By John Lui
07/11/2001
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/pcperipherals/0,39051168,38021854,00.htm

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX

Ever dreamt of setting up a computer as the center of a full-fledged home entertainent system?

One problem with doing that (apart booting up Windows everytime you want to play some music) is that it's hard reach the sound hardware -- inputs and outputs and such -- which is traditionally found at the back of the PC.

Creative's LiveDrive option, which puts a sound patch bay on the front of the PC, solves this problem somewhat, but what if you want to hide away the PC altogether? Who needs to see a large beige box in their entertainment unit?

An AV System in Your Front Room
This is where the Platinum eX, the most expensive and full-featured model in Creative's new line of Audigy sound cards, comes into play.

The key hardware feature of this card is an external patch box (which CReative that sits on your desk, tethered to the sound card by a thick multi-headed cable. With its several digital and analog input and output ports and infra-red remote control, the patch box offers gamers, musicians, home entertainment enthusiasts and MP3 fans easy access to sound functions.

Although Creative provides a large setup poster, installing the Platinum eX is not for newbies; only those familiar with a PC's innards should attempt it, as there are a few internal power and data cables as well as a main card and a daughter card.

Plain Box; Logos Everywhere
The external box is a reassuringly heavy, industrial-black steel box. A touch of flair in its design would have been welcome, as it sits in plain sight. Stick-on rubber feet are included.

It contains the analog (including mic headphone) and digital outputs, both electrical (SPDIF and MIDI) and optical (TOSlink), as well as an SB1394 port (Creative's version of the IEEE 1394 or FireWire interface); the inclusion of USB and game ports would have made it perfect.

In testing, we tried the TOSlink optical output to record a list of MP3 files to our Sony MZ-R500 minidisc player-recorder.

The Sony failed to detect the optical signal, but a call to tech help got to the root of the problem: The default sampling rate of the Audigy is set at an audiophile-grade 96 KHz (compared with the 44.1 KHz of CD audio). Throttling it down to 48 KHz sorted things out.

One gripe is the way Creative displays its brand all over one's PC through its bundled software. Not only is it annoying, some of the software isn't useful either. For example, the Minidisk Center software, which claims to help you record to minidisk, is a bare-bones audio player which looks weak in comparison with Winamp or Real Jukebox. In addition, there is a feeling of a lack unity to the utility and control software; they seem to be scattered across several programs.

That said, if you're into dabbling with any sort of audio or music creation, the software package offer great value, especially since it has such heavyweights as Steinberg's Cubasis VST and Sonic Foundry's ACID for recording and remixing.

Overall, the Platinum eX would be overkill for anyone into simple gaming and DVD movie watching; they should go for the cheaper Sound Blaster Audigy DE instead, which is the same PCI sound card but without the external box.

PC-Centric Home Cinema?
But where this unit will shine is in the living room. The cool thing about it is that it lets you hide the PC away.

With you on the sofa holding the supplied remote, you can control playback of MP3s and audio CDs, and even options suchs as monitor brightness and contrast. A handy on-screen display gives you feedback on track numbers and such. The SB 1394 port lets you add external CD-RW and DVD drives while still keeping the PC hidden.

A fly in the digital ointment is that the remote only works with Creative's own playback software; too bad if you're a Winamp fan. Another sad oversight is that there's no bundled DVD software that can be controlled by the remote.

Still, the Platinum eX offers a compelling glimpse of a future in which a PC sits in the front room, capable of doing far more than the most sophisticated home AV system. Neat.

 

Quick Facts
Product:	Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX
Compatible OS:	Windows NT, 2000, 98, ME; XP later
Price:	US $249.99 (S$469)
Outputs on external drive:	S/PDIF (coaxial and optical), line out, headphone out, IEEE-1394, MIDI out
Digital Decoder technology:	Dolby Digital
Formats supported:	General MIDI, MPC3, Plug-and-Play, EAX, Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding, four speakers, Creative Environments, Creative MultiSpeaker Surround, Microsoft DirectSound, Microsoft DirectSound 3D & Derivatives, EAX Advanced HD, ASIO
Processors:	Audigy, 24-bit DAC (digital to analog convertor), 24-bit ADC (analog to digital convertor)
Rear connectors:	SB 1394 (FireWire), joystick in, digital/SPDIF out, headphone, MIDI in/out, line in, mic in, analog out (stereo front), rear channel out.
Internal connectors	TAD, CD in, Aux in, CD-SPDIF in