From 16 bits to 24 bits - Is it worth it to spend a pretty penny for 8-bits?

A Review of the Creative Labs Audigy 2 Platinum Sound Card

by Poopeyhed2 an XtremePcCentral Member

 

I recently saved up enough money to purchase a Creative Labs Audigy 2 Platinum and BBA Radeon 9600 Pro.I said to myself, what do I really want to upgrade in my computer. I was very close on purchasing a Radeon 9800 Pro or a Geforce FX 5900 Ultra/Non ultra because I wanted to have a great video card in my box because there were 3 games that nagged me to get a new card - Rise of Nations, America's Army, and Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Then I look to the left of my monitor which was my Hercules Game Theater XP sound card. I remember the troubles it gave me when I played Morrowind. It was a known issue the C-Media chip inside it. So I caved in and bought the best of both worlds. Best sound card out and a mainstream video card. I fully understand that the video card arena changes constantly, which is why I said to myself, if I spent 5 hard weeks of pay just to get one thing, I'd be stupid. Now don't get me wrong here, I was completely happy with my old equipment - some what. My GTXP had some sound distortions while I played AA, and that drove me insane. RoN wouldn't run, I'd have to hit the ESC a whole bunch of times so that it'd cancel the intro movie, or else it'd lock up there. GTA:VC wouldn't run, at all.

Enough of my anecdote, onto the article. This article is primarily focusing on my perspective from using my 16-bit playback sound card, the Game Theather XP, to the "new" 24 bit playback, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum. I'd like to thank Newegg.com for having the cheapest price on the Internet and for shipping it out on the same day I ordered it. This time around, I don't have any pictures of the packaging and what not. I was too anxious to open up my Audigy and I went to work on that Monday 15 minutes before I had to work, so I don't have pictures. However, I do have pictures of what you're going to get inside for purchasing the Platinum Edition. One thing is for sure, you get alot of things when you buy this card.

I followed the instructions on how to install the sound card from Creative, which was very handy as there were plenty of pictures to follow and I wasn't going to reformat my computer until I got my Radeon. Everything worked without a hitch, so I was happy. Popped in the CD, installed EVERYTHING that came with it, so now I got all these programs that's chewing out my resources. I've been listening to my same playlist for about 3-4 weeks straight so that I can listen to every tune, every beat, so that when I get my Audigy, I know what I'll be looking for. Boy was I SURPRISED. To be honest with you, I'm not a music buff so I can't tell you my music was any better, however, it did sound slightly clearer, and definetly louder. There was one thing that I never noticed before, which was Avril Lavigne's "I'm with you" guitarist's fingers sliding across the strings of the guitar, that's the only thing I could tell with my music. Other than that, my music experience wasn't any better.

On to the gaming world, now there IS a difference that I can here. It's freakishly amazing. I always thought my GTXP did a wonderful job on the sound recreation of the EAX since EAX is a technology that Creative innovated. Wow is all I can say about my games. I feel like I'm immeresed in the virtual world that I'm playing in. Especially America's Army, HOLY ****. When I started playing yesterday, I was like a tourist in a city that is 2000 miles away, all I kept doing was turning the camera to see everything because when I heard a gun shot, I'd turn and I can hear it in front of me if it was from the left, right, in the back and to the right or left. When I played with my GTXP I'd had to crank up the volume to nearly the max just to hear the footsteps of the guys running around, and I'd always bitch how people are wearing headphones to pin point where we were, like reloading, walking on concrete and the metal stairs (in Weapons Cache SE -- which is what I primarily play on with the handle of poopeyhed2). Not only did I have to crank up the volume to hear the foot steps, I had to do the same just to hear people open and close the door(s). I always wondered how people did it when they left the door slightly ajared and hear people open and close it, now I can stop wondering. The same goes when people are clearing the objectives when they'd have to take pictures using this super loud camera.With my GTXP, every sound from say, left front, my left side speakers would reproduce the sound and both speakers would play the sound equally in volume. Now that I have my Audigy 2, the sounds come from the specific spot, like front left, sounds would come out of my front left speaker, and not from the back, only very faint, not nearly as loud compared to the GTXP. I also could never hear the richochet effect when bullets would hit say concrete with my GTXP, with the Audigy, I was mighty surprised to hear it. It was a "new" feature in AA that was dorment for me.

I have my Radeon installed and I installed GTA:VC, I didn't really play as I have my summer reading to do, but in the beginning after the protagonist was picked up, he went to go buy some drugs, and there was this helicopter flying in, my speakers were reproducing the sound in such a way that I can close my eyes and pin point where it is. I hate to say it, but whoever makes whatever technology makes it the best like EAX, Creative has done a wonderful job when it's incorporated into the games like VC and AA.

Movies... It was very cool to sit in the middle of my 4.1 set and watch all the movies like a theather. Add some EAX effects and you'd get an awesome experience. I haven't had the time to watch The Matrix yet, but when I do I'll post a comment on how cool it is.

With the Platinum edition, you get a cool IR remote, uses 2 AAA batteries and it can control the volume change the brightness to your monitor and various other things. I like how you can hit the power button on the remote and menu would come up and ask if I want to shut down or reboot. I don't know, the only thing I have to complain about it is it is ridiculously slow after I hit a button, probably because it's a 1.6 GHz P4. 

Is 24 bit playback really for you? Well, if you're unhappy with the playback of your sound card that you have now, then an upgrade to 24 bits might do the trick. If you're 100% satisfied with your purchase of a sound card, say the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, I don't think you'd need to upgrade. And if you have the Audigy, forget about it, you don't need to upgrade to the Audigy 2. Some say it's a waste of money, some say it's not, but I find that there's not much to change in the audio department. Also, after my experience with the Hercules Muse 5.1, I will never cheap out on sound cards ever, which is why I bought the Platinum instead of the plain jane Audigy 2. Besides, you have a good reason to get the Platinum, front Firewire, and a headphone jack, which was what I was going to miss from my GTXP, but I was wrong.

 I don't know about those Chieftec/Antec/Chenming case owners, but I got my Audigy Drive to fit in the front and I'm able to close the door :)

 

XtremePcCentral.com would like to publicly thank Poopeyhed2 for sharing his insight and thoughts on this review.