Never Thought My Computer Could Sound So Good

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent Surround Sound, Lots of Connectivity, Powerful Software

Cons: price is high compared to most soundcards

The Bottom Line: 
Although the price is high for a soundcard, relatively speaking it doesn't cost all that much. Why not indulge yourself and get the ultimate sound for your computer?

Author's Review
"The Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Pro Platinum" is pretty much the best soundcard you can get. It has an amazing number of features, top notch sound with surround sound capability, and lots of connectivity options. This model does carry a hefty price, but if you want great sound on your computer this soundcard is what you will want.

Some of the advanced formats this model supports: THX, extended DTS surround, Dolby Digital, and DVD-audio (a new audio format for music). Included in the package is the soundcard, plus an external drive that has various ports and lets you control the master volume. Also included is a remote for this external drive, plus a bundle of powerful Creative Labs software.

The souncard can be installed easily in 5-10 minutes. Speakers (not included) and the external drive are connected to the ports of the soundcard. To get the most out of this soundcard you will want to have a good set of computer speakers, preferrably a 4.1 or 5.1 system to make use of the Audigy's surround sound. Personally, I use the 4.1 Altec Lansing ADA885 set. Using these speakers, I found the sound quality to be much better on the Audigy 2 than on my old "Creative Labs 5.1 Live Value!" card.

The soundcard has enough features to turn your computer into a fully functional media system (provided you have the video to match the audio). The external drive has two optical ports (in and out), two line-in ports (one can also be used for a mic), a headphone jack, 3 firewire ports, and RCA audio inputs. The software lets you do a bunch of tweaking, but I'm not going to get into that (you can spend many hours having fun trying the different options).

With all these features, the Audigy 2 ZS Pro Platinum commands a hefty price. You could probably get a decent soundcard for half the price over even less. You'll want to think about how much you really want your computer to sound good. Do you listen to lots of music on your computer and wish the sound was better? Do you play computer games where you feel that the more realistic the experience is the better? Do you want to watch DVDs on your computer that sound great? If your answer to any of these questions is a resounding "yes", you will definitely want to check the Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Pro Platinum.