Rating: 
Summary: NOT FOR HOME THEATRE
Review: Boy I should have read the reviews before buying this product. Although it says 5.1/6.1, when you use their Digital out to a coaxial input on a receiver, you get 2.1, left and right speakers. Its not true 5.1.
Luckily I have got an RA to return this, and my search for a real audio card with optical out continues.
I would buy the Sound Blaster ZS Platinum which looks like it has 2 optical outs, but a) it seems like over kill, b) i believe their are products that can achieve what i want for less than $170 and c) I dont think i can trust creative lab anymore.
Rating:
Summary: Hell from the start
Review: Creative Labs, the name instantly makes you think of a company that produces quality sound cards, speakers and other periperhals. In the past I have had success with them, but this time, everything went all so very wrong.I have a Athlon XP Asus Motherboard that runs at 2GHZ. 256mb or ram, ATI video card, etc. I have heard numeral issues regarding buggy software drivers with ASUS and ATI... From the start it was hell. Installation was a breeze, but soon it began to stress harm on my computer, constantly freezing it up. I had to uninstall the drivers in safe mode and all was fine. Not giving up, I installed the drivers again, same results. If the third time is suppose to be the charm, remind me that 2 strikes and your out. Third time, The sound blaster 2 zs slammed my computer, and to this day it will not finish it's post test. Creative Labs tech support is merely a copy and paste to our webpage link solution. Although they were prompt. If in the end I can't get my computer back, I'll rebuild WITHOUT Creative Labs. Only if you have the latest top of the line system or just looking for a guniea pig of a sound card, then by all means go with this one, else stay far away.
Rating: 
Summary: BUYER BE WARE,,,,,,READ THE REVIEWS B4 YOU BUY !!
Review: Everything I know about the Audigy cards by Creative Labs tells me they are "most excellent". I upgraded from the most stripped down card they ever offered (as far as I know)- the SB Live! Value (Dell OEM). The OEM was even more stripped down than the retail version. The sound was INCREDIBLE on the nice speaker system I owned. Well, I updated the speakers and found that old card would not support them, so I decided it was time to update the card as well. I researched the newest ones on the market and found the Audigy 2 series to be affordable, "high zute", and rated great by most techies.
HERE"S THE GLITCH!!!!! If you are upgrading from an older computer system---- ESPECIALLY a DELL XPS generation 1 or 2 system----- the Audigy cards, even the oldest ones, will not work on the Dell mother boards. Your computer may meet the minimum requirements the sound card calls for but IT WILL NOT WORK. You won't find this information at Creative Labs anywhere, but if you go to Dell Forum and check the Dimension/Audio forum you will find plenty. I found out too late.
Bad news-- once you uninstall it to send it back cuz it don't work-- it will mess up your system. My scanner won't work right, I have had to uninstall other devices and reinstall them to get them to work.....etc, etc. Not worth the headache!
So, what can you do if you have no sound card or an old sound card and want to be able to support 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 speakers.
Try the Live! 24-bit card offered by Creative Labs, or the older Live! 5.1. I think they still offer it because they know there are millions of old Dell users out there with this known issue. Seems to affect some with the AMD bother boards too. See other reviews.
Hope this helps someone avoid the 40+ hours I invested in getting my system back to where it was before I inserted the card.
By the way, if you have a nice, new system- like less than a year old- then by all means buy this card- it's awesome.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding performance, but something you should know.
Review: First, the something you should know. If you are upgrading from a previous Sound Blaster card you will need to completely uninstall this card, the drivers and all files related to it. The Sound Blaster website has a very clear cut article on how to do this. If you do not completely uninstall your previous card this new one will have conflicts and lock your computer up. Also you will need to download the newest updates for the card and make sure your BIOS is updated (something you probably need to do anyway.) The process took about 45 min but once it was done this card absolutely rocks!!! And now the performance. If this is your first plunge into the whole THX/true Dolby surround sound experience on your computer you won't regret buying this card. Since installing this card I have replayed Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, URU and other games and it's a whole new experience. With my 5.1 surround sound speakers the sound was crisp, clear and definately worth the $85.00. I am not a hardcore "tech guru" so I can't get into the serious stuff that some of the other people here have: They seem to have done a good job with those reviews, so I'll leave it at that. But if you are looking for great surround sound and don't want to spend loads of money this card is for you.
Rating:
Summary: More Boom for your Buck....
Review: I bought this card as an upgrade for my default Dell system, having done a little shopping around for a good deal. I was attracted to this card for several reasons - A) It supports 5.1 surround sound (just got some new shiny speakers to play with y'see), B) I trust Creative to make a reliable and compatible product, since I'm not a computer whiz, and I don't have the time or experience to reconfigure stuff just to get it to work, and C) The price is just about right. Installation was a breeze - like always just follow the instructions carefully and make sure everything is connected before you close the case - this model comes with a separate cable to link the sound card to the digital port on the CD drive. My XP system detected everything right away, and the software installed without a hitch. There's a few different programs bundled with the card, including EAX, THX and speaker configuration support, all of which is nicely presented and was helpful when setting up my speakers. The 5.1 surround support is just as groovy as I'd hoped, and the card software made it a breeze to adjust the levels, configure Winamp 5 to play through all the channels, and add funky effects. I don't really have much use for all the software included, but I can imagine if you were starting from scratch, or, conversely, quite an advanced user, you might enjoy the various different functions included here. I'm a bit middle-of-the-road to need all the bells and whistles, but I appreciate them being there. So, easy to setup, easy to use, simmering with latent power and nicely priced. I admit that I was also persuaded to get this card for secret reason D) It came bundled with Raven Shield (and Angel of Darkness, but I'm treating that as a fancy test for my speakers rather than a 'real' game...I'm such a snob) which sounds awesome through this card. A great buy for a lower end user who wants to ramp-up their audio experience without breaking the bank (or an eardrum). Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Best Card Yet!
Review: I got the 2Zs for gaming, and DVD's, but mostly for MP3's. I have heard others complain of install problems, noise etc. I have found not a single problem in any case. I installed the software then went to Creative.com and downloaded the latest baba booey drivers. I am running XP home, 768 RAM, with a 1.6 P4 processor and the software runs great, though there are alot of differnt settings which can get confusing. If not using digital out, remeber to turn off this, as the speakers will produce no sounds. Good stuff, also came with the new Tomb Raider and Rainbow Six 3. Very prompt Amazon.com shipping.
Rating: 
Summary: nice sound, nice price
Review: I got this card a long time ago and could tell a major increase in my audio quality when I had my 5.1 high end speakers plugged in, but ultimitely you need nice speakers to experience the full potential of this card. It has no 5.25 inch bay adaptor like the Platinum does, and although it is old, it is the best for when you have a tight budget.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sound card!!!
Review: I has everything you need. it supports most speakers setups (up to 7.1)is EAX 4.0 capable and hits hard. it's very worthed the price. highly recomended if you want total hi-fi audio. :D
Rating:
Summary: excellent card - in Dad's machine
Review: I personslly have the extreme series and what can I say other than it's the best card I have ever had. That was an upgrade from the Sound Blaster Live which is also an excellent card. My dad got a little jealous when i got my audigy 2 card so he went out and picked up the Audigy zs card and then hooked up his smaller Boston Accoustic speakers that he had for rear surround sound in his den and all I can really say is WOW. I have never heard a computer sound so great in my entire life. He made me so jealous that I am going to hook up my rear Bose Speakers and get another two pair, one more set for the rear channel on my computer and another set to replace the rears on my home stereo!
All of the Creative line for sound cards is great. If you don't want to spend much, get the Sound Blaster Live card, if you want to spend a medium amount get the Audigy 1 ZS series, and if you want the best, then get the Platinum Ex card.
I can guarantee that none of them will disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive sounding but buggy
Review: I purchased this card for the purpose of home recording and gaming, and was immediately blown away by the quality of the sound. However, after only five minutes of using the card, I started having problems with certain applications. Winamp2, for example, would spontaniously become silent while playing files, the music would spontaniously disappear from games (even EAX games) and sometimes creative's music player would malfunction. Tech support didn't have any suggestions, and the support section of Creative's website for this card was almost humorously empty. I am still using Windows 98, so I expect XP users won't have many problems, but even so, I was disappointed by the hassles.
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