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Audigy 2 ZS PC Card!

post #1 of 12
2/24/05 at 6:28pm
Thread Starter 
Found this today:

http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=243

You can buy it in the US at:

http://us.creative.com/shop/

$129.99

Finally a viable sound option for those that want better than onboard sound.
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post #2 of 12
2/24/05 at 6:49pm
It would be better if it didn't protrude, but still better than having to use the USB-based Audigy or some other sound device... I'm still confused as to why more vendors aren't using Intel's 7.1 audio with the Sonoma chipsets. I've only seen 2 or 3 laptops that support it so far
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post #3 of 12
2/24/05 at 6:56pm
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=44773
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post #4 of 12
2/24/05 at 9:21pm
It has been out a while. I've had one since early December.

I love it though, and I have no popping sounds or other problems with it.
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post #5 of 12
2/24/05 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry ... I did a search and didn't see it. Must have been buried deep.

And if it's been out that long, I wouldn't have known. The article at the Inq made it seem like it was brand new.

At any rate, how well does it work?
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post #6 of 12
2/24/05 at 9:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Superguy
Sorry ... I did a search and didn't see it. Must have been buried deep.
......
At any rate, how well does it work?
Now would be a good time to (re)search. I've read a lot of posts about noise problems and such. Try the Audio and Video section of this forum.
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post #7 of 12
2/24/05 at 9:52pm
too bad they couldn't make the card stick out a little higher and just have the plugs right on the cardinstead of an extra cable
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post #8 of 12
2/24/05 at 10:13pm
Thread Starter 
I'll have to check it out.

That said, I don't expect too much out of my sound on a laptop anyway, so I'm ok with what I have. I mainly posted for those that may not know about it.
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post #9 of 12
2/24/05 at 10:41pm
Well, I don't use the extra cable usually. The card does have headphone and optical plugs built in. You are right about people having problems, I guess it depends on PCMCIA chip or something, I just know it works fine in mine.
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post #10 of 12
2/25/05 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccbrowning
Well, I don't use the extra cable usually. The card does have headphone and optical plugs built in.
I have searched and search, but still looking. Perhaps you can help?

EAX. Is this disabled when using headphones, and you are limited to CMSS?

Not asking to compare CMSS to EAX for audio quality.
Seems like some games give you option of EAX in settings, which adds "3d audio Hardware" support, but if you choose CMSS it is "software" or CPU bound.

Because it is a laptop, headphones will be used most of the time, so will ALL the features the ZS supports be available to headphone users (EAX 4.0, simulated 7.1 sound, etc), or is all that disabled, and you are left with CMSS (which may sound great, but defeats the hardware assist and extra features).

Or, do you enable both EAX 4.0 for it's extra features and hardware assist, and CMSS to correctly distribute the sounds to the 2 speaker headphones?

Thanks in advance!
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post #11 of 12
2/25/05 at 12:49pm
I haven't really screwed around with the settings you are talking about. I've never had to turn off EAX in a game, even using headphones, though.

How would I go about testing this out for you?
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post #12 of 12
2/25/05 at 12:51pm
I saw the following in the Prince of Persia readme online:

http://www.strategyinformer.com/shoo...-details.shtml

Quote:
Audio Virtualization: Selects the 3D audio emulation mode for a 2 channel monitoring configuration (2 speakers, Headphones). The HRTF emulation is done in software thus, using CPU. It is recommended to select "None" for minimum requirements computers.
None: Stereo output with no additionnal CPU usage.
Light: Light audio 3D emulation with minimum additionnal CPU usage.
Full: Full audio 3D emulation with more CPU usage.

3D Audio Hardware Acceleration: Enables sound card’s 3D audio hardware support. Disabling 3D audio may improve game's performance.
Must be enabled to activate EAX’s support.

EAX: If your sound card is compatible with Creative Labs EAX Processing, enabling this option will greatly improve your sound experience.

Notes:
Prince of Persia uses EAX Unified(tm) which makes the Real-Time EAX
processing compatible with EAX 1.0, 2.0 (SBLive!) and 3.0 (Audigy &
Extigy). For quadraphonic & Surround systems, you'll need to select
their corresponding monitoring option in the "Speaker Setup" scroll
window found in the "Sounds & Multimedia Properties" Tab (Multimedia
Tab under win98). The ideal monitoring option for a 2 channel setup
(2-Speakers with/without Subwoofer & Headphones) is Desktop Stereo
Speakers.
Everything I see about the ZSN using headphones jumps to the CMSS stuff, that uses HRTF. Never see anything stating EAX with headphones. From the POP readme above, it appears that when using 2 speakers, or headphones, you are using software, and loading the CPU, instead of using hardware. Very confused.

Thanks
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