Audigy 2 Announced (DVD-A, EX 6.1, THX etc)

[jrwood]

Released within the next month Creative Labs have announced the

Audigy 2:

DVD Audio, Dolby Digital EX 6.1 o THX de Lucasfilm and backwards standards compatible.

Playback in 24 bits y 192 kHz.

106dB Signal to noise level (6 dB more than old generation).

Recording in 24 bit/96 KHz.

Frequency response from 10 Hz to 46 kHz.

I think this card will be ideal for people who use their HTPC as gaming pc's on their projector. I will stick with my Terra Tec as its proved reliable, cheap and the sound quality is superior to anything I have heard so far.

 

[nutcase_1uk]

Do you have a link for this? Couldn't see anything on teh soundblaster website. What does it mean with DVD Audio? I presume it's just another ploy, with not being able to do DVD-A at all? Just that it could pass the data.

 

[jrwood]

http://www.meristation.com/sc/noticias/noticia.asp?c=GEN&n=7673 I translated some of the article here


Josep Oliver, person in charge of communication, took the word next, and lead one more a centered more practical presentation and more in new products. And without a doubt the great stars were the cards of sound Audigy 2, that will arrive at the Spanish market in the middle of October. They improve in all his characteristics to the previous generation and emphasize by the support of technologies and standards like Audio DVD, EX- Digital Dolby 6,1 or THX of Lucasfilm. The cards will be able to reproduce sound with 24 bits and 192 kHz, and one 106 señal/ruido relation of dB, 6 dB superior to the one of present the Audigy. As far as recording, the 24 bits will stay and 96 the maximum frequency will be of kHz. The margin of frequencies that will handle the card will go from 10 Hertz to 46 kHz. We could listen to the virtues of the card with Soldier of Fortune 2, reproducing an Audio disc of DVD with multi-channel sound and visionando videos with sound THX. In addition, we could verify how it eliminated the noise of a recording in real time.


I doubt Creative Labs will officially announce it until near its launch date (around mid-october?), because it will stop people from buying the current Audigy, like every good salesman knows flog what you have now and then show them something else to buy.

 

[nutcase_1uk]

Originally posted by jrwood
http://www.meristation.com/sc/noticias/noticia.asp?c=GEN&n=7673 I translated some of the article here


reproducing an Audio disc of DVD with multi-channel sound

LOL! I guess you used an online translator? Interesting wording if that's how it is,, they HAVN'T said it is specifically DVD-A. I have one DVD-A disk, and I can play it on my PC. Not the DVD-A portion but the DTS protion. It is still a DVD-A disk tho - with multi-channel sound

 

[jrwood]

Originally posted by nutcase_1uk


LOL! I guess you used an online translator? Interesting wording if that's how it is,, they HAVN'T said it is specifically DVD-A. I have one DVD-A disk, and I can play it on my PC. Not the DVD-A portion but the DTS protion. It is still a DVD-A disk tho - with multi-channel sound

Yes it was translated from the spanish site, I do not personally have an Audigy 2 in my home

Like with everything, manufacturers make a product and then stick some crazy claims to it, just look at panel projectors, pretty much all the major lcd projectors have inflated (usually double) the real contrast ratio.

 

[jrwood]

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2/ or more specifically http://www.vr-zone.com/shows/Creative-Audigy2/page4.htm


24-BIT/192kHz DVD-AUDIO WITH PURE 106 dB SNR FOR PLAYBACK, RECORDING AND 6.1 SURROUND GAMING
With the introduction of the Sound Blaster Audigy 2, Creative has once more raised the bar for PC audio, bringing to you the most definitive audio experience yet!
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 delivers high-quality multi-channel recording and playback at up to 24-bit/96kHz and is the first PC product to offer playback of Advanced Resolution DVD-Audio at an astonishing 24-bit/192kHz with a stunning Signal-to-Noise ratio of 106dB, delivering spectacular audio quality that has now redefined PC audio standards. With EAX Advanced HD, 6.1 speaker support and Dolby Digital EX support, movies and games will be experienced with a breathtaking level of immersion and intensity, while SB1394 allows super-fast transfer of audio to external players.

"The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 not only propels PC audio forward; it drives a new standard of quality for all audio. As we have done many times in the past, Creative has established yet another new platform for the PC with Sound Blaster 24-bit ADVANCED HD™ audio. With the introduction of the Sound Blaster Audigy 2, we are setting an audio standard for the PC that is currently emerging in consumer electronics." - Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo


DVD-AUDIO
The only PC-based solution to enable the Advanced Resolution era of 24-bit music fidelity with 192kHz in stereo and 96kHz in 5.1
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 brings you the purest music listening experience on the PC with support for the music industry's latest high definition format - DVD-Audio, which reproduces music with greater brilliance and clarity compared to audio CDs, whilst preserving the depth and warmth of the original recording.

SOUND BLASTER 24-BIT ADVANCED HD AUDIO
The best Sound Blaster clarity ever, rivaling home-theater audio quality for music, games and movies - vastly superior to host audio

Sound Blaster 24-bit ADVANCED HD audio performance at 106dB SNR in the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 delivers up to eight times better clarity than host audio. The new Audigy 2 chip, premium quality 24-bit/192kHz Digital to Analog Converters (DACs), and a true 24-bit ADVANCED HD audio path ensure "hiss-free" audio fidelity and exceptional clarity of 106dB SNR. Powerful Audigy 2 processing enables full 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution in discrete 5.1 surround sound with playback of Windows Media Audio (WMA) 9 Professional, the Web's first digital 5.1 surround sound audio codec from the new Windows Media 9 Series.

THX®-CERTIFIED
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 is currently the first and only add-in sound card to be THX®-Certified.

Being THX®-Certified means that the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 has passed the most stringent and rigorous audio quality and performance tests set by THX, the audio experts in the movie industry, so you can be assured that the awesome THX audio experience you've enjoyed in the cinema will be reproduced faithfully on your PC.

6.1 SURROUND SOUND
Experience superior multi-channel audio from MP3s, CDs, DirectSound® 3D games and Dolby Digital® EX movies with a rear center speaker
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 enhances immersion with improved directionality and ambience perception delivered through an additional rear center channel on 6.1 speaker systems, bringing vivid and intense realism that will thrust you right into the heart of your favourite music, games and movies

CREATIVE MEDIASOURCE™ PLAYER
The most exciting features yet with library search, automatic playlist volume control and hiss removal for MP3s
Creative MediaSource provides you sophisticated and intuitive control over your entire MP3 and music library. Its intelligent search engine helps you quickly locate songs. SVM™ (Smart Volume Management) helps you maintain a balanced playback volume level across your entire playlist so you won't have to adjust the volume between songs. Audio Clean-Up gives even your old music collection a facelift by removing hisses and clicks from recordings of old cassette tapes and vinyl records.

24-BIT/ 96 kHz RECORDING
The purest commercially available recording path captures the quality and subtle details of your audio creations
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 lets you make rich 24-bit recordings to your PC with an unprecedented 24-bit/96kHz recording capability, while ASIO support allows compatible music creation software to link directly to ASIO compliant hardware, allowing multi-channel recording simultaneously at 16-bit/48khz at ultra low latency of <=2ms.

EAX® ADVANCED HD™ GAMING
The ultimate platform for delivering unparalleled audio realism from the hottest gaming titles
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 gives you the ultimate game audio realism with its built-in EAX ADVANCED HD technology, which delivers accurate reverberations, seamless audio transition between environments, effects processing power capable of simultaneously processing multiple environment effects and more. All of which can now be enjoyed in over a dozen premier game titles including Unreal Tournament 2003, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Neverwinter Nights, Hitman 2, and Soldier of Fortune 2.


I hope some of the protection ideas they have can be worked around and some other caveats. I hope Creative can keep the price down too, I never really rated Creatives drivers but their new UDA drivers look promising.

Reviews..

http://www.vr-zone.com/shows/Creative-Audigy2/

http://www.techspot.com/reviews/hardware/sbaudigy_player/audigy-2.shtml

 

[YJ]

Hang on a minute who owns 60% of THX?!

Creative

So being THX Certified may mean as much as the Audigy (the first one) being able to playback or record in 24 bit. Remember the DACs were Creative's own brand (nuff said) but more importantly the original Audigy was processoring everything in 16 bit.

So take it with large pince of salt.


YJ

 

[nutcase_1uk]

with support for the music industry's latest high definition format - DVD-Audio

With support for, i.e. they don't say you can actually decode it! Here's a thread discussing another card which purports to be "DVD-A ready". Again with this card, I'll believe it when I hear it.

And yeah, funny how creative's first card since investing in THX is THX certified. I'm a sceptical person at teh best of times, but oh boy!

 

[jrwood]

I take it you didnt read my post..

http://www.vr-zone.com/shows/Creative-Audigy2/page4.htm

I believe they have sorted out the downmixing debacle too, although not yet confirmed.

 

[nutcase_1uk]

Originally posted by jrwood
I take it you didnt read my post..

http://www.vr-zone.com/shows/Creative-Audigy2/page4.htm

I believe they have sorted out the downmixing debacle too, although not yet confirmed.

For some reason I can't read either of those VR zone links. Keep getting 'cannot find server'

 

[jrwood]

I think their website is having a bad day, their web server is running but doesnt seem to want to serve any pages.

The link was screenshots of a software player for PC's to play DVD-A

With a massive logo on it saying 'first ever software dvd-a player' or something to that effect.

No doubt the server admin will realise the problem in the morning

 

[nutcase_1uk]

Oooh! Might have to try that link again

 

[jrwood]

Lets hope their software player works on other sound cards too

 

[buns]

Originally posted by jrwood
Lets hope their software player works on other sound cards too

Im sure it wont be long before someone else gets the codes anyhow! Well you'd like to think that!

There was vague rumour about an ability to decode an external source........has anyone else heard this?

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