Sound Blaster Live 5.1

[Thundrchez]

Creative Labs just announced the Sound Blaster Live! * 5.1 series, where * is either Platinum, X-Gamer, or MP3+. This guy is supposed to do true Dolby Digital 5.1 (aka AC3) decoding.

Does anybody have one yet? How well does it work with decoding 5.1? Does it do good 5.1 sound support in 3D gaming (either EAX or direct sound 3d)?

I just wish that Aureal were still in business.

[dave m]

The latest Videologic card, Sound Fury does 5.1 decoding, if you're after a non-Creative card. If it's as good as the digitheatre's decoding it should be pretty good. Quote from their site:
""SonicFury Takes Seven Awards in One Month
Even though its first review only appeared on the 16th August VideoLogic's SonicFury six-channel DSP soundcard has already taken seven awards from the UK PC press by September 13th. Want to know why PC Format, PC Gear, PC Gamer, Computer Buyer, PC Pro and PC Gaming World all gave SonicFury accolades? Check out product details or the full list of awards & quotes using the links below.""
(videologic.co.uk)
I was going to get a Platinum but decided this did as much as I needed (and 5.1 in addition) for a lot less money- 68GBP on their site, less from others, but the upgrade got put on hold so I haven't got one yet.

Dave

[Pace]

Yea - I got it in my mail this morning - here's the relevant part of the mailing list:

Creative Labs announces today, the newest member of the
Sound Blaster Live! family of sound cards. The Sound Blaster Live!
5.1 series of sound cards provides support for True Dolby Digital
surround, digital and analog 5.1 output and digital audio
processing to deliver a superior audio experience to meet every
audio entertainment need.

As the PC transforms into a complete entertainment platform, the
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 series is the driving force of the digital
sound revolution. Based upon the legendary EMU10K1 DSP, the
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 series allows you to enjoy Dolby Digital
surround sound on your PC with digital connection to multi-channel
speakers and analog connection to Dolby Digital-ready home stereo
receivers.

Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1
The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1, flagship of the line, offers
the ultimate audio solution with the Live! Drive IR, enabling
simultaneous connection of external digiital audio devices for both
input and output; all with convenient front panel connection.
A wireless remote control is also provided for easy control over
audio playback and navigation.

Bundled with the added software that is included in both the
Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1 and the Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer
5.1 the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 provides all of the tools
needed to turn your PC into a complete entertainment system for
home theater, gaming, music authoring and more.

For more information and specifications please visit:
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/platinum5.1/

Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1
Catering to the music enthusiast, the Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1
brings the Digital Jukebox to the PC. Included is the Creative
PlayCenter 2, digital audio encoder which allows you to create,
customize, and store MP3 and WMA files. The Sound Blaster Live!
MP3+ 5.1 allows you to easily create digital audio files with a
full 320kbps quality and up to 9x digital audio acceleration.
Ordinary stereo will be pale after you have experienced it upmixed
to immersive 5.1 surround sound. The Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1
becomes a music lover's necessity with a massive software bundle
for creating and editing: Sound Forge XP 4.5, Mixman Studio 3.0,
Cakewalk Express Gold 8.0, Mixmeister 2.0, PixMaker (Creative
Edition), and Creative MediaRing Talk. Also included is a
selection of 5.1 digital music mixes from Play51.com.

For more information and specifications please visit:
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/mp35.1/

Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1
If you are a hard-core gamer demanding the most intense,
multi-dimensional gaming experience, get the Sound Blaster Live!
X-Gamer 5.1. Connect it to a digital multi-channel speaker
system or analog devices such as Dolby Digital-ready home stereo
receivers for the ultimate gaming experience. Find yourself in the
middle of earth shaking PC games with sounds from every direction;
just as if you were there in real life. Never allow slowdown
during gameplay with the Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1's fast
hardware acceleration of EAX, DirectSound 3D and DirectSound
streams.

Included are four full version EAX enabled games, MDK2, Deus Ex,
Unreal Tournament, and Thief II: The Metal Age, to immediately
introduce you to this new dimension in gaming.

For more information and specifications please visit:
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/xgamer5.1/

The Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 family of products is now available at
your favorite Creative dealer. The Sound Blaster Live!
Platinum 5.1 has a suggested retail price of $199.99; the
Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1 and the Sound Blaster Live!
X-Gamer 5.1 both have a suggested retail price of $99.99.
All pricing is represented in U.S. Dollars.

Look for live demonstrations of these and other exciting new
Creative products in your local area at:
http://www.creativelabs.com/scripts/demo.asp

I was looking at some home cinema (5.1) amps and some high-quality speakers but this looks interesting. I was planning to take the digital stream from DVD straight out to the amp but now I could link up some Creative speakers too.

Anyone know how good Creative speakers are? I was looking at spending several hundred on speakers and I'm wondering if this would be a good, cheaper, compromise.

Thanks, Paul.

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[This message has been edited by Pace (edited 28 September 2000).]

[Riddek]

Yeah, I was all over that as soon as Creative announced it. Unfortunately they won't be shipping until the middle of October(in Canada, anyway).

[DentyCracker]

Makes me feel like ditching my X-Gamer for one of those. Just for the games, I always wanted UT fullversion. Have a warez copy of MDK2 but would prefer to buy an el cheapo bundled version. I have the demo of Deus Ex and it looks good. 5.1 is cool though I'd need a powered centre channel compatible with my ProMedias

[Pace]

Tell me more about those Klipsch speakers please DentyCracker ! I'm looking at Yamaha 200s which I think will be nice but I'm also unsure about 5.1 setups.

Thanks,

Paul.

[DentyCracker]

Ok, the Klipschs cost US$250 = shipping direct from Klipsch. They sound excellent to me and can also play VERY loud while still having not much distortion. For their price they are the best speakers you can get. they are pretty easy to setup, pretty straightforward really. A word of warning, resist the temptation to be always fiddling with the volume control. It will lead to crackling when you do this later on.(I am a fiddler). If you get the 5.1 Live!Platinum, I think it comes with an IR remote (woohoo)

[Pace]

I've already got a Live though so I'm rather reluctant to buy another one!

I take it that I can take DVD 5.1 audio thru my Live and decode it externally?

Paul.

[SteveC]

Yes - I am using the digital output from my live 1024 OEM and decoding it externally using the soundworks digital DTT2500 speakers. All this new card/speaker set is, is the same as what I already have, but the digital decoder has been moved from the external box onto the sound card itself.

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[DentyCracker]

OK I done did it. Ordered the Live! X-Gamer 5.1. I have no intention of changing my speakers to some with dolby digital included (I lke my Klipschs too much). I'll probably get a powered centre channel from Klipsch to get a true centre channel (if the phantom doesn't sound good enough). I really bought it for the games (Full versions of MDK2, UT, Deus Ex, and Thief II)

[Pace]

I want to link it up with other speakers though (ie a home cinema setup). Well, possibly, depends on how much you tell me you like your Soundworks!

Paul.

[SteveC]

Hey Pace,

I think the soundworks 5.1 speakers are great, but for a small (ish) room. I like to have cinema type volume when watching a film, and that means I have to turn them up to 80% or more of their max. The Sub is also a but too 'heady' and not 'chesty' enough (no rude comments! ). But for the price, I think that they're great! Watching films now is a whole new experience with the 5.1 surround sound. I definitely recommend them, and they're getting quite cheap now too.

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[DentyCracker]

Chesty is bad for a subwoofer. What you want is deep clean bass when it's in the soundtrack and male voices sounding normal without the upper bass being emphasized. The problem with the cCambridges are that all of them distort badly when you try to get too much volume out of them. No such problem with the Klipschs. The only potential problem is the lack of a centre channel. I played them with a DVD after work Friday at a little get together (co worker getting married the next day) and to be honest I didn't miss the centre channel.

[This message has been edited by DentyCracker (edited 02 October 2000).]