Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Sound Card

Rating:
Summary: Very good, but hardly perfect
Review: I bought this sound card to replace my Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Platinum. I was looking for an external box, plus audio support for the newest games. I had thought the sound quality from my old card was good enough, so I was certainly unprepared for how much better this card sounds. With my speakers, there is almost no audible hiss anymore, and sounds are crisper and cleaner. Whatever shortcomings I encounter in my sound quality now, I am certain have more to do with my speakers than my sound card.

The external control box is quite handy, and very easy to set up. Plus, it looks much nicer than any of Creative Lab's previous breakout boxes. Almost all of the card's inputs and outputs are located on the box. Only analog outs and a game port actually go in the computer, plus connectors to the external box.

Creative Labs has done a good job of cleaing up their act with drivers, but they've still got a long way to go. The new drivers and software are definitely better designed and more stable than the previous ones for my Live!, but if you install any of the additional software, then they're just as intrusive, and require a good bit of tweaking and perhaps uninstalling. Fortunately, there's now a minimal drivers only installation option.

I've had this sound card for more than a month now. I play a lot of games, listen to a good bit of music, and watch DVDs fairly often. I regularly use the ports on the breakout box, so the extra money was well worth it. However, if you have no need for easy access to any of the inputs or outputs, the much cheaper standard Audigy 2 might be a better choice.

Rating:
Summary: Audigy 2 Plat eX - Home Recording Choice No. 1
Review: I have been into home recording for a decade now and started out with the earlier versions of Creative's flagships (AWE32/64/Gold/Live 5.1).

In my opinion, the Audigy 2 Plat eX is by far the best sounding, all encompassing home recording solution for amateurs and semi-professionals on the market right now.

Here is what you will NOT get from the competition for the price:
1. Sampler on card (Soundfonts) to create great sounding drums or other instruments (check out sonicimplants.com), download Vienna from Creative (not included)
2. Break out box to hook up external digital sound modules, guitar processors and vocalizers and even video cameras (it does not seem to heat up too much)
3. Stable drivers so far (after clean XP installation at least - check Creative forums for bugs first!), I am looking forward to the day the drivers support more simultaneous audio tracks and make extensive use of routabel onboard effects
4. Great sound - crisp, clear, loud, easy MP3 and CD creation of your compositions

I strongly recommend this for people who have researched the product and are into home recording at an affordable price.

Superb job, Creative!

Rating:
Summary: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Sound Card
Review: I've had this card for over a year now, and am just now using it to its full potential. I bought it to record music from my guitar and quickly realized I could plug my multieffects processor in it directly as well. I used it for this reason because of its perfect recording quality. At the time of release anyways it was top of the line in this catagory and had the programs to back it up.

Unfortunately the program it came with to record at 320k/s was not compliant with my motherboard. It took me awhile to get over this fact but I began using it again and it didnt bother me. You can hear the results here http://www.purevolume.com/justincharles as you can see it does not hamper the preformance

A year later I have a 6.1 speaker system hooked up with an external DVD player with the firewire input included on the external drive to view my movies on my 21" CRT screen. I have my guitar hooked up to a mixer which goes into another of the inputs and also allows me to add any other electrical music instruments such as my keyboard and bass.

I have a 300 CD changer in one of the inputs attatched not only with RCA cables but with an optical cable for 100% chance of digital, zero distorted, sound.

In the other input I have my minidisk player which I constantly use to record anything my computer does with the "What U Hear" option in the mixer program (included) and with a recording program which I bought. This is also connected with an optical cable to record digital sound.

I use the headphone jack to plug into my 5.1 speaker system that spreads sound throughout the room so that everyone can hear my creations, not just me with my 6.1 system aimed at my head.

This still leaves an optical out, a midi out, a midi in, a SPDIF in, a SPDIF out and a firewire slot unused. I have only used HALF of what I have been given to work with and I created everything that I could ever want with sound technology as you can see from above.

The program not complying with my motherboard hardly hurts the fact that this is an amazing soundcard to work with no matter what interests you.

Rating:
Summary: Audigy 2 Plat eX - Home Recording Choice No. 1
Review: This sound card is by far the best. I thought the other internal sound card was pretty ugly, but when I saw this one I knew I had to have it. I bought it primarily because my computer is black and I didn't want a nasty looking white thing in the front of my computer. Not only does it look good, but it sounds excellent, and it comes with a huge set of programs and selections to pick from, so if you have to money to spare or burn then I would really suggest getting this sound card.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This sound card is by far the best. I thought the other internal sound card was pretty ugly, but when I saw this one I knew I had to have it. I bought it primarily because my computer is black and I didn't want a nasty looking white thing in the front of my computer. Not only does it look good, but it sounds excellent, and it comes with a huge set of programs and selections to pick from, so if you have to money to spare or burn then I would really suggest getting this sound card.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: This thing sounds awesome. Up-mixed mp3s are great. It records well and the software it came with is good for single instrument recording. It has so many inputs and outputs you won't want to live without once you've had them on your comp.

If i were to change it at all it would be to only make the cords to the external box a lot longer and to mount the optical digital input/outputs in the rear.