Customer Reviews

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Platinum

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have a Live! Value and a Live! Platinum (SBL!P) and I can confirm that the sound quality is the same between the two.

The platinum may deliver just the right value for you if you like to tinker with music. (The serious electronic musicians I have talked to use more dedicaated cards and equipment, but the SBL!P seems like a pretty good hobbyist's toy.)

Keep in mind that the controls in front are for =musical= instruments, not game controllers or the speakers themselves (which must be plugged into the back, as always).

Also keep in mind that the Sound Blaster Live! isn't particularly good for DOS games. It can be far less clear how to adjust the sound settings with a Live! than it ever was in the old DOS days. (Some of the Diamond Monster sound cards, like the MX80, work specifically with old SB-type cards and allow you to use them for DOS games and use the newer card for newer games.)

So, before you buy: decide how important musical instrument access is to you; decide how much time you want to spend mucking around with your old DOS games.

The only drawbacks to this card are: 1. Windows 98 auto-detect did not seem to like the setup CD (but the drivers did load up later). 2. Some of the bundled software is kid's stuff (then again, some of it is extremely powerful!) 3. The headphone jack in the front is not amplified: it gets loud enough but not loud. 4. There were minor software issues concerning getting the microphone to work with my existing audio software. 5. The software loads with a +20db "mic boost" effect, which lead to distortion and feedback until I figured it out. Regardless, none of this outweighs the good things about this card and these issues were easy to overcome. The sound editing software is incredible. MIDI and SPDIF i/o ports make it a snap for cyber-musicians. The front jacks make everything easier - no more "reach-around" to plug in a headset combo. Plus, the front jacks are 1/4" stereo as opposed to the standard 1/8" jacks on most cards - and a stereo 1/4" to 1/8" converter is included. The card also supports 4-speaker surround sound with awesome positioning software, tons of needless effects and comes with a cheap PC microphone. Comes with 3 full version games, SoundForge XP 4.5, a synthesizer emulator, Cakewalk Express, MusicMatch Jukebox, etc. The software alone validates the price, plus try to find a decent MIDI interface for a PC for under $100. I don't think there's any way to be disappointed by this card.

Well worth the money. If you're a sound enthusiast, and want top notch performance for little cost get this card. The Live! value is another good bet, don't waste time w/ the MP3+ or X-gamer, spend the extra money or save the extra money.

As a sound card alone, the Live! is wonderful - a top-notch, full-duplex beast with lots of built-in effects and some flexible speaker / recording routing. It's the best balance between features and sound quality in a domestic sound card, and you have to pay a lot more for something better.

As a bundle, the Platinum is good-ish. Essentially it's an original, vanilla Live! with a bundled Live! Drive. On the one hand, the 'Drive is a great thing to have - sitting in a free drive bay, it provides you with easy access to Midi and Digital IO, without having to reach down the back of your PC - but on the other hand, you are paying twice the price of 'X-gamer' for what boils down to extra convenience (oddly, the European version has the Live! Drive 2, which offers increased functionality).

The thing works well EXCEPT the reason i bought it was that it has analog support through the live drive. It says that there is, but there isn't. I want to be able to use full duplex mode and record while playing back at the same time. However this doesn't fully work with multitrack recording programs. In both Cakewalk and Cubasis, when recording a second audio track, the first audio track is mixed in with the second, which analog wouldn't do. I called up creative labs and they told me that this product doesn't have analog through the live drive like how it advertises. If you want to do multitrack recording, don't expect to use the live drive.

This is the mother of all sound cards. Package is intense. The games are nice and the software packeage is great, Sound fourge is a rocking wav editor. The Live drive just makes it all the better, BUT if you're thinking about it, get the 5.1 it has the digital outputs. And also has a remote control, which is great for DVD playback. As the 5.1 because more readily available this version will get cheaper, and if you do not need digital outputs and it is a no-brainer. All in all I'm very satisfied with this product, creative is also very great about drivers

IMO this is the best sound card that money can buy.

This bundle is essentially a Sound Blaster Live! card, with the Live! drive and all the trimmings. It also includes an infrared remote control. If you add surround sound speakers, playing games can be enthralling. Imagine playing a game and actually hearing someone walking behind you (or shooting).

The bundled software ranges from cool to useless. The games are nice, but I find the Keytar application particularly worthless. It presents the image of guitar which you "play" by strumming (moving the mouse).

If you want the convenience of plugging in cables without reaching around to the back of the PC (like for headphones) or MIDI, then this bundle is for you. If not, then I would recommend the MP3 or X-gamer versions which are both cheaper.

Also, please note that the installation CD will install a spy-ware application, which will sometimes "phone home." It can be removed by editing the registry without any ill effect. For privacy invasion, I have to deduct at least one star.

Not only the card gives you the best sound system you can get, I like the way how you can manage all the in and out from the front of the computer instead of the back. In case you want it cheaper, don't really need to manage from the front and don't need those software bundled, I would strongly recommend to get Live! Value edition as it's so much cheaper and has the same quality of sound.

I purchased the SB Live X-Gamer, and am now regretting it. Although its the same card the Platinum comes with the 'live drive' which has optical in/out and midi and all that good stuff. If you just want to play games and mp3s get gamer or the mp3+, but if you're serious and want the live drive also, get the platinum. =]

This card rocks! If you like to listen to music on your computer (any format) this card is great. The 3D isn't quite as good as the Vortex2 sound cards based on A3D 2.0 but the EAX on this card does a good job. If you like music this card if for you. I LOVE MINE.