Audigy Products
Like the Live!, retail versions of the Audigy differ across the globe. What's interesting to note is that the hardware including the Audigy card remains the same, so you can be assured of consistent audio quality on all retail Auidgy products irregardless of price. The software bundle changes between regions, and sometimes the product with the same name may have slightly different box designs and content.
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Asia |
Europe |
Worldwide |
| Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX |
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| Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum |
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| Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+ |
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| Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer |
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| Sound Blaster Audigy Digital Entertainment |
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| Sound Blaster Audigy Player |
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The high end will of course be the "Platinum" product that was a mainstay since the 2nd and 3rd generation Live! products were introduced. It comes with the white internal front panel drive, this time called the Audigy Drive.
With the Audigy, we see a new product - the Platinum eX, which was probably introduced as a response to the popular Hercules Game Theater XP sound card that came with a neat external drive. The external Audigy Drive is a great solution for users who do not have a spare 5.25" drive bay for the internal (and more affordable) version. Many users also prefer the Audigy drive outside the PC so that the connectors and controls can be easily reached, especially when the PC casing is placed at an inconvenient location.
The Audigy drive and the accompanying remote control is black (instead of the usual white), and connects to the extension card (pictured here in front of the Audigy card) using a thick 44-pin cable.
Compared to the more affordable US$99 versions, the Platinum products are feature-packed with more bundled software like digital audio and music tools. To find out more about the contents of the Platinum eX, check out this page.
The budget versions that would be most popular for the majority of users out there is the MP3+ and Gamer in the United States, Digital Entertainment in Asia, and Player in Europe. They differ slightly in software bundle, but the Audigy card used across all these packages are the same. For instance, you do not need an Audigy Gamer to get EAX, because the MP3+ will work just as well for games since the hardware and EAX support are similar. The difference lies in the software bundle especially with 3rd party applications, which you may or may not use.
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No more "X-Gamer". Its now simply called the "Gamer".
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The Audigy is obviously aimed right at the top of the heap of consumer sound cards, with much of the marketing effort focused on convincing all PC users, including Live! owners to upgrade to the Audigy for the latest EAX features and improved audio quality.
The gaming market and home entertainment market remains an important focus for Creative. Hence, much of the improvements are focused in that area, like the improved 3D audio algorithms, Dolby Digital support for games, and enhancements to EAX.
The Platinum products also cater to users doing digital audio and music composition and want a budget solution like the Audigy and the Live! before it. The improvement in sound quality and support for higher bit and sample rates could also entice budding audiophiles and musicians on a budget.
Like the SB AWE and SB PCI platforms before it, the EMU10K1-based Live! will be relegated to the "value" category and sold as low-end sound cards in the budget segment and to OEMs (even though the features of the Live! is hardly considered low-end even today). The Audigy will take center-stage in Creative's product and marketing strategy.
Once again, kudos to Creative for retailing budget versions of the Audigy sound card that are in no way crippled compared to their Platinum counterparts. If you want to upgrade to a Platinum, just add an Audigy Drive!
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