This Creative SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit USB external soundcard rocks! No kidding. I've had a lot of experience with different soundcard/speaker setups, and this is the best "card" yet. The 24-bit is noticible over 16-bit, which is the standard for onboard soundcards. If you have a nice speaker system (I use a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Sound System, which I HIGHLY recommend!), then you want the highest possible quality soundcard to output the best sound.
Also, if you're listening to MP3's or WMA's like I use primarily, make sure to encode the music in a high-bitrate for optimum sound quality and clarity to match your kickin' soundcard and speaker system (I use 192kbps WMA Pro 9.2, which is FAR superior to standard 128kbps MP3's you find on the internet).
For my computer setup, I have a laptop (no secondary desktop) and a docking station. I couldn't stand the crappy 16-bit onboard audio from my laptop to go with my Klipsch ProMedia's or my Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones (which are amazing!); that is why I HAD to get a nice 24-bit external card for my laptop setup. I don't regret the purchase! Don't settle for anything less than Creative for a new soundcard, but don't go with their speaker systems.... they're overpriced and underpowered compared to the other systems out there.
Overall, the card is amazing, the external controls on the box are VERY nice, the gold-plated headphone and microphone jacks keep the signal very clean, and it offers both Digital Optical and SPDIF (coaxial) outputs to connect to a home theater receiver (instead of directly to headphones or PC speakers), and has jacks for a full 5.1 surround sound PC speaker setup (although I only use the "front" jack for my 2.1 speakers). The software is VERY nice and easy to use; it even recognizes automatically what type of output you have plugged in, whether it be headphones, PC speakers, or a digital receiver. The software also contains CMSS to simulate a 5.1 signal from any stereo signal, such as a CD or MP3's, which works decently in my past experience with Creative.
The only "con" that I've found is that this sound card is USB 1.1, instead of the modern "standard" USB 2.0, which means that the bandwidth to the soundcard can become restricted. The only problem this causes is if you are trying to monitor the microphone input with the 24-bit 96kHz option enabled; it automatically reduces the bitrate output to 16-bit and gives you a warning that the microphone monitoring has ate-up all the bandwidth and that it is now unable to symultaneously output in 24-bits. This isn't a big deal, as you can switch the output back to 24-bits after you've finished with microphone monitoring. I rarely use a microphone, so it's not too big of a deal.
BUY THIS PRODUCT! I'm telling you, you won't find a better external USB 24-bit 96kHz sound card out there, especially for only $50, unless Creative releases a USB 2.0 version.
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Perfect
I got it in two days using free shipping.I hooked it up with my YAMAHA HTR-6030SL. It works great.I am not sure I should use Toslink or SPDIF miniToslink output for digital output ? (Currently using 3.5mm output.)Can anyone help me please ? Thanks.
