Sound Blaster Audigy 6.1 Soon...

[OC-Master]

Are you thinking about getting a new Sound Blaster soon? Well save your green, because the Audigy 6.1 series is coming out very soon.

I cant tell you where I got this crock news from but what I can tell you is that Creative is now supporting Dolby Digital EX right out of the box!

Basically, a 6.1 Audigy, same as before but one additional channel with the EX support. EAX4.0 support is now there for the 6.1 channels.


Sound Blaster Extigy 6.1 (USB2.0 Now!)

Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX 6.1
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum 6.1
Sound Blaster Audigy X-Gamer 6.1
Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+ 6.1
Sound Blaster Audigy Player 6.1
Sound Blaster Audigy DE 6.1


Pick your model :)


DS-Master

[{PMS}fishy]

Where is the 6th channel? There are 7 speaker set ups with 4 rears (2 smaller speakers for effects). Is it going to be another center speaker? Sounds kind of foolish.

[OC-Master]

the 6.1, the sixth channel is the REAR Center channel :)

Currently, DTS already uses 6.1, it was only a mater of time before Dolby got there 6th channel out with the EX extension.

DS-Master

[Mr. $T$]

I Pick you avatar model :) :D :p ;) :eek:

[BinarySuperman]

rear center speaker? like my ears can hear behind me at that angle, just another upgrade to make creative more money, i wonder whats next, audigy 25.0 (speakers at every angle, garenteed headaches.) :D

[Arghuin]

I've been an avid Creative fan for years now, but if this 'newer' Audigy gets the drivers and support that the current one has, I think I'll pass :rolleyes:

[MospeadasDark]

Originally posted by Arghuin
I've been an avid Creative fan for years now, but if this 'newer' Audigy gets the drivers and support that the current one has, I think I'll pass :rolleyes:

Given Creative's track record, what makes you think they'll change?

[james.miller]

there's been a gametheater6.1 for months which supports dts. and the fortissimo III is a 7.1 card. at what point is it too much? besides i think that a 5, 6 or 7.1 card is over the top because they are in direct compatition with hifi seperates.sadly, they are no threat to a decent home setup

[X2sandman]

5.1 is fine for me.

[dansonang]

6 speakers. how much will a klipch 6.1 speaker cost? enough money to burn the whole of my pants away.

I am still desperately clinging onto a 2 piece speaker.

[bob_the_d]

6.1 isn't a completely new setup. it's been around for a while... i know the gladiator DVD supports DTS-ES and the T2 ultimate edition supports DD 5.1 EX and DTS-ES. the rush hour 2 infinifilm also supports DTS-ES and all of these have gotten good reviews because of the 6.1 support.

you guys make it sound like creative's being evil and just are trying to suck more money out of your wallet

not true

well... not 100% true at least. :D

DTS-ES and DD-EX are established 6.1 surround sound standards. it consists of the original 5.1 setup, and they add a center rear channel. don't slam it until you hear it because i've heard them and it in fact does make a difference. your ears CAN hear at that angle (why do you think you can hear people behind you... duh) and it sounds much better.

and george lucas wanted to make a new THX standard that runs to 7.1, which goes even further with a 6.1 standard setup, then adding one overhead speaker. i'd imagine this would go very well with lucas' movies since they often include vehicles flying overhead. i'd imagine it sounds very impressive too, with things such as starship overhead flybys sounding incredibly convincing.

in my opinion, 6.1 setups are a good movie. it adds more depth to the sound than you think (go to a showroom and hear it before you decide to sit there complaining and whining about creative wanting to steal your money), but i see one problem with creative going 6.1. there are no 6.1 computer sound systems, and why should there be? i mean relatively speaking, klipsch got their 5.1 system out not too long ago, and the same thing goes with the inspire series (and when i say recent i mean within 6-12 months... come on, speaker technology doesn't evolve THAT fast) and many others. i think monsoon just released a 5.1 system and altec and logitech are still in 4.1. with so many companies at 4.1 and so many who just moved to 5.1, i think it'd take some time before they move to 6.1. the new format works well with home theater setups because the newer receivers support 6.1 channels and to upgrade that (assuming you already have a supported receiver) all you need to do is add another speaker. that's the beauty of a pieced together rig... it's much easier to upgrade.

but say you have a 5.1 audigy already, and you splurged the 500 bucks for the 5.1 promedias. how would you upgrade? you get the new 6.1 audigy... then what? you'd need to buy a new set of speakers...

creative's moving forward, but unless good quality cheap 6.1 speaker systems come out at the same time, then it won't sell all too well imo. anyone else think differently?

[james.miller]

ok first things first.
dts-es is NOT 6.1 just like dolby surround wasnt true 4-channel.it is simply a rear channel added by the decoder by mixing the rear left and right channels.

dts-es discreet is REAL 6.1. it has a 6th rear-center channel mixed in which is picked up by es-discreet decoders and offers better quility than standard es (also known as matrix)



i know that there is a distinct difference between the various formats. but a creative soundcard will never offer the performance of a dedicated decoder - sush as those built into mutichannel surround amps. nor will a pc be any rival for a dedicated dvd player.
which is why i think anything over 5.1 for a pc is really just a gimmick

http://www.timefordvd.com/ref/dts-ES.shtml

taken from this site:

What about the extended surround "7.1" format? Well, "7.1" is not a true surround sound format. Rather it refers to home theater equipment manufacturers' proprietary implementation of two back surround channels using the same back surround audio signal that was discussed above

[bob_the_d]

that's true...
anyone know how the amplifier setup on the klipsch promedias are?

[Arghuin]

Given Creative's track record, what makes you think they'll change?

Nothing...that's why I'm not going to buy a card from this 6.1 Audigy series :)

[grunjee]

Holy crap, 6.1 sound. I'm loving life with my 4.1 speakers.

And really, for what one of these things will cost, you could probably buy about 18 1600+ cpu's! Fold on! :D

By the way I want to thank you guys with sexy avatars... I think we're slowly dulling the mods' senses and this is a good thing.
:beer:

[Richard]

Thank you for posting the information.

I'll take it in the spirit in which it was intended and not turn this into a bash Creative Labs thread.

I just purchased an Audigy OEM for my Linux box, but will most likely purchase one of these 6.1 cards for my windows box.

Thanks again.

[poluga]

I hope logitech makes a cheap but good 5.1 or 6.1 system. 25w surrounds and 100w sub is good enough. With the small speakers the manufactors use, there is no need for too much power. I feel like creative wants to rip people on their speakers though. Their high end is way over priced and their low end just don't use enough power.

[snyper1982]

come on guys, dont knock creative. they really dont NEED to do driver updates like a video card does. i mean what support are you guys talking about? i have not had a problem with my audigy at all, so i dont know why else i would need support, i mean i am not even using the certified creative drivers for win XP, and the thing still works perfectly. i mean im not trying to flame anyone, but you guys should really stop whinning, i mean if you dont like the idea of the 6.1, then there is a simple answer, dont buy it. but that doesnt mean you should tell OTHER people not to buy it. i mean what if someone saw this thread that was looking for a new sound card, they would most likely be turned off of 6.1 sound cards, and lets face it, 6.1 will be the next wave just like 4.1, then 5.1. and im sure there is a noticeable difference between each of the technologys.

[OC-Master]

CreativeLabs is an awesome company. There sound cards are revolutionary and are standards that have been set many years ago.

I will countinue to buy creative products in the many years from now since when properly configured gave me no trouble at all from Sound Blaster Pro to my Live Platinum5.1 . The only concern that I have now is that my Live Drive doesnt work with the latest drivers. I guess they disabled it by an accident but they finally fixed the speaker reseting thing so that my speakers are always at 5.1 now, thank goodness.


DS-Master

[Malakai]

i have to give some credit where its due, the new drivers ROCK.

i just did a clean install, and installed nothing but the new driver pack. the windows controls handle the audigy perfectly, and none of the other crackling and popping i used to have are here anymore.

BUT they still suck being it took em over a year to get a good driver out.

as soon as another brnad can hold up to creative's awesome soundcards, ill be a happy switcher. till than....

EDIT: more than 5.1 sound isnt even feasable in a small room, or even a living room.
it will be a LONG TIME before u see me with a 7.1 setup.

[james.miller]

exactly. a gimmick