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SBLive Review First of all, I would like to state that I used my hard-earned money to buy the SB Live! so there shouldn't be any doubt of the integrity of my review here. Also, I would like to indicate that I'm reviewing this product purely from the stand-point of a consumer, so don't expect my review to be like that of AnandTech or Tom's Hardware Guide. I would cut out all the technical specs ( 256 voices, Digital I/O, 192 telephony, 48 midi channels etc) of SB Live! and dive right into what I thought of the product after more than 24 hrs of toying with it....
Multimedia consumer viewpoint
Though I do not have the Creative PC-DVD Encore DX2 but I can tell you that when you have both of these babies, it really kicks a lot of ass !!! I personally saw both in action at Funan, so I know ! DVD movies are enhanced by Creative's own CMSS ( Creative Multi-Speaker Surround) mode. To conclude, from a multimedia consumer point of view, this thing is a steal at $359! with the 4 Point Surround Speakers free !!! ( valid only during promotional period ). I mean, $359 can't even get you a decent home theater amplifer outside!
Gamer's viewpoint I got to admit, I and Nick are diehard gamers, and that's why i bought this baby for..... GAMES! GAMES! GAMES!!! I believe that 3D sound can really improve on the immersiveness of a game. The package comes free with 8 levels of Unreal Special Edition, encoded with Creative's own EAX ( Environmental Audio Extension) that is built on top of Direct3D Sound . Personally, I'm not a fan of Unreal cause though graphically it's outstanding, but it's gameplay just doesn't get my adrenaline rushing. However, with EAX, Unreal's game immersiveness has gone up a couple of notches. For example, I can hear the pool of water behind me, "birds" (sorry, i dunno what's the dame bird is called in Unreal) flying side PAST me etc. I also tried firing the Razorjack in a passageway and could heard the positioning of the disc bouncing off several walls accurately .... i could even hear the disc zooming past my side when i bounce it off a wall straight ahead. So far, Unreal SE is the only game encoded with EAX that I've tried and it has impressed me far enough. However I think there's still room for improvement and this responsibility lies with the software developers to really fully utilise this technology and create a truely immersive game development. SB Live! also ships with Enviromental Audio settings for 50 games like Quake 2, Diablo, World Cup 98 etc. A point to note is that this ONLY improves the game environment and has no 3D sound effects. For example, in Quake 2, you can feel that you're in an Arena. The reverbs, echos and other sound effects are improved but you would not hear a rocket zooming past you like in Unreal. To conclude, from a gamer's viewpoint, the potential to really create a 3D gaming environment now lies with the software developers because the hardware to do it is already here. However, though 3D sound is impressive (theoretically, you can hear monsters behind you) , I believe it has its limitations. For example, I doubt i can hear a rocket zoom OVER my head !
Other Issues I'm sorry I can't commend on how the card performs from the viewpoint of a musician cause I'm musically blind! Thus the Digital I/O extension card they gave me has nothing plugged in ,which is a waste really, But by reading the specs of the card and the software they packaged, i think card packs enuff horsepower for the serious musician. Installation was quite troublefree though it took me 1.5 hrs to set it up and working. One thing that impress me when I took the card out of its wrapping is the expensive look of the card. I mean, it's gold plated all over! And that goes for the wire jacks on the card and the 4 Point Surround Speakers too! Guess that they must be really proud of it! The only trouble I have with the installation is that some conflict cause my Gamepad Pro to go down. However I got it working by enabling the Creative Gameport and disabling the System Gameport, which is the reverse way of what the manual says to resolve the conflict. By the way, to enable the microphone for recording, you had to enable the recording mode by right-clicking on the Mixer title bar, than selecting view and finally record. Also, I find that the back leg of both rear speaker stands to be very loose after I plug it in. It keeps falling off when I move the rear speakers from point to point! Anyway, that's enuff said for now . I hope you enjoy the review and thanx for putting up my horrible english :)
p/s : Don't ask me how it compares to A3D cause I never heard A3D in action before, but then I have faith in this baby of mine ..hee hee
13 September 1998 11:35 AM |
All I can say is that with the SB Live! in my PC , I've
created a personal mini-home theatre in my room! The quality rivals that of my Yamaha
amplifer out there in the living room and there are more effects to boot !!! For example,
you can take your favourite audio track and play it with some of the several Environmental
Audio effects presetted. This includes Concert Hall, Hallway, Living Room and even
Bathroom ! In plain simple English, Environmental Audio lets you play sound as if you are
in the actual environment. I did try most of the effects and most of them sound quite
"logical", if you get what I mean. You don't really expect me to take a
mini-hifi to my bathroom and try to see whether it really sounds the same a not, do you?
My fav is the Concert Hall..... I just close my eyes and imagine I'm really in a concert!