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Creative PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook

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By Stephen Tong
Feb 19, 2005

Creative's PCMCIA sound card
Three jacks are all you need for the Creative Audigy PCMCIA card.
Doing what it is best known for (prior to MP3 players that is), Creative has released the PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook card, the first-ever PCMCIA SoundBlaster for notebooks. Instead of an external unit or a PCI card for the PC, this device simply inserts into any notebook's PCMCIA slot to provide laptop users a sound quality better than the inferior integrated audio.

Editors' note:
The PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook is due for shipment to retail outlets in Singapore this November for S$249 (US$183.09). Please check with your local distributor for more information.

Upside: Clearly, the most obvious benefit is the integration of a whole range of high-quality audio options into a PCMCIA card to slot into your notebook. This allows you to enjoy multi-channel surround sound when listening to your selection of MP3s and playing favorite games like CounterStrike. You get features such as Creative Multi-Speaker Surround 3D support, THX-certified audio with support for DTS-ES and Dolby Digital EX, a high signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 104dB along with a rich 24-bit audio quality.

You get three jacks: One is the output for S/PDIF/optical-out/earphone-out for MD recording or headphone listening. The second is a good substitute for the multiple jacks found on Audigy PCI cards: A port to connect to Creative's Speaker Docking Cable which links to your 5.1/7.1 surround sound system such as the Altec Lansing 251. The last is the input for optical-in/microphone-in/line-in.

Creative's PCMCIA sound card
Connect the Speaker Docking Cable's green, black and yellow jacks with your 5.1/7.1 surround system.
Downside: As this is a PCMCIA card, this Sound Blaster does not have the full features that a PCI card equivalent offers. The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS for PCs has the necessary ports such as line-out jacks for the individual speakers (such as left or center) and even FireWire. However, this is understandable considering how small the card is. Also, as each jack has multiple functions, spoiling one jack could potentially render the other functions redundant.

Outlook: While it is commendable that Creative has come up with a PCMCIA card with superb audio features, is it perhaps too late? Plenty of new notebooks these days come with S/PDIF support and some like the Toshiba Qosmio series do not really need any audio enhancement. However, for those with older notebooks, this might just be the key to audio salvation.

 
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