most elementary precaution to take is that of watching the sound level before and during the recording. However, we didn't find any meter on the Creative Surround Mixer with which one could check the input and output levels visually. So you have to use the Windows mixing desk (accessible via the task bar) to control levels. To sum up, the sound qualities of the card are excellent for a multimedia card, and come close to those of a much more expensive professional card.

Using The Card For Games

Creative Labs is taking advantage of the launch of its new soundcards and their power to offer new sound effects for games. But, just as with 3D images, for 3D sound it is necessary for the game to be programmed specifically. Sound is to some extent undergoing a parallel evolution to that of the image, but with a certain delay. Today's games mostly have 3D sound, but content themselves with positioning the sounds in space. It's a little like sticking 3D images on bare walls. However, it is already possible to use more sophisticated effects such as obstruction, for example. When 3D sound made its debut in games, Creative had already set up its EAX standard without any difficulty.

Before the arrival of the Audigy car, they were up to version 2. What's more, Direct X began managing 3D sounds using Direct Sound 3D. Now the third possibility, the A3D, has disappeared, only Direct X and Creative remain. It might have been expected that the EAX would not have lasted the course and that only Direct Sound 3D would survive. But this was not the case. Today's games for the most part use Direct Sound 3D, but also support EAX, some in version 2.0. It has to be made clear that Creative has also made EAX accessible to other soundcard manufacturers. The new norm will be reserved for Audigy, at least for now. In a way, it's the EAX 3, renamed Advanced HD.

EAX Advanced HD

Up to now, 3D sound has limited itself mostly to positioning a sound in three dimensions (Direct Sound and EAX 1). In other words, when a monster lifts you up from behind, you really hear it behind you. With EAX 2, you also have occlusion and obstruction effects which take into account any barriers between you and the source of the noise: a wall, a curtain ... The sound environment becomes more realistic. This is how Creative outlines this era.

The Advanced HD goes a lot further. Firstly, it is now possible to have four distinct sound environments at once. This means you are able to hear multiple sounds that come at you from different sources. A monster roaring behind a wall will not sound the same to you as the cries of a young virgin being sacrificed at the same time on the altar you can see through the window. In the same way, it is possible to render the modifications made to a sound by its surroundings. A stone wall in a haunted manor doesn't reflect sound in the same way as a metal partition in a spaceship. It's also possible to filter the sound according to the environment, to restore an open-air sound to the ocean or a dull sound in a small room. Finally, there are morphing effects to make fluid sound transitions and reverb effects to imitate the resonance of closed spaces. The DSP works well with all these hardware functions. This is how Creative explains the interest of these new functions.

EAX Advanced HD, Continued

The Gold Mine demo that comes with the card gives a glimpse of the possibilities, which are impressive. Now it remains to be seen if the game developers will follow the lead. Programming such sophisticated functions, even with a library that is easy to handle, takes a lot of effort, especially in view of the fact that in the end only one range of soundcards will support these capacities. In addition, the card also allows you to play an active game with 3D sound and a Dolby Digital tape simultaneously with the Open AL library.

Existing Games

We have of course also tested the existing games using Direct Sound or EAX 1 and 2. Alice from Electronic Arts, which uses sounds of all standards, is a good test. The card manages all the norms perfectly on five channels, but the Live 5.1 could do that already. There is, however, one small fly in the ointment. By transposing the 3D sound that in this game was initially intended for four channels in this game onto five satellites, the card distorts the sound normally intended for the central satellite, or the voices in films. The positioning of the sounds at the front is thus more precise with the central voice, and more so when the sound from the rear remains on two channels. In practice, however, it is not a problem, because you concentrate more on the sounds coming from the front. Moreover, there is a new bonus for games or old videos in stereo. This is the inclusion of Creative's CMSS technology. The Audigy card can transpose any audio source, whether mono or stereo, into three dimensions. Although you do not get realistic positioning, you still have the impression of having the sound all around you, which undeniably enhances the sound experience.

A Bonus FireWire Port

The Audigy sound card also has surprises in store in an area one wouldn't expect. It provides a FireWire port run by the DSP. In the Player / X-Gamer version it is situated on the card, and with the Platinum and Platinum eX versions it is moved to the rack.

The FireWire or 1394 makes it possible to connect peripherals needing rapid data transfer up to 400 Mb/s using plug & play. Peripherals conforming to this standard are plentiful. To mention just a few examples, there are DV digital cameras, hard discs and external writers; but there are lots of others. As the USB 2 is having trouble getting here, the FireWire is indispensable for all high-consumption peripherals. There is another interesting possibility: you can connect up to 63 PCs in a network. In practice, this function will be used to play in networks of two, three or four computers. In other words, with FireWire's transfer ratio you won't have any overloading. Creative offers an optional cable for joining two PCs, and you can easily connect a PC equipped with Audigy to one equipped with standard FireWire. Creative rejects its own FireWire standard, which the manufacturer calls SB 1394, but the compatibility of the port seems good. We tried out a Sony digital camera, the DVRP100, a QPS Que ! Fire 16x writer and a QPS Que ! Drive 20 Go hard disc drive, which uses a Western Digital mechanical base.

We carried out file transfers to test the Audigy processor's ability to handle the data from the FireWire port. With a FireWire card using the Lucent FW323-04 processor, copying 100 Mb onto the disc took 15 seconds. With the Audigy card, the same operation took 22 seconds. So you can't expect full output from the FireWire using the Creative system. On the other hand, the sound load on the card did not seem to hinder the output, because the time needed only went up to 24 seconds while listening to music coming from a digital source and accompanied by a Concert Hall effect.

CPU Utilization Rate

The utilization rate of the processor is a major preoccupation of amateur players of First Person Shooters. They especially don't want the sound reproduction slowing down the game. Modern PCI sound cards are not very demanding in this regard, and the Audigy card confirms this tendency. The measurements are close to those obtained with the old Live ! 5.1, with the Audigy having the slight edge. On our test machine, equipped with an AMD Athlon 1.2 GHz processor, a GeForce Pro 3D card and 128 Mb of RAM DDR, the high-quality sound processing in Quake 3 only slowed down the game by about 3%, or around two frames per second.

More objectively, the reproduction of 32, 16 bit, static voices at 44.1 kHz while using Direct Sound 3D uses 2.3% of the CPU resources as against 2.85% with Live ! 5.1, according to Audio Winbench. The Hercules Fortissimo II card, a benchmark in this area, uses 1.13%. In practice, the Direct Sound 3D sound at the best quality available won't cost you more than one to three frames per second depending on the game and your configuration. The EAX is a bit more demanding, but this varies widely according to the game: normally, between two to six frames per second. At any rate, if you really want to be right on frame, you can always deactivate the 3D sound or the EAX. To sum up: the Audigy is one of the lowest-consumption sound cards on the market, and when put together with a high-performance system, it won't adversely affect games performance.

Dolby Digital Decoder

Like the earlier Live ! 5.1, the Audigy sound cards are capable of decoding Dolby Digital 5.1. This operation is done at driver level; there isn't any smart card hardware for the purpose as in an audio/video amplifier. Creative doesn't provide software for playing DVD, and we used Win DVD 2000 for our tests. We compared the result with a middle-range Home Cinema system made up of a Denon AVC amplifier and Bose Accoustima speakers. To activate the 5.1 on the Audigy, you have to control the decoding in the mixer and leave the DVD player on AC3 passthrough.

As a an adequate source, we chose the films "Toy Story 2" and "Saving Private Ryan". The sound positioning is excellent, and the dialogues have been well allocated to the central voice. However, the dynamics of the sounds leaves a little to be desired. It is difficult to express objectively what one feels. If the sounds are positioned well, they don't cross the room. The movement of a bullet fired from a rifle at the back on the left, and which hits metal at the front on the right can be traced with the Home Cinema installation, while with Audigy you can't identify the origin or the destination.

This is logical enough, as you can't expect the same result unless as if you were to use an amplifier costing a thousand bucks, but it's already pretty good. As for the processor utilization rate, on our test computer the decoding takes about 8% more CPU resources while reading. In practice, this is of no importance because in general, you don't do anything else while watching a film. For a DVD player without graphics assistance, however, you will need a 500 MHz processor at least.

Shock FX

We were surprised by the quality of the effects. The potential of the E-Mu processor can be seen immediately in the clearness of the modeled rooms, in which the sounds spread with precision and regularity. The reverb gives the voices a majestic sound, while the choruses and the flange do a marvelous job on acoustic and electric guitars. Faced with such beauty, it is a little frustrating not to find a single control on the Creative mixing desk for the effects, especially when there is, paradoxically, an extensive range of other parameters. For the first time on a card designed for general use, it is possible to create one's own effects while controlling each parameter down to the last detail, which gives all the subtleties needed for sound processing. It is the EAX control panel that gives simultaneous access to the two active effects buses under Windows. At the same time you can use reverberation, a chorus and several other effects at choice: Auto Wah, normalizer, distortion, echo, parametric equalizer, flanger, frequency shifter, pitch shifter, ring modulator, vocal morphing. We ended up putting four different effects in a series, counting reverb and chorus; however, it doesn't seem possible to allocate them to separate inputs/outputs. After editing the parameters, the dosage of each effect is controlled with the original sound, a function that could perhaps be carried out by a MIDI controller. Working on the sound in the effects editor seems to us absolutely necessary if you want to exploit the real potential of this system. We would remind you that these effects are available in real time via the outputs on the sound card, which makes it possible to break away from effects created by software, which are often of lower quality and always slower than a hardware solution using a processor.

For The Musician

For our tests, we chose the benchmark for music on the computer, the Cubase VST software, which is used by a large number of musicians, and the lite version Cubasis VST that comes with the card. There were several reasons for this choice: the Audigy is the first Creative card equipped with real ASIO music drivers while the Cubase editor has had the ASIO standard from the start. The installation of Cubase is no problem. When first started, it proceeds to automatically check its memory plugs (buffers) and detects the card's inputs/outputs without difficulty at the same time as conducting recording and playback tests: no loss of synch to be detected in the multimedia drivers. After having been sure to put the new ASIO driver in the ad hoc Cubase file, we restart the software. We call up the audio control page and discover a discouraging latency time of 750 milliseconds: the software is cautiously controlled via the card's multimedia drivers. What does this figure mean? Quite simply that the card needs three-quarters of a second to react to the least demand, an eternity when it's a matter of playing a virtual synthesizer or listening to an effect on a voice while it's being recorded. To approach real time, the Creative E -Mu 10K ASIO driver is what you need. It immediately cuts the card's response time - the famous "latency" - down to a tenth. A turn around Creative ASIO's control panel makes fine-tuning possible by reducing the latency to two milliseconds. In practice, you simply have to choose a figure of less than ten milliseconds, which is the point at which the ear begins to hear two separate sounds instead of just one. Make sure you don't choose too high a tuning, because the reduction in the buffers tires out the computer, as one can see on the Cubase CPU indicator. The installation of Cubasis VST is also no problem. Here are the card's six live stereo inputs.

The first, (AC97) corresponds to that which is selected on the Audigy mixing desk, the second and the third input to the card's stereo mixing before and after equalization, the fourth to the digital input, the fifth to the mic/line input on the rack, and the sixth to the auxiliary input, which is mostly for CD-ROM players. Now here is the mixing desk of the Cubasis VST that comes with the card. On the right, you will see the separate output busses and in the middle the buttons that automate the mix.

ASIO And Latency

With the Athlon running at 1.2 GHz in our test, you go from 8% to 12% CPU utilization by reducing the latency from 50 ms to 4 ms, a negligible rise in load on a computer like this. Nevertheless, when we "put the screws on" to 2 ms, our computer started to give off an audible crackling, a sign that the machine didn't have the time to process the information. We advise you to proceed gradually when reducing the buffers, because any time under ten milliseconds is already pretty good, and any listening advantage will be minimal between 4 ms and 2 ms. On the other hand, you have to keep things in context: shortening the latency helps momentarily to succeed with a take using an effect, or to allow the recording of a virtual instrument without lag. But for the rest of the time, a long latency is preferable for to enable you to accommodate a large number of tracks in a song.

At the same time, we see that in ASIO mode the sampling frequency cuts off at 48 kHz, while the MME drivers gave a choice between 11, 22, 44.1 and 48 kHz. This will not lift the spirits of anyone who has to work at 44.1, the standard frequency of audio CD. Let's hope that all the frequencies are restored when the driver is upgraded. On the other hand, the 16 and 24 bit recording modes are there and they work. But in fact, the card converts from analog to digital in 24 bit, after where is a 16 bit downmix which is finally restored in 24 bit by the software for the outputfile. So, it is not complete 24 bit recording process but the quality is improved compared to standard 16 bit by the use of the better converter. Nevertheless, one should remember that Cubasis limits recording to 16 bits. To get the very best from the card audio-wise, it will be necessary to change versions or use different recording software.

Sampling

The Audigy is, above all, the first Creative soundcard capable of sampling not only at 16 bits at 44.1 kHz, the format on which audio CD is based, but also at higher definition, with 24 bits at 48 kHz. On paper, the dynamic gain is obvious, because the music is digitized using a much finer grid. But even at 24 bits, the quality of an audio file is always dependent on the recording conditions. In practice, the preamplifiers and the converters have a big effect on the quality of sound above 16 bits, and only a 24 bit recording made under studio conditions will get the best from the format. It is obvious that all applications will very soon change to this format to gain in dynamics. But for the moment, the digital inputs on the Audigy card are the most appropriate use for it, while transferring, for example, high-definition files for digital editing on the computer. On the other hand, a mini disc recording at 24 bits, in the 16 bit compressed format, will not achieve anything; indeed, quite on the contrary, it would be necessary to go through an analog step, which would risk adding hiss. The card's converters can work precisely at 16 bits and at 24 bits, at a great number of frequencies: 11.025, 22.050, 32, 44.1 and 48 kHz in analog, and up to 96 kHz in digital. Our test with Cubase allowed us to check the two resolutions (16 and 24 bits), as well as the first five frequencies, with the appropriate driver. However, 96 kHz does not appear in the software. On the other hand, sending a 24/96 signal via the S/PDIF input did not produce any result with the drivers at our disposal. Moreover, for 96 kHz, Creative only mentions the possibility of a passthrough.

Cubase recognized three types of driver: ASIO Multimedia, ASIO Direct X Full Duplex, and ASIO Emu 10K. Depending on the driver, the card's response time varies quite a bit, and settles down in each case with a frequency of 44.1 kHz at 750 ms (three quarters of a second, an eternity) 46 ms (much better, but still a little slow) and from 500 ms to 2 ms with the ASIO driver (but only at 48 kHz). The source selection of the audio clock, which has to be switched to the S/PDIF input to allow the acquisition of a digital signal, is not accessible using Cubase. The only reference we found concerns the digital frequency of the output and is controlled using the "Device Control" window of the Audio HQ.

MIDI Instruments

The General MIDI basic set of instruments loaded by the card amounts to 4 Mb and in fact corresponds to a SoundFont bank of the GM standard type. Suffice it to say that we were not seduced by the realism of its instruments; even if the MIDI pianos, basses and guitars are rather good, the strings and the brass have their difficulties, and the drums and percussion are not on best form. However, you can choose the 8-Mb bank provided which already improves the quality of the instruments a little. Even if the sounds turned out to be inadequate for musical use, one shouldn't forget that quality SoundFont banks exist, some downloadable for free on the Internet, others for money, and that these are a complete match for professional libraries like Akai. What's more, Creative provides a collection of SoundFonts with the card. If needed, it is thus possible to make up a palette of sampled instruments of irreproachable quality, which Audigy will read without difficulty. The Vienna software that comes with the card ensures the editing of the sound fonts in all their detail. The Audigy also uses the new SoundFonts 2.1 format, which adds the possibility of sound variation in real time.

Conclusion

The Audigy soundcards retain the versatility that has given the brand its reputation, while coming very close to professional audio cards in audio performance. Audiophiles and videophiles will be satisfied with the performance and the software. Gamers have been well provided for, especially if the developers support Advanced HD in the future. The FireWire port is a very useful supplementary present. For these uses, the Player / X-Gamer version at under a $100 really offers unbeatable quality for the money. If you want access to a mini-studio and the comfort of remote control, the Platinum version at just over $200 will be the right luxury for you. But it is the musician who gains the biggest advantage, especially with the Platinum eX version.