SOUND BLASTER LIVE! EXTERNAL USB 24BIT 5.1 CMSS
by Creative Labs
List Price:
Our Price: $29.00
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Creative LabsPlatform: Windows 2000
Product features:
- Convert Old Recording to MP3 - record old cassette tapes & vinyl to MP3 with included software
- Enjoy Crystal Clear 24-bit Audio - With 256 times the resolution of your basic built-in sound, all your music, movies, and games will sound better in 24-bit ADVANCED HD quality
- Create MP3s, Organize Music, Burn CDs - The full-featured Creative MediaSource digital player allows you to make high quality MP3s, manage your music library, and burn personalized CDs
- Make Your Music Sound Even Better - Dramatically enhance your music with features including Bass Boost, Smart Volume Management, Multi-Band Graphic Equalizer, Audio Clean-Up, and more!
- EAX Effects - add acoustic effects like Concert Hall
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- Case Logic TNR-15 15.4-Inch Classic Rolling Laptop Case (Black)
- Targus PA095UZ USB 2.0 Port Replicator Docking Station with Ethernet
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SOUND BLASTER LIVE! EXTERNAL USB 24BIT 5.1 CMSS
Customer Review: Excellent external soundcard..... same/better quality as PCI soundcards!
Summary: 5 Stars
This Creative SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit USB external soundcard rocks! No kidding. I've had a lot of experience with different soundcard/speaker setups, and this is the best "card" yet. The 24-bit is noticible over 16-bit, which is the standard for onboard soundcards. If you have a nice speaker system (I use a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Sound System, which I HIGHLY recommend!), then you want the highest possible quality soundcard to output the best sound.
Also, if you're listening to MP3's or WMA's like I use primarily, make sure to encode the music in a high-bitrate for optimum sound quality and clarity to match your kickin' soundcard and speaker system (I use 192kbps WMA Pro 9.2, which is FAR superior to standard 128kbps MP3's you find on the internet).
For my computer setup, I have a laptop (no secondary desktop) and a docking station. I couldn't stand the crappy 16-bit onboard audio from my laptop to go with my Klipsch ProMedia's or my Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones (which are amazing!); that is why I HAD to get a nice 24-bit external card for my laptop setup. I don't regret the purchase! Don't settle for anything less than Creative for a new soundcard, but don't go with their speaker systems.... they're overpriced and underpowered compared to the other systems out there.
Overall, the card is amazing, the external controls on the box are VERY nice, the gold-plated headphone and microphone jacks keep the signal very clean, and it offers both Digital Optical and SPDIF (coaxial) outputs to connect to a home theater receiver (instead of directly to headphones or PC speakers), and has jacks for a full 5.1 surround sound PC speaker setup (although I only use the "front" jack for my 2.1 speakers). The software is VERY nice and easy to use; it even recognizes automatically what type of output you have plugged in, whether it be headphones, PC speakers, or a digital receiver. The software also contains CMSS to simulate a 5.1 signal from any stereo signal, such as a CD or MP3's, which works decently in my past experience with Creative.
The only "con" that I've found is that this sound card is USB 1.1, instead of the modern "standard" USB 2.0, which means that the bandwidth to the soundcard can become restricted. The only problem this causes is if you are trying to monitor the microphone input with the 24-bit 96kHz option enabled; it automatically reduces the bitrate output to 16-bit and gives you a warning that the microphone monitoring has ate-up all the bandwidth and that it is now unable to symultaneously output in 24-bits. This isn't a big deal, as you can switch the output back to 24-bits after you've finished with microphone monitoring. I rarely use a microphone, so it's not too big of a deal.
BUY THIS PRODUCT! I'm telling you, you won't find a better external USB 24-bit 96kHz sound card out there, especially for only $50, unless Creative releases a USB 2.0 version.
Description of SOUND BLASTER LIVE! EXTERNAL USB 24BIT 5.1 CMSS
This ultra-affordable upgrade allows you to start enjoying an audio experience and quality thats not possible with basic on-board audio thanks to 24-Bit ADVANCED HD and EAX ADVANCED HD technologies. Your music will never have sounded better and youll even be able to convert your old tapes or vinyl to digital audio. Finally your games will come alive while youre also immersed in 5.1 surround sound. All this in a simple USB solution that installs in a snap!Billed as the easiest way to upgrade from basic built-in PC sound to home-theater audio, Creative's USB SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit external sound card is an affordable stand-alone audio interface for your PC that hooks up to your computer via a single, simple USB 1.1 connection (cable supplied). The card offers analog inputs for a microphone and an audio component (CD player, DVD player, etc.) and outputs including optical and coaxial digital-audio jacks and a trio of minijack analog audio outs that you can use with 5.1-channel surround-sound speaker systems. Your music and games will never be the same.
Now you can create MP3s from your CDs easier than ever and digitize your old cassettes and LP records, cleaning up the sound as you do so using Creative's supplied software. (Be aware, however, that LP record playback requires, in addition to a turntable and cartridge, an outboard phono stage or an integrated amplifier equipped with a phono preamplifier; the USB SoundBlaster Live! accepts only line-level analog inputs.)
The unit's onboard 24-bit Advanced HD and EAX Advanced HD technologies encode and decode (record and play back) audio at up to 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution, though you must disable realtime audio monitoring at the highest settings due to limitations in the USB 1.1 data-throughput spec.
Creative Multi Speaker Surround (CMSS) multispeaker technology lets you "upmix" stereo sources to 5.1-channel surround sound. The software includes a professional-quality panning and mixing algorithm, front and rear balance controls, muting, and panning control for mixer sources.
Realistic EAX reverb, panning, and elevation effects bring your music and games to life. The kit also includes advanced time-scaling (which allows variable playback duration without altering the pitch of your original content), an audio clean-up feature (which removes noise and clicks from playback of vinyl disk or cassette recordings), bass boost, smart volume management, and a multi-band graphic equalizer.
Use of the sound card is as simple as plugging it into any available USB port: there's no power adapter required. The card has an infrared receiver for use with an optional Creative remote control, which will let you operate your computer from the comfort of your sofa or bed, at a distance of up to 13 feet.
What's in the Box
USB SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit external sound card, a USB cable, a quick-start guide, and an Installation CD (containing drivers for Windows XP, SP1, and 2000, SP4; Creative Software Applications Suite; and a user's guide).
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