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Mikael Hagén put Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy to the test |
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Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Mikael Hagén - Last updated September 9, 2001
Introduction: Almost
exactly three years has now passed since the first Live cards were released. With the
launch of the Live card one of, if not the most compelling feature was Creative Labs claim
that the chip that powered it, Emu10k1, could be reprogrammed through software to support
new features without a performance hit. Not long after, they unveiled the new Live!Ware
program, the name Creative choose for their driver upgrade program. The features that have
been added over the last 3 years in software include an increase from 8 to 32 3D sound
streams, dramatically improved 3D audio engine, improved reverb engine, support for
occlusion and obstructions through EAX 2.0 and wide range of software programs ranging
from dramatically improved configuration software (e.g. Live!Task and Surround Mixer) to
completely separate programs (e.g. Oozic (formerly Lava), and MiniDisc center). Less
noticeable for the users but very important has also been Creative’s development
program including the development tool EAGLE that has improved the quantity and quality of
games that take full advantage of 3D sound and EAX, in case of EAGLE particularly EAX 2.0.
In addition
to software upgrades Creative Labs has released new soundcards and peripherals still using
the same chip. The most important of these has no doubt being the digital output, the 5.1
output and Dolby Digital decoding addition to the base board and in case of peripherals,
the Live!Drive with its wide range of connectivity including but not limited to
coaxial/optical SPDIF in/out and a remote control. It can be debated to what extent the
Emu10k1 differs from other chips when it comes to upgradeability but it’s no doubt
Creative Labs managed to keep the Live a top of line card 3 years running. In particular
the wide range of custom software and peripherals (e.g. Live!Drive IR) offered with or for
the Live series by Creative Labs remains unmatched. The
competition has of course not stayed still the last few years. The most eye catching
features we have seen from competitors to Creative Labs the last 3 years are wavetracing
(the now demised Aureal’s A3D 2.0), 5.1 output, customisable 3D audio
(Sensaura’s VirtualEAR), support for EAX 1.0 and 2.0, acceleration of MP3 decoding
(Cirrus Logic’s CS4630), bundling of DVD software, 4/5.1 stereo expansion
(QSound’s QMSS), plenty of 3D streams (64 or more not uncommon), digital in/out,
equalizers, USB connectivity and improved performance. Less eye
catching but far more important has been dramatically improved reverb engines (that is
better EAX gaming experience than the competition was previously delivering). In addition
to competition from other soundcard manufactures, motherboards have recently, thanks to
Analog Devices’ SoundMax 3.0, started to offer great 3D sound and reverb. This
low-end threat will get another boost with the introduction of motherboards using
nVidia’s chipsets later this year. In case you missed it, nVidia’s chipset will
offer the same 3D audio and reverb in hardware as MS XBox. Speaking of the MS Xbox, while
not a direct competitor, it too poses a threat when it comes to developer mind share. Facing this
new competition Creative Labs really had to introduce something new. This time they found
the Emu10k1 was really holding them back on their desire to offer what they found was the
next set of compelling features. The chip name I’m talking about is of course the
Audigy that will power Creative Labs new soundcard line up bearing the same name. Now they
most definitely added some unique features but they surprisingly passed on some of the
competitions’ features. I’m mostly thinking of the lack of MP3 acceleration and
still no more than 32 3D streams. Neither has turned out to be of any importance and
that’s likely to remain the case. We will go into that a bit further in this article
as well as discuss the lack of Dolby Digital encoding, the major (over?) hyped feature of
nVidia’s chipsets Moving on to
what the Audigy does support we find the following:
In this
Audigy early impression article I will offer my initial impression of each and how it
compares to other cards, especially the Live. Remember that it’s just early
impressions and we have not done as thorough a job on testing as we usually do for full
reviews. One question
that many will ask when hearing about new features such as an improved 3D audio engine and
support for early reflections in the new EAX Advanced HD is if Creative Labs used any of
Aureal’s technology. The answer to that question is no, and Creative Labs also said
they have no intention to ever using it. The reason, according to Creative Labs, was
simply that the Audigy chip already been too long in development when the Aureal IP assets
acquisition was approved. They now also consider their own technology superior to what
Aureal had at the time so future improvements will build on what’s available in the
Audigy chip and drivers rather than what they got from Aureal. The Audigy cards and connectivity ->
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Sound Card Reviews Hurricane Extreme Initial Review SoundBlaster Live! reference review SoundBlaster Live! Platinum 5.1 European Edition SoundBlaster Live! Platinum 5.1 America's Edition Sound Blaster Live! Player 5.1 Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1 Hoontech SoundTrack Digital-XG Boostaroo Headphone Amplifier / Splitter Sound Blaster Live!Drive I and II Sound Blaster Creative Digital I/O 2 Spectrum Research Theater 2000 |
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