Customer Reviews

CreativeLabs SB LIVE 24BIT PCI SC ( 70SB041000000 )

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

 

 

I noticed a lack of positive reviews for this product, based on its rather exclusive compatibility: it only works for Windows. And that doesn't help much, but if you are a Windows user (including XP; that was apparently a problem with older SB Live! cards) who uses the common Intel chipset and would like better sound without spending a lot of money, I would recommend this.

Even basic sounds like the click you hear when you click your mouse with Windows sound better. I noticed much better stereo separation, for example. A faster sampling rate, up to 96 KHz, also helps a lot. Various 3D effects are available, including reverb, EQ, sound cleanup and other enhancements, are also available. Surround Sound is supported, up to 7.1.

I've read other reviews on SoundBlaster products saying the tech support is bad. I haven't had to call them yet (I found installation was pretty easy, but I'm fairly experienced with installing hardware and software), so hopefully you won't have any problems.

Also, if you plan on using MIDI - and being a songwriter/composer, I do this a lot - I recommend shopping around for a better soundfont. The four-megabyte soundfont file doesn't cut it for me, though it does sound a little better than the GM.DLS used by DirectMusic, and it supports the Roland GS extensions to General MIDI. If you use a very large soundfont (they can run up to 128 MB and possibly even more), you will need a lot of memory: 256 MB RAM at the very least, and a fast microprocessor is a must as well, especially if you use a MIDI controller to your computer, in case you want to make your PC double as a synthesizer.

This product isn't perfect, and doesn't have all the features of Audigy or other higher-end soundcards, but it delivers what it promises.

I was very pleased with the quality of the bundled software and the performance of the card. However, I needed to make several hardware and software modifications to realize its full potential. This card is capable of 96kHz/24bit. However, the default settings are 48kHz/16bit. Don't ask me why. You have to go to "Control Panel -> Device Control" to change this. "Device Control" is such a generic name, it's easy to miss. Also, I noticed that this card has a low quality resampling algorithm, so if you are playing 44.1kHz files, you might want to get a software resampler to convert 44.1kHz to 48.0kHz before sending a wav output to the sound card. HQSoftProc for winamp worked great for me. I did notice some Sigma/Delta DAC modulation noise when using sensitive headphones. (Shure E5C) The problem was that I was forced to turn the volume almost all the way down to get a reasonable volume. Normal headphones should be less of a problem. But I was able to easily modify the output stage on this card to reduce the gain and thus get more signal out of the Sigma/Delta DAC. It required changing four 0402 resistors. The Audigy series has better SNR out of the box.

Even though this is a more 'cost efficient' card compared to the Audigy series, the 'Live!' is still a great card, outputting great sound. It's a solid addition to my system (where other sound solutions have caused system crashing).

The software included is good as well. I'm not very interested in the extra media programs (which are nice) as I am with 'tweaking' the actual card. And the driver/configuration program that is provided does this very well!

While this is a reasonable sound card for a budget, linux buyers looking for a "modern" SB-16 should look elsewhere. I bought this card to put in a low-profile linux box thinking that it would be based on the same chipset as the SB-16 and have support for hardware mixing. Long story short--this card is a dumbed down version of the Audigy card that only has software mixing. You can get this card to work under linux with some difficulty, but you will never get hardware mixing.

I have never written a review on Amazon, but this product has enticed me to do so. I had integrated audio and the cheap little speakers that come with the computer. I installed this card (with the cheap speakers) and it was amazing how much of a difference there was even with cheap speakers that I am currently using. Just waiting for my new Logitech Z-2300 2.1 THX-Certified 200-Watt Speaker System to see what this can really do.

this soundcard came with my pc, the sound itself sounds nice but it is not meant for gaming. This card causes static in programs like ventrilio and teamspeak. i looked it up and there were said to be issues with programs similar and the soundcard. After having this card for 2 years its starting to die on me. my brandnew mic will stop working and sometimes sound comes out of one speaker only. so to summerize it if you want nice sound this will work, but for gaming and more reliability get something else.

Ths is a good quality sound card for the price. I purchased to replace onboard sound chip on Son's computer and get better sound. Installation was a breeze,software loaded extremely easy.I would recommend this as an onboard sound replacement any day of the week.

Simple installation and huge improvement in stereo sound. You can't go wrong for under $29!

The software was a little quirky for me, but everything ended up working fine. I wish I had installed this a couple of years ago. You can't get CD quality sound without a card like this.

This is a very good card but it
does NOT support MSDOS

I had this in my computer for a month, with a satellite radio on the audio-in and speakers on the line out. It started crackling and the audio was distorted after a few weeks. I took the SB out and went back to the motherboard onboard audio and it worked fine.

Conclusion = Sound Blaster sucks