HOT, Soundblaster Live! 5.1 for cheap!!

[21Jumper]

Hello everyone!

I'm just happy to say that i got mine today! and it looks so sweet on the front of my PC...now i can record my playings and make CDs out of them.

that's all.

 

[Cheese78CA]

Will either of these SB Live! 5.1 MP3+, X-Gamer, or Platinum make full use of the Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT2500 Digital's capabilities or will one use more capabilities than the other? Does the DTT2500 use the optical outputs/inputs in front of the drive bay? If not, what are those outputs commonly used for? Sorry so many questions...

 

[ShyambaJuice]

I think the live drive IR itself is well worth the money to get a platinum 5.1. It has the remote control (ideal for people like me who use their computers to play Mp3s even when they're not near it). It also has optical In AND OUT for the minidisc fans. The other ports are more specialized but, after all, the platinum is only designed for people who plan on taking full advantage of all the features. But this is definitely a good deal. I think staples has similar pricing and their coupons are better.

 

[Slugbait]

From what I've read concerning 5.1, there's no difference between the previous Live versions and the current 5.1 versions. They just bundle software to decode the AC-3...it's not hardware decoding. Anyone using an older Live still has 5.1 with the proper DVD player that decodes AC-3.

I just got an X-Gamer 5.1 for 79.95 at Best Buy last week (don't bother rushing down...it was mismarked on the shelf, and they honored their mistake for me). I've scoured the manual and the site looking for an answer. Nothing on the site that I could find. In "Advanced Configs" of the manual, they only give specific instructions for a 4.0 connection to an AC-3 receiver or four-point sound system, and how to connect an MPEG hardware decoder for 5.1 on DTT, but they fail to describe home theater systems. Even on the page specifying how to hook up the optional I/O card sez nothing about hooking that digital-out to an AC-3 receiver...they don't even explain whether or not the I/O can connect to the DTT, only "recording to digital devices".

But on page 11, they "elude" to the fact that the Analog/Digital Output jack will deliver the software-decoded AC-3: "...you will need a seperate 3.5mm-to-RCA jack cable to connect to your decoder".

Funny how Creative plasters the manual and their site with "home theater", calls all of their new products "5.1", and then doesn't give concrete details on how it's done, or even as little as how to do the hook-ups with their cards...they only push their DTT, over and over again.

 

[sleepdragon]

Let's get the facts straight...
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SB LIVE 5.1 AND OLDER SB LIVE (ONE WITH DIGITAL OUT ON THE CARD) IS IT CAN NOW OUTPUT 6 CHANNELS "ANALOG" SOUND,
INSTEAD OF 4 CHANNELS FROM BEFORE, AND THE DOLBY DIGITAL (AC-3) DECODING IS DONE NOT BY HARDWARE, BUT BY SOFTWARE...
so basically this means is you don't need a decoder box to decode ac-3 signals...as opposite to before, you need to out the AC-3 signal from digital out and hook up to an external decoder then to the 5.1 speakers to get dolby digital 5.1 channels...

SO, IF YOU ARE THE OWNER OF CAMBRIDGE D2500 OR 5.1, WHICH ALREADY HAS A DECODER, YOU REALLY ARE WASTING MONEY TO UPGRADE...

 

[fonseca]

The platinum 5.1 does come with some nice EAX games too, including Thief 2, MDK 2, Unreal Tourney, and Deus X. Considering I had only UT, that was an important factor in my choice of the PLatinum. Also, the remote and live drive 2 are extremely cool. Since I have a DAT and a minidisk recorder, the inputs on the live drive are very convenient. And being able to turn up the volume without tab-alting counterstrike is nice. I paid $170 for mine when it first came out, less a $35 rebate I will probably never receive.

 

[SUOrangeman]

Don't sleep on Turtle Beach's 5.1 Santa Cruz.

-SUO

 

[Cheese78CA]

After reading all the problems with SB Live 5.1 and Win2k, what sound card would you guys recommend for Win2k? I have a P3-450, 256 Mb ram running Windows 2000 Server. I just got Cambridge Soundworks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2500 Digital and plan on getting a Toshiba 12x DVD-Rom. Which sound card would unlock the most power out of my system? Thanks.

 

[virtuamike]

I'm running a w2k system with a SB Live Value. There's 2 versions, make sure you get the one with digital out. You'll need a plug that converts from headphone jack to mono rca to plug into the card, can pick those up at Radioshack for a $1-2. From there you can run an rca cable to the DTT2500 (same setup I have) or any digital coax input (I had it running into my receiver before). That way you get digital sound, sounds a lot better than using the analog connectors. To get AC3, you'll need to a stereo headphone jack to mono rca converter (I only was able to find the mono one) and some dvd software that'll send 5.1 signal. Either that or get a DVD decoder card, I got the Hollywood +, and use the digital output on that to hook up to the DTT2500.

 

[Cheese78CA]

What's the thing with Liveware 3.0 not supporting AC-3 pass-thru as stated on Creative's Official Liveware 3.0 FAQ?


Q12. Does "Live!Ware 3.0 for Windows 2000" support AC-3 pass-thru?

A. No, "Live!Ware for Windows 2000" does not support AC-3 pass-thru. Currently, the feature is only supported in Live!Ware 3.0 for Windows 95/98.


Does headphone jack to mono rca converter solve that problem?

 

[Kirsten]

AC3 is not possible on Win2000 until M$ fixes something...supposedly in SP2 which is scheduled to be released in Jan 2001...
Kirsten

 

[buffboy]

those prices aren't very good ne more, plus, i'd rather go with the sb live digital family value and get the software online for free, saves mucho dinero!