I finished the new household computer last week, The old one I built only a year ago, was designed to be all things for all people. It was / is a great fast, reliable
machine but it was probably too good since both my teen agers and my wife fell in love with its abillities. The wife wanted to tele-commute occasionally, do the books,
and surf. The boy teen wanted to play games online, me I surf and enjoy lurking around computer forums. We found out pretty quick that this one computer
wasnt going to handle all of us all the time so the wife told me to build another one. This time I would build for gaming and general household things on the
new computer and the older computer was to become mostlly dedicated to serious stuff. So now we have two hot computers on a shared DSL line and life is good.
The wife can get computer time when ever she wants, the boy practically lives online killing everthing that moves in Everquest and Counterstrike, my teen daughter
plays Sims occasionally, and me: I am generally burnt out on playing administrator dad. But today my son tells me that the microphone is not working on the front
panel of the Audigy. So I go through the moves of verifying the problem, the main card is good cause I can plug directlly into the back and the mike works, this also
verifys the mike. I checked in device manager to see if there were any yellow (!)s. Everything seems okay but we have lost the mike at the front (speakers still OK).
Then I remember that last nite as I am heading to bed I looked in on my boy and he is in front of the computer and he is playing his electric guitar, which isnt in itself
unusual except now I dont remember hearing music. I question him about this and he confirms that he had the guitar plugged into the audigy and was playing for a girl he knows in canada (we are in seattle). Now normally this wouldnt upset me and as a matter of fact I had discussed this with the boy and his mother before I commited to
buying the platinum version of the Audigy. What I had not talked to him about was the differance between line leval and amplified levels of input and sure enough he
tells me that his connection was guitar to amplifier to Audigy. Now I guess I cant expect a 17 year old to know without being told that this was not the way to connect
his guitar, in fact Im not completlly sure that "creative" didnt forsee the possibility of people makeing this connection out of ignorance, and they designed the circuitry
to accept a amplified leval input,(I hope they did) but the fact is the Audigy worked great before and now it doesnt.
My wife and I love our son dearly so he is basically safe, but I am more then a bit agravated. So knowing full well that this is a fairly long,meandering, post and that
posts dont usually get much attention unless they are trully unique and / or flameworthy I am soliciting info, 1) will the Audigy accept amplified inputs, 2) what other
checks would any one make, 3) whats the odds that I can play dummy and get creative to replace the unit, 4) whats the odds my boy will make his 18th birthday
without me pulling every hair out of his head. (just kidding) Please people dont bitch at me for using the space to vent, you may have teenagers someday too and
remembering this post might help you maintain your sanity and his/her hair.
machine but it was probably too good since both my teen agers and my wife fell in love with its abillities. The wife wanted to tele-commute occasionally, do the books,
and surf. The boy teen wanted to play games online, me I surf and enjoy lurking around computer forums. We found out pretty quick that this one computer
wasnt going to handle all of us all the time so the wife told me to build another one. This time I would build for gaming and general household things on the
new computer and the older computer was to become mostlly dedicated to serious stuff. So now we have two hot computers on a shared DSL line and life is good.
The wife can get computer time when ever she wants, the boy practically lives online killing everthing that moves in Everquest and Counterstrike, my teen daughter
plays Sims occasionally, and me: I am generally burnt out on playing administrator dad. But today my son tells me that the microphone is not working on the front
panel of the Audigy. So I go through the moves of verifying the problem, the main card is good cause I can plug directlly into the back and the mike works, this also
verifys the mike. I checked in device manager to see if there were any yellow (!)s. Everything seems okay but we have lost the mike at the front (speakers still OK).
Then I remember that last nite as I am heading to bed I looked in on my boy and he is in front of the computer and he is playing his electric guitar, which isnt in itself
unusual except now I dont remember hearing music. I question him about this and he confirms that he had the guitar plugged into the audigy and was playing for a girl he knows in canada (we are in seattle). Now normally this wouldnt upset me and as a matter of fact I had discussed this with the boy and his mother before I commited to
buying the platinum version of the Audigy. What I had not talked to him about was the differance between line leval and amplified levels of input and sure enough he
tells me that his connection was guitar to amplifier to Audigy. Now I guess I cant expect a 17 year old to know without being told that this was not the way to connect
his guitar, in fact Im not completlly sure that "creative" didnt forsee the possibility of people makeing this connection out of ignorance, and they designed the circuitry
to accept a amplified leval input,(I hope they did) but the fact is the Audigy worked great before and now it doesnt.
My wife and I love our son dearly so he is basically safe, but I am more then a bit agravated. So knowing full well that this is a fairly long,meandering, post and that
posts dont usually get much attention unless they are trully unique and / or flameworthy I am soliciting info, 1) will the Audigy accept amplified inputs, 2) what other
checks would any one make, 3) whats the odds that I can play dummy and get creative to replace the unit, 4) whats the odds my boy will make his 18th birthday
without me pulling every hair out of his head. (just kidding) Please people dont bitch at me for using the space to vent, you may have teenagers someday too and
remembering this post might help you maintain your sanity and his/her hair.
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