Creative Soundblaster Live Value

Probably the best consumer sound cards on the market, they are the result of several innovations down at Creative Labs...it's NOT perfect, as some seem to make out, but these are mostly only noticeable with professional audio gear, so it would maybe be unfair to criticise it for that. For what they are, they can clean the floor with other components at a similar price. I got the Value card, I thought I'd share my experiences of it as an example. INSTALLATION… …was easy enough. The card fits into a standard expansion slot, you connect the CD-ROM audio cable to the CD drive’s SPDIF (Digital audio) output and connect it to the ...  Read the complete review

First off, Creative Labs are very highly regarded in the sound card stakes. Their ground breaking cards way back in the murky past were fantastic products, and this card is no exception. It bristles with features and performs fantastically well. For the gamers out there, you just can't beat Creative Labs EAX technology which stands for Environmental Audio eXtensions (I think!) it doesn't matter what it stands for, what it means is that games are more immersive than ever before. Stick a second pair of speakers in the card, and hold on to your hat! Reverb and echo is handled in hardware on the card. So for instance, your gun-toting muscle bound hero is ...  Read the complete review

I have had the Sound Blaster Live Value! (Also known as Sound Blaster Live 1024 Player) For some time now and I must confess it is the best sound card I have ever had or seen. It has superb sound quality along side some fantastic features E.G. Via the software that comes with the card you can change nearly every Piece of the sound it puts out to your speakers. The card is best known for it's Environmental Audio (EAX) this adds some of the most outstanding sounds from a game I have ever heard you can hear all sorts of things going on in a game that you wouldn't normally hear , not to mention what you can do with those Audio CD's and MP3's. It ...  Read the complete review

While CPU's and video cards lead the industry in publicized hardware, the sound your computer can deliver is also being realized as an essential component to the power a system can deliver. As sound becomes more and more important, several companies have joined the fight for the position of leader in the 3D Sound realm, Creative, the long time standard in audio, being one of these companies. With the introduction of the Live!, Creative Labs introduces many innovations that once again set it apart from the competition, which will be further discussed. What is EAX? Why do I need 3D Sound? What makes a powerful sound processor? Read on. The Live! and Live! ...  Read the complete review

This card produces excellent surround sound like I've never experienced form a PC. The SB-Live! Value is the first surround card I've owned and I've been so happy with the output it gives me that I have no intentions what-so-ever in upgrading from it. Well, I shouldn't say never given that it's had 3 major upgrades already since I bought the card. With creative labs new LiveWare! update system the EMU chip gets updated along with the drivers... the effect is a whole new card with new capabilities. I've got my card hooked up to a FP1000 Cambridge Soundworks surround sound speaker-set and the sound is absolutely sweet. ...  Read the complete review