Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z manual

User ’ s Guide SB1500 / SB1502 SB1506[...]

Intro ductio n Co ng ratu lati on s on you r pu rchase of C r eativ e' s l atest aud io r evol u tion, So un d Blaster Z-Ser i es! W i th cu tt i n g e d ge t echn ology fr om th e l eader s i n PC aud io, Soun d Blaster Z-Ser i es wi l l gi ve you ye ars of re li able e n tertainmen t on y ou r PCI E xpre ss (PC I e ® ) en abled per so[...]

Mo re H el p F or th e latest n ews an d pr od u cts for Sou n d Bl aster, v i si t ww w.s ou n d blaster .com . Th e si te also i nclud es i n for mation on m aki n g pu r ch ases, tech n i cal help, and t he l atest dr iv er u pd at es. Us in g C reat iv e Sof tware A u t oUpd at e L ocating , do wnloadin g, an d i nst al li ng u pd ates for y ou[...]

A bou t Y o ur H ard w are F or i n struct i on s on i n stall i ng you r Sou nd Blaster Z-Ser ie s, and an y add iti on al acc essor ie s, consu lt t he Q u i ck Start leaf l et. To l ear n mor e abou t you r produ ct , consu lt t h e f oll owi ng sections: l You r Sou n d Bl aster Z-Seri es Aud io car d l Au d i o C on trol Mod u le No tes Actu a[...]

J ack o r Con n ecto r Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e In / Mi cro p h one In jac k C onn ects to li n e- l evel so u rc es ( fo r exa m p le , MP3 p la yer s) or m icr op hon es w ith a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) p lug . 2 . Hea d p h one jac k C onn ects to stereo h ead p hones with a 3.5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch) p l u g . 3 . Lin e O u t 1 jack ( Front L/R [...]

A ud io C ont rol Mo dul e An external ACM  (A ud io Con tr ol Mod u l e) provi des a bu i lt-i n beamfor mi n g mi cr oph on e an d mi cr op h on e/head p h on e I /O  con n ections. No te: Th e AC M acc essor y i s bu nd l ed w ith Sou n d Bl aster Zx on l y. 1 3 4 5 2 6 J ack, C onn ecto r or C ompo n en t Descrip t io n 1 . Vo lum e C ont[...]

Th e Vo l u me Con t r ol k n ob on th e AC M c on t r ols th e vol u me ou tp u t to you r head ph on e s, givi ng you qu ic k con trol ov er th e au dio l evel f r om you r games or music . No te: Th e AC M Vol u me Con tr ol Kn ob al l ows you to ad j u st h ead ph on e lev el s con venient l y based on th e maxi mum l ev el set b y your comp ut[...]

C o nnecting Speakers and Head p ho nes Th e con n ectors an d associated compon en ts sh own h er e may be d i f fer ent f r om t hat of your speaker system. Con su l t th e do cumen t ation of your speaker sy stem t o iden tif y si mi l ar i n pu t con nect ors . You can u pmix your stere o sou rces (f or example , CD  Aud io, MP3 , WMA , MI D[...]

P ositioni n g Yo ur Spe a k er s Go od speaker placeme n t i s cr ucial to g ett i n g opt i mal per for mance fr om you r au dio system an d ach i evi ng an enh anced l i sten i n g ex peri ence. Below ar e ou r re commend at i on f or 5.1 ch an n el speaker s. F or det ai l ed s p eake r plac ement tips, con su l t th e docu men tat ion of your [...]

C onne cting A na log Spe a k e r Sys t ems You r aud io car d su p ports an alog s peaker sy stems of up t o 5 .1 chan n els . To l ear n more abou t con n ecting dif fe rent chan n el s p eake r sy stems, consu lt t h e f oll owi ng sections: l 2 .1 chan n el analog sp eaker s l 5 .1 chan n el analog sp eaker s 2 .1 c han n e l a n alog s peak er[...]

5 .1 c han n e l a n alog s peak ers fro nt rear center/ subwoofer aud io inp uts center speaker front speakers rear speakers front rear center / subwoofer aud io inp uts 2 3 1 4 7 5 6 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able 1 . Lin e O u t 1 jack (Fro n t L /R ) 2 . Lin e O u t 2 jack (R ea r L/R ) 3 . Lin e O u t 3 jack (C ent er/ S u b woof er) 4 . 5 . 1 [...]

C onne cting D i gi t al Spe a k er Systems You r Sou nd Blaster Z-Seri e s comes wi th an O pt ical S/PDIF O ut j ack which al l ows you to con n ect you r digital speaker system. Most digi tal speakers systems con nect th e au dio card t o th e su bwoofer or an external un it. F or mor e i n f ormation on y ou r digi tal speaker c on n ections, c[...]

C onne cting H om e The a t er Systems You r Sou nd Blaster Z-Seri e s comes wi th an O pt ical S/PDIF j ack w h i ch al l ows you to c on n ect you r home th eat r e system. Most home t h eater sy stems con n ect t he aud i o card t o an A/V r ece iv er . F or mor e i n f ormation on y ou r A/V re cei ver ' s speaker con nect i on s, consu lt[...]

C on n ec t ing y ou r A /V R ec e iv e r u s in g Lin e L e v e l inp u ts I f y ou r A/V rec ei ver sup p orts mu l ti-chan n el l i ne-level i np u ts, you can conn ect th em dir ectly to you r au dio car d ' s Lin e O ut j acks i nst ead of th e O p tical S/PDIF O u t j ac k as sho wn bel ow. C on n ec t t o L in e O u t 1 (F ron t L /R ) [...]

C on n ec t Lin e O u t 2 (Rear L/R ) 1 2 3 4 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e O u t 2 jack (R ea r L/R ) C onn ects to th e Rea r Left an d Rea r Ri g ht jac ks on yo u r A/ V rece iv er, u si n g a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) stereo - to- RC A cab l e ( av ai la b le se p ara t el y 2 . 3 . 5 m m ( 1/8-i n ch) st ere o- to- R C[...]

C on n ec t Lin e O u t 3 (C e nter/S u bw oof er) 1 2 3 4 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e O u t 3 jack (C ent er/ S u b woof er) C on n ects to th e Ce n ter an d Subwoo fe r jac ks on yo u r A/ V rece iv er, u si n g a 3 .5m m ( 1 / 8 - inch ) stereo - to- RC A cab l e ( av ai la b le se p ara t el y 2 . 3 . 5 m m ( 1/8-i n[...]

C onne cting H e a dphon es an d H e a dse t s Do n ot l i sten to aud io on y ou r h ea d ph o n es or h ea d se ts a t h i gh v ol u mes f or p r ol on g ed peri ods of ti me as hear i n g l oss may r esult. C on n ec t ing y ou r h ea dp h on e s and h e adse t s t o t heS ou n d Bla st e r Z-S eries F or headph on es : 1 J ack, C onn ecto r [...]

C onne cting A ud io C ont rol Mo dul e Th e ACM acc ess ory i s b u n dled wi th So u n d Bla ster Zx on ly . C on n ec t ing y ou r A C M to the S ou n d Blas t e r Z-Series 1 2 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able Descrip t io n 1 . Lin e In / Mi cro p h one In ja ck Co nn e cts to th e 3.5 mm (1 /8 -inch ) mi cr op h on e plug of your AC M. 2 . Hea d [...]

C on n ec t ing y ou r h ea dp h on e s and h e adse t s t o t he ACM OR 1 2 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able Descrip t io n 1 . 3 . 5 m m Hea d p h one jac k C onn ects to stereo h ead phon es or head se ts with a 3.5 mm (1/ 8 - inch ) pl ug. 2 . 3 . 5 m m Mi cr op hon e In jack Co nn e cts to li ne-lev el s ou rc es (for example, MP3 p l ayer s) [...]

Ins talli ng and Uni nstal lin g So ftw are To take f u l l advant ag e of y ou r Sou nd Blaster Z-Seri e s au dio card, you need to i nst al l device dri v er s an d app li cations. At time s, you may als o n eed to u n install s ome or al l of th e device dri v er s an d app l i cation s to cor r ect p roble ms, chan g e con f i g uration s, or u[...]

To rem ov e DTSCon n e ct : No te Carry ou t th e f oll owi ng step s O NL Y I F th er e ar e n o ot h er Creativ e ap pli cations on you r sy stem t h at re qu i r es th e DT S C on n ect en cod er . For Wi nd ows 7: 1 . Retu r n to t he Start >  C on trol P an el >  U n i n stal l a Pr og r am wi n dow. 2 . Sel ect t he DTS ?[...]

In st a ll i n g D ri ve r s a nd A ppl ica tions En sur e t h at y ou r a ud io c ard is inst a lled befor e pr oc ee din g . F or inst ru ct ion s on in s ta llin g y ou r aud io c a rd , c onsu lt y ou r Q u ic k S t art lea flet . After y ou h ave i nst al le d your au dio car d, t u r n on your comp ut er. Wind ows au tomat i cal ly det ects y[...]

U si ng Your So und Blas ter Z - Series You r Sou nd Blaster Z-Seri e s work s seaml ess ly wi th man y exter n al devi ces to p er f orm dif f er ent tasks. To l ear n mor e abou t th ese tasks an d how to con n ect ad dition al device s, consu lt t he f ol l owi n g se ction s: l Play i n g Games l Wat chin g DVD s l Play i n g / Recording Mu sic[...]

DTS Conn ec t DT S Con n ect is a r eal -time encod ing tech n ology fr om DT S, I nc. for i n teractiv e media and is only avai l able on th e PC platfor m. I t con ver ts any au dio sign al on th e compu t er i n to 5.1 chan nel DTS  for mat an d transp or ts i t vi a a sing l e digital cable. With Do l by D i gital L i ve or DT S Con[...]

P l a yi ng / R ecordi n g Musi c You can p l ay music f r om, an d/or re cord mu si c to ex tern al devic es (for exam p l e, Di g i tal Au dio Tap e player /r ecor der) by c on n ecting th em t o you r Soun d Blaster Z-Ser ie s. C on n ec t ing y ou r ex t ern al dev ic e t o t h e So u nd Blas te r Z-S eries 2 1 3 J ack, C onn ecto r or C able D[...]

C re a t in g M usi c You can set u p a h ome mu si c stu d i o u si n g y ou r Sou nd Blaster Z-Seri e s. Pu t tog eth er y ou r own p rodu ction s con si sting of multi p l e music track s fr om a MIDI s yn th esi zer or an el ectri c gu itar. Alter n ative l y, conn e ct y ou r e le ctri c gu itar using a p r e-amp box t o th e Line In/M i cr op[...]

U si ng the Creative Sof tw are Suite Th e fol l owi n g sof tware i s desi gn e d f or y ou to acce ss th e b asi c as wel l as th e ad vanced f eatu res of your au dio car d . We r ecommend ed th at y ou fam il i ar i ze yoursel f wi th t h ei r f u n ctions i n order to mak e full use of th e ri ch featu r es of your au dio car d. To l ear n mor[...]

Sou nd Bl a st er Z- Se rie s C ont rol P an e l Managin g Y ou r P rof iles Cli ck th e bu tton t o d i splay th e Prof i l es pan e. Activate a p r ofi l e by cli ck i n g th e an d se l ecting it fr om th e li st. Cli ck to sav e all se tt ing s to th e curre n t prof i l e or cr eate a n ew profi l e. Cl ic k to dele te th e activ e p r ofi l e[...]

A dju st ing Your Ma st e r Volu me Set t in gs Drag th e master v olume sli der to ad j u st t h e vol ume l ev el . You can mu te/u n mu te t h e vol ume by cl i cki ng t he s p eake r i con. C on fig u rin g Your So ftware Set t in gs Cli ck each f eatu r e to acc ess i ts sett ing s pag e. More i n f ormati on on each fe atu re can be foun d i [...]

SB X P ro Studi o Se t t in gs 1 . SBX Pr o St u dio en h ancemen ts Sele ct to t urn on or tu r n off eac h enh ancement . You can h over you r mou se cursor over each en han c ement to display a b r i ef e xplanat ion. 2 . En han cement L eve l sl i ders Ad j u st t he amoun t of e n h an ceme n t to ap ply. 3 . Au dio Test cont rol s Play /Pa[...]

C rys t al V oice Se t t i ngs 1 . F i r st s el ect t h e r ecor d i n g d evi ce. 2 . Nex t, t u r n on Crystal Voice and sel ect t o tu rn on or tu rn of f e ach of th e avai l able enh an cement s. Hav in g F u n with C rys t alVoic e After c on fi gu rati on , cl i ck and speak int o you r mi cr oph on e t o h ear h ow you r voi ce sou n ds wi[...]

Scout M ode Scou t mode t r an sf orms you r h ear i n g and en ables y ou to hear you r op pon en ts f r om furth er away, gi vi n g you a distinct tactical advan tag e in c omb at. 1 . Scou t mod e Sele ct to t urn on or of f Scou t mode. Cli ck to confi gu r e hot keys f or tu rnin g on and tu rning off Scou t mode. Us in g the Cr e a tive S of [...]

Spe ak e rs/Hea dph one s Se t t in gs 1 . Swi tch bet ween Speaker s or Headph ones mod e. 2 . Speakers / Headp ho nes Con fi gu rati on Sele ct y ou r curr ent ph y si cal speaker or head ph one con fi gu ration. No tes: St er eo Dir ect is an op t i on f or dir ect p l ayback to ster eo speaker ch ann e l sam p l ed at 1 9 2 kHz. Th e fol l owi [...]

C in e matic Sett in gs 1 . En c od er settin gs Sele ct "No E ncod er" i f y ou wi sh to t u r n of f encod i n g or sel ect "D olby Digital Live " or "D TS Con nect" to tu rn on t h e r espective encod er s. S et t ing u p DTS C on n ec t Und er DTS Con nect, sel ect or u n sel ect th e option "D TS [...]

Mix e r Se t t in gs 1 . Volume sl ider s Ad j u st t he play back an d r ecor din g v olume for your var ious inp u ts and ou tp u ts. 2 . I np u t Devi ce Sele ct th e i n pu t devi ce sou r ce f rom th e fol l owi n g an alog s ou rc es: Fr ont Micr oph one, Rear Micr o- ph one or Rear L i n e-i n . On l y on e sou rc e can be act i ve at an y o[...]

S ele c t in g t h e In pu t Dev ic e So u rce You r aud io car d su p ports au d i o inp u t f r om th e f ol l owi n g analog s ou rc es: l F ront Micr oph on e (I nt el HD F r on t Panel) l Rear Micr oph on e (Line I n/M i cr op h on e I n j ack ) l Rear L i n e-i n (Lin e I n/ Micr oph on e In jack ) O n l y on e of th e abo ve i np u t s[...]

Equa l iz e r Se t t in gs 1 . EQ pre sets Sele ct an eq u al i zer pr eset t o ap ply to you r aud io. 2 . EQ s li ders Ad j u st t he equ al i zer s ett i n gs. C u s tom iz ing Your EQ S et t ing s Sele ct th e EQ checkbox t o en able th is f eatu r e, th en cl i ck th e E Q drop -down arr ow an d s el ect a p res et fr om th e li st. Sele ct[...]

A dva n ced Fe a t ur e s Se t t in gs 1 . Pl ay stere o mix to d i gital ou tp u t Sele ct th e checkbo x to d own mi x th e au d i o wi th its eff ects to a ster eo PC M st r eam to be ch an n el ed to digital out pu t. No te You mu st f i r st s el ect "S peaker " as t h e playback devi ce to use th i s f eatu r e. Us in g the Cr e a t[...]

Usi n g Yo ur Au di o De vi ce Pla y ing Ga m es You r aud io devi ce i s equ ipp ed with cut t i n g ed ge aud i o t echn ologies and softwar e to enh an ce th e au d i o in you r games. SBX  Pro Stu dio wi l l el evate you r gaming experi ence t o th e next l ev el , al l owi n g y ou to hear sou n d detail s i n games you h ave never h ear d [...]

C om m u nicat ing with Voice ov e r In t ern e t Protoc ol ( VoIP) Use a head set wi th y ou r aud i o d evi ce to en j oy ou t stan din g ac ou stic perf or man ce i n pop u l ar VoI P app li cations li ke Vent ri l o® and TeamSp eak®. Hear an d be h ear d cl ear l y by teammat es du ri ng mu l ti- player games to get th e tact ic al e d ge. Yo[...]

C re a t in g Y our A udi o 'S we e t Spot ' wi t h t he SB S pe a k er Se t up Gen eral l y, f or a 5 .1 speaker confi g uration , th er e i s an i d eal speaker placeme n t th at al l ows y ou to po si tion yoursel f i n th e au dio sweet sp ot, g i vi ng you th e b est su rr ou nd an d aud io pleasure possibl e. Ple ase r ef er to P[...]

Pola rity Sele c tion I f y ou h ave an aud io/vi deo (A/V ) re cei ver , y ou r speaker s must be wir ed ap prop r i ately (i n- ph ased) i n order to reprodu ce sou n d f i el ds corr ectl y. Th e Polar i ty Selec tion tab h el ps you corr ectl y con n ect all n egat i ve and p osi tive out p ut termi n al s on th e A/V r ecei ve r to t h e i np [...]

S peak er Lev e l Th is set of confi gu r ations en ab l es you to ach i eve a balanced l evel f or e ach speaker . Speaker l ev el i s aff ec ted mai n l y by t h e distan ce bet ween t h e speaker an d th e l i sten er. Cli ck th e L evel Test b u tt on an d adj u st th e speaker l evel f or e ach speaker accor din gly. Us in g the Cr e a tive S [...]

G eneral Spe cif icati o ns Th is sec tion det ai l s th e specif i cations of you r Soun d Blaster Z-Ser ie s au dio car d . PC IBu s Ma s t erin g l PC I Exp re ss Sp eci f i cation Ver si on 1.1 comp l i an t l Bu s masteri ng redu ces l aten cy and sp eeds u p sy stem p er f ormance S ou n d Blas t er So un d C ore3D A ud io P r oc es s o[...]

C on n ec t iv it y Th is sec tion det ai l s th e con n ectiv i ty of you r Soun d Blaster Z-Ser i es au dio car d . S ou n d Blas t er Z-S eries Au dio C a rd A u dio I n pu ts l O n e 3 .5mm (1 /8-in ch) Line I n jack for An al og Line I n or Mic roph on e In l O n e O pt ic al S/PDIF  j ack f or Digital I n A u dio O u tp u ts l O n e 3 .5mm[...]

T rou b les ho o ting Th is sec tion provi des solut i on s to problems you m ay enco un ter du r i ng install ation or normal u se. Th is i n cl u des: l Problem s wi th D i gital Au dio D evi ce s l Problem s wi th D olby Digital Live or DT S C on n ect l Problem s wi th M u l tiple Aud io Devi ces l Problem s wi th So un d I f y ou h ave any [...]

No te I f Dolby Digital L i ve or DTS Con n ect i s enab l ed, on ly PCM aud io and cer tain compress ed aud i o (for example, MP3 ) c an be pl ayed, wh i ch wi l l be en cod ed b y Dolby D i gital Live or DTS  C on n ect t hrou gh you r sel ected out p ut device . P r oble ms wi t h M ul t ip le A udi o D ev ice s If t h ere are other a u di[...]

Safety Info rm atio n Refer to th e f oll owi ng infor mation to u se you r produ ct s afel y , and t o re d uce t h e chan c e of el ectr ic s h ock, sh or t- ci r cuiting , damag e, f i re , h ear i n g i mpair me n t or oth er hazards. I mprop er h an dli ng may v oi d th e wa rr a n ty f or your pr od u ct. For mor e i n f ormati on , re ad th [...]

Li cens e and Co py right In fo rmation in th is do cum ent is su b jec t t o change w ith out n otic e and do es n ot rep res ent a co mm itm en t o n th e p art of Cr eative Te chn olo g y Lt d . No pa rt of th is m anu al m ay b e rep rod u ced or t ransmitt ed in a n y fo rm o r b y any m eans, el ectro n ic or mechan ic al , in cl udi n g phot[...]