Conclusion
With the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum, Creative has surpassed the quality and value of their previous offerings, producing an extremely compelling solution for consumers and multimedia enthusiasts alike.
One Product, Many Uses
As a general-use soundcard, the Sound Blaster Live! provides very good quality sound, especial through the digital outputs where you can connect to a surround amplifier or digital speakers. There are lots of fun software bundled with the Platinum, for nearly every task like voice recognition and voice control.
For the music lovers, you can quickly rip and encode MP3s, while adding Environmental Audio to the audio tracks - all at the same time. The MiniDisc Center helps you transfer tracks to other formats to carry on the road. The only down-side is that the card doesn't do MP3 decompression in hardware with the EMU10K1. The CPU handles the decompression much like how other MP3 players work.
Musicians would find the SBLive! well worth the money. With SoundFont technology, Vienna SoundFont editor, and the bundled MIDI sequencer, musicians can quickly create their own music right out of the box. The Live!Drive allows high quality digital recording and playback. With the upcoming APS drivers with compatibility with the SBLive!, musicians can tap the power of the EMU10K1 to the fullest. Not forgetting the flexible hardware effects and routing provided by the EMU10K1.
Gamers will find a great sound card for 3D audio through Microsoft's DirectSound3D API that game developers are embracing, and also support for the EAX API that are being adopted by game developers and the sound card industry in general. With the ongoing development of EAX, the sound engine can be enhanced with newer drivers to produce more immersive gaming environments. Some nice games are bundled too!
The Lowdown
Overall, the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum is a great deal for a quality sound card with a killer software bundle. Don't take my word for it. Run down to your local store and give it a try!
9 / 10
More Information
The Platinum page from the official SBLive! web site.
To take a look at the reviews from other web sites, check out the review links.
For more in-depth information on the capabilities of the Sound Blaster Live!, check out the Inside the Sound Blaster Live! article.
If you're interested in the history of the Platinum announcement, the prototype boxes, and some speculative editorials and news reports, check out the early information.
Your Turn!
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us about it and we'll add your comments to the review.
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