Creative Platinum eX manual

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User’ s Guide Cr eativ e Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative T e chnology Ltd. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electron ic or mechanical, incl uding photocopying an d reco[...]

Important: This PDF file has been designed to pro vide you with complete product knowledge. The follo wing ar e instructions on ho w to make use of this PDF file ef fectiv ely by launching applications and help files, as well as acces sing rele v ant web sites, where applicable, via specially prepared links. • T o launch applications, Help files [...]

Contents[...]

Contents Intr oduction High-definition digital audio entertainment ........... ................ ................ ............... ................ ......... i What is EAX ADV ANCED HD? ....................... ................... ................ ................ ................... .......... ....... ii Package Contents .............. ..............[...]

Connecting Speakers Systems ...... ................................ ................................................ .............. ..... ...... 2-11 Positioning Y our Speakers ................... ................ ................ ................... ................ ................ ......... ...... 2-12 3 Installing Softwar e Installing Driv ers [...]

Creativ e Audio Stream Recorder 2 ............ ................ ................ ................... ................ .............. 4- 9 Creativ e W ave Studio.................. ................ ................ ................ ................ ................... ...... ...... 4-10 Diagnostic and troubleshooting utilitie s.......................[...]

Intr oduction[...]

Intr oduction i Intr oduction High-definition digital audio enter tainment Thank you for purchasing Sound Blaster ® Audigy ™ 2 Platinum eX, consisting of the Sound Blaste r Audigy 2 Platinum eX card, the Sound Blas ter Audi gy 2 Platinum eX Extern al I/O Module and an IR remote control. It is the most co mplete affordable high-definition digital[...]

Intr oduction ii What is EAX AD V ANCED HD? EAX ® AD V ANCED HD ™ brings a new le vel of performance, power , and flexibility to PC aud io. T aking advantage of the increased processing capabilities of the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 processor, EAX AD V ANCED HD delivers a host of ne w features to achie ve high def inition audio for gaming and music [...]

Intr oduction iii Package Contents The follo wing items are included in your package: ❑ Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card ❑ Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module and IR rem ote control ❑ AD_LINK cable ❑ Po wer con verter Cable ❑ Joystick/MIDI bracket ❑ 3.5 mm min ijack to ¼” plug adapter ❑ T w o AAA batteries[...]

Intr oduction iv ❑ Headphones or amplified speakers (a v ailable separately) ❑ At least one CD-R OM/CD-R W or D V D-R OM dri ve installed SB1394/FireWir e appli- cations, games, D VD audio and video ❑ Genuine Intel Pentium III 500 MHz, or AMD 700 MHz processor for SB1394/FireWire applications or games ❑ SB1394/FireW ire: minimum 128 MB RAM [...]

Intr oduction v T echnical Suppor t Vi s i t http://www .soundblaster .com /support/faq/ for general help. Document Conv entions The following typographical con ventions are used throughout this manual : The notepad icon indicates information th at is of particular importance and should be considered before continuing . The alarm clock designates a[...]

1 About y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinu m eX har dwar e[...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -1 About y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX hardwar e What Y ou Need Before you begin installatio n, be sure that you h av e these: In addition, you will also need an av ailable PCI slot and another adjacent av ailable slot on your computer . Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card [...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -2 Y our Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX car d Y our audio card has these jacks and connectors to enable the attachment of a wide v ariety of devices: Click any circled number in the diagram to see a description of the item. The Audigy 2 Platinum eX card works as a stand-alone audio ca[...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -3 Y our Audig y 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Y ou r Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Plati num eX External I/O Module has these jacks, connectors and controls: Click any circled number in the diagram to see a description of the item. F igure 1-3: J acks, connector s and contr ols. 10 11 12 13 [...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -4 T able 1: The Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX card Number Description 1 Joystick/MIDI connector Connects to the Joystick/MIDI bracket for gamepads, other input and MID I de vices. 2A D _ L I N K 2 p o r t Connects to the External I/O Module’ s AD_LINK 2 port to supply power . 3 AD[...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -5 T able 2: A udigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Number Description 1 SB1394/FireW ire port Connects to an IEEE 1394 compatible e xte rnal device ( such as a digital video camcorder , digital still camer a, print er or scanner). 2 Optical SPDIF Out /In For recording/playback devices [...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -6 10 Line In 3 (Aux In) jacks Connects to analog devices lik e VCRs, TVs and CD players. 11 Standard MIDI In/Out connecto rs Connects to MIDI devices via standard DIN cables. 12 SPDIF In/O ut Coaxial jacks For digital audio recording/playback devices such as D A T and MiniDisc recorders. [...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -7 Adjusting the v olume-le v el of Headphones and Micr ophone Y ou can adju st the headphones volume and microphone gain in two ways. Using the contr ol knobs On the front panel of the External I/O Module, turn th e respecti ve control knob: ❑ Counter clockwise to decr ease the headphon[...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -8 Using Cr eativ e Surr ound Mixe r T o adjust headphones volume: 1. Click Start -> Programs -> Cre ati ve -> Sound Blaster A udigy 2 -> Surr ound Mixer . 2. On t he Master Contr ol panel of Creati ve Surround Mix er , make sure that there is no red “X” on the Speaker butt[...]

About your Sound Blaster A udigy 2 Platinum eX har dwar e 1 -9 Remote Contr ol Functions Refer to Figure 1-4 and Figure 1-5 below for a description of your remote control’ s functions. F igure 1-4: Navigation Buttons on the Remote Contr ol. Rewind/Left but t on Used for rewinding a t rac k, decreasing a value or navigat ing left. Fast Forward/ Ri[...]

About your Soun d Blaster A u digy 2 Pl atinum eX har dware 1-10 F igure 1-5: Other Butt ons on the Remote Contr ol. Close/Cancel bu tton Cancels the current OSD menu or closes the application currently being controlled b y the remote control. Display b utton Displays t he current task status, and the time and date on the OSD . Return button Retur [...]

2 Installing Har dwar e This chapter tells y ou how to install the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platin um eX hardwar e .[...]

Installing Har dware 2-1 Installing Har dwar e Installation Steps Step 1: Prepar e the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX hardwar e 1. Place the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX Extern al I/O Module near your computer . 2. Locate the AD_LINK cable that links your External I/O Module to your So und Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card. T urn off the[...]

Installing Har dware 2-2 Step 2: Pr epar e y our computer 1. T urn off your computer and all peripheral devices. 2. T ouch a metal plate on your computer to ground yo urself and to discharge any static electricity , an d then unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. 3. Remove the computer co ver . 4. Remove the metal brack ets from two adjacen t[...]

Installing Har dware 2-3 Step 3: Install the audio card 1. Align the audio card with the PCI slot and press the card gently but firmly into the slot as shown in Figur e 2-3. 2. Do not force the audio card into the slot. Make sure that the gold traces of the card’ s PCI co nnector are aligned with the PCI bus connector on the motherboard before yo[...]

Installing Har dware 2-4 Step 5: Install the cables 1. Connect the AD_LIN K 1 connectors on the AD_LINK cable first. W ith the connecto r’ s side springs pressed do wn, push the connector unt il it clicks firmly into place on both the audio card and the External I/O module. 2. Connect the AD_LIN K 2 connectors at both ends. See Figure 2-5. 3. Loc[...]

Installing Har dware 2-5 5. Connect you r CD-R OM or D VD drive’ s analog audio output cable to the Audigy 2 Platinum eX card’ s Aux_IN connector . 6. If your CD-ROM or D VD dri ve has a digital SPDIF audio output connector , you may wish to skip Step 5 and use a two-pi n digital audi o cab le (a vailable separately) to c onnect the driv e to t[...]

Installing Har dware 2-6 Step 6: Connect to A C pow e r sock et 1. Replace the computer cov er . 2. Plug the power cord into the AC w all outlet, and turn on the computer . T o conn ect your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card and Ex ternal I/O Module to other devices, see “Connecting Related Peripherals” on page 2-7 . T o i nstall software[...]

Installing Har dware 2-7 Connecting Related P eripherals Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX will give you endless hours of listening pleasure. Figure 2-7 shows you how to connect related peripherals to your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX to optimise your enjoyment. 1 2 3 5 6 7 4 F igure 2- 7: Connecting Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX to ot[...]

Installing Har dware 2-8 F igur e 2-8: Connecting peripherals to the External I/O Module. Dolby Digital (A C-3) Amplifier SPDIF In 1 2 3 4 5 7 Other IEEE 13 94 devices y ou can connect: • IEEE 1394 hard disk • IEEE CD-R W drive • SB 1394/Fire wire NO MAD Ju kebox • IEEE-compliant 1394 devices or 6 Connecting Related P eripherals (cont’ d)[...]

Installing Har dware 2-9 T a ble 1: Descript i o n of components on P a ge 2 - 7 Number Description 1 Surrou nd Amplifier or po wered sp eakers Multichannel analog audio-video amplifier or 5.1/6.1 analog multi-speaker system, or ordinary stereo recei ver . 2 Line Out 1 jack Connects to powered stereo speakers or an external amplifier . Also suppo r[...]

Installing Har dware 2-10 T able 2: Description of co m p o nen t s on P a ge 2 - 8 Number Description 1 Optical In put/Output Connect to digit al recording/playback devices with TOSLINK optical input and output connectors. 2 Line In 1/Mic In jack Connects to analog line-lev el devices like electric guitars, or microphones. 3 1/8-inch Headp hone ja[...]

Installing Har dware 2-11 Connecting Speak ers Systems If you hav e a 5.1 or 6.1 channel speaker system, you can “upmix” your stereo sources (such as MP3, WMA, MIDI and W ave) to 6.1 channels b y us ing the Creati ve MultiSpeaker Surround (CMSS) technology . T o upmix, you need to enable the CMSS feature in Creat i ve EAX console. Refer to the [...]

Installing Har dware 2-12 P ositioning Y our Speak ers If you are using four to six speakers, place them to form a circle around you (Figure 2-10), and the speak ers angled tow ard you. Make sure that the computer monitor is not blocking the path of your front speakers. Y ou ma y want to adjust the relati v e positions of the speakers until you get[...]

3 Installing Softwar e This chapter tells y ou how to in stall the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX softwar e .[...]

Installing Softwar e 3 -1 Installing Softwar e Installing Driv ers and Applications Y ou need to install de vice driv ers and application s prior to using Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX. T o install these drivers and the selected software applications, use the fo llowing instructions. The instructions are applicable to all suppo rted W indows o[...]

Installing Softwar e 3 -2 For your pr iv acy , no personal information is captured b y or sent to Creativ e Labs during the Software AutoUpdate process. Only system informa tion and Creativ e product details are required for the AutoUpdate analysis. None of this information can or will be used b y Creative for any other purpose. Using Cr eativ e So[...]

Installing Softwar e 3 -3 Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Applications and De vice Driv ers At times you may need to uninstall or reinstall some or all of the audio card's appl ications and device dri vers to correct problems, change conf ig urations, or upgrade o utdat ed driv ers or applications. The following instructions tell you how to [...]

Installing Softwar e 3 -4 5. In the InstallShield Wizard dialog box, select the Remove option. 6. Click th e Ye s button. 7. Restart your comput er when prompted. T o uninstall Creati ve MediaSource and all its components, do the following: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr o l Panel . 2. Double-cli ck the Add/Remov e Programs icon. 3. Clic[...]

Installing Softwar e 3 -5 T o uninstall a selected component in Creativ e MediaSource, do the follo wing: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr o l Panel . 2. Double-cli ck the Add/Remov e Programs icon. 3. Click th e Install/Uninstall tab (or the Change or Remove Pr og rams but to n ) 4. Select the Creativ e MediaSource entry , then click the [...]

4 Using Audig y 2 Softwar e Find out how the softwar e accompanyi ng y our audio card can be used to contr ol and customise the card for best performance.[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-1 Using Audig y 2 Software Cr eativ e Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Applications The follo wing software is designed for you to access th e basic as well as the adv anced features of your audio card. W e recommend that you familiarise yourself with their functions in order to make full use of Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX?[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-2 Demos Three demo packages hav e been included to sho wcase the basic as well as the adv anced features of your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX hardware. W e reco mmend that you play them at least once in order to hav e a good o vervie w of your card’ s features. Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Getting Star ted Demo This is [...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-3 Intr oduction to the Sound Blaster Audig y 2 softwar e suite This section walks you through the main suite of the Sound Bl aster Audigy 2 software that enables you to make full use of Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX’ s versatile and po werful features. Cr eativ e MediaSour ce Go! Creati ve MediaSource Go! is a con v[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-4 For more information and usage details on Cr eativ e MediaSource Go! Launcher , refer to its online Help . Cr eativ e MediaSour ce Pla y er Creati ve Me diaSource Player is the only software you will need for music and multimedia entertainment. Unlike other media pl ayers, Creative MediaSource Player is specially designe[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-5 Finding and organizing songs Creativ e MediaSource Organizer searches your hard disk to compile a database of songs available, called a “PC Music Library” or PCML . Once you hav e a PCML, you can sort it and search for songs. Sea rching is very f ast due to a sophisticated engine and use of three search fields: artis[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-6 Storing music on re c o rd a b l e C D If you have a CD-writer , another way to reduce music st orage on your computer’ s h ard disk is to record audio tracks onto CD-R or CD-R W for playback on m any consumer hi-fi de vices. Creative MediaSource Organizer’ s Burn CD module lets you create your own audio and MP3 CDs [...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-7 Audio Effects: Envir onmental Sound Pr ocessing In Audio Effects, you can choose ho w you want to enhance all kinds of ordi nary two-channel sounds. ❑ Advanced EQ lets you boost or de-emphasise the low , mid or high frequenci es of sound to suit indi vidual preference and equipmen t characteristics. Choose v arious pr [...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-8 Audio Clean-up: Removing noise and distor tion Audio Clean-up allows you to process prerecorded as well as real-time au dio, in order to remov e noise, click sounds and other artifacts. Fo r e xample, when recording music fr om old vinyl records, “click” and “pop” sounds can be remov ed with the Clean-up feature.[...]

Using Audigy 2 Software 4-9 Cr eativ e MiniDisc Center Creativ e MiniDisc Center all o ws you to play back songs on CDs or supported audio formats, and record them to digital recorders such as Digital Audio T a pe machines, and also MiniDisc (MD) recorders. W ith Creative MiniDisc Center , you can: ❑ create an alb um of your fa vorite songs, each[...]

Using Audigy 2 So ftwar e 4-10 Audio Stream Recorder 2 (ASR2) is designed to overcome this problem by letting you record streaming audio onto your hard disk as standard MP3 or WMA files. T o use ASR2, select from its predefin ed list of radio stations to listen to. Y ou can click the red Record button to start recording music to your hard disk, or [...]

A General Specifications T echnical details of the Sound Blaste r Audig y 2 Platinum eX card and External I/O Module .[...]

General Specif ications A- 1 General Specifications T echnical details of Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card and your Audigy 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module. Fe a tu re s PCI Bus Mastering ❑ PCI Specification V ersion 2.1 compliant ❑ Bus mastering red uces latency and speeds up system performance Audigy 2 Processor ❑ Advanced hardw are[...]

General Specif ications A- 2 Note: SPDIF outpu t not av ailable during playback of pr otected digital audio contents authored with DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology ❑ Selectable 6-channel SPDIF outpu t to matching digital speaker systems ❑ Software switching of SPDIF Input-to-Output (bypass) to minimise cable connection hassle ❑ Low [...]

General Specif ications A- 3 Connectivity Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX Card Audio Outputs ❑ 2 x line-le vel analog output s via stereo jacks on rear bracket: Fr ont and Rear Line-Out s 1 and 2 ❑ Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Line Out 1 ❑ 1 x line-lev el three channel analog output via 4-pole 3.5 mm minijack on rear bracket:[...]

General Specif ications A- 4 Sound Blaster Audig y 2 Platinum eX External I/O Module Inputs and outputs on fr ont panel ❑ One headphone out put with auto detecti on vi a ¼” stereo jack with volume control ❑ One shared line-l e vel analog Line/Microphone inpu t (Line-In 1/Mic-In) via ¼” stereo jack. Shared input selectable via knob. Gain/l[...]

B T r oub leshooting and F A Qs This section pr ovides solutions to pr oblems y ou ma y encounter during installation or normal use .[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-1 T o check if you r audio card is producing sound, connect a pair of headphones to it. If you hear sound, then the problem is with the speakers or connection; if not, the problem may lie in the car d or software conf iguration T r oubleshooting and F A Qs This appendix provides solutions to problems yo u may encounte[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-2 Individual analog r ecording sour ces ar e not displaye d in Cr eativ e Surr ound Mixer . The following analog recording sources are combined in one reco rding control called Analog M ix (Line/ CD/A ux/PC) , which is found in the Record panel of the Basic tab: ❑ Line-In ❑ CD Audio ❑ Auxiliary ❑ PC Speaker In[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-3 No audio output when playing digital file s such as .W A V , MIDI files or A VI clips. Check the following: ❑ The speakers’ v olume control knob, if any , is set at mid-range. Use Creativ e Surround Mixer to adjust the volume, if necessary . ❑ The powered speakers or e xternal amplifier are conn ected to the c[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-4 ❑ Click the OK button. F or Windo ws 2000 and Window s XP ❑ Click Start -> Settings -> Control P anel . ❑ In the Contr ol Panel dialog box, double-click the System icon. ❑ In the System Pr operties dialog box, click the Hardware tab . ❑ Click the Device Manager button. ❑ Double-click the DVD/CD-R O[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-5 T o solve this pr oblem: Open that other mixer , and center the ba lances for all the audio input sources. This ensures that your analog sources will not turn silent when you pan them in Creative Surround Mixer . Pr oblems with File T r ansfers on Some VIA Chipset Motherboar ds After you install the Sound Blaster Au[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-6 ❑ In W indows: i. Click Start -> Settings -> Contr ol Panel . ii. Double-click the System icon. iii. Click the Device Manager or Hardwar e tab . i v . Click the Systems devices icon. v . In the list that appears, s ee if the items highlig hted in Figure B-1 appear . vi. If the items appear, remov e your comp[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-7 i. Click the Bank button. The Configure Bank dialog box appears. ii. Click the Select Bank drop-do wn button, and select a bank inde x. iii. Highlight the bank and cl ick the Remove button. i v . Click the OK b utton to finish conf iguring your banks. ❑ Load smaller SoundFont banks instead; or add more RAM to your[...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-8 • Clear the check box to disable it. If you hav e a Disable I n This Hard ware Pro fi le check box: • Make sure that the check box is selec ted to disable it. 7. Click OK to restart Windo ws and for the change to take ef fect. When the Gameport Joystick interface is disabled, the e ntry in De vice Manager has a [...]

T roublesh ooting and F A Qs B-9 ❑ If your computer detects any other installed a udio card, a message box recommending that you completely uninst all and remove the older audio de vice will appear . Click the Ye s button to continue with the installation of the Soun d Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX card. After the installation of the audio card, c[...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-10 4. Double-cli ck Sound, V ideo And Game Cont rollers , and then select Cr eative Sound Blast er Liv e! Series or Creati ve Sound Blaster PCI512 . 5. Click th e Properties b utton. 6. In the Properties di alog box: If you hav e an Original Configuration (Current) check box: • Clear the check box to disable it. If [...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-11 7. Restart your system to al lo w W ind ows 98 SE/Me to reassign resources to your audio card and/ or the conflicting device. Pr oblems with Encor e D VD Pla y er The Encore D VD Player is not launched when a D VD disc is inserted into the drive. T o solve this pr oblem: 1. In the W indows system tray , right -clic[...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-12 Pr oblems with D V driver f or Windows 98 SE/ 2000/Me/XP The D V camcorder is not working properly . The MSD V camcorder driver may not be th e latest version (v4.10.2226 or later). T o solve this pr oblem: 1. V isit th e http:// www .microsoft.com and do wnload the Digital V ideo update (dx80bda.exe) for the Direc[...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-13 Pr oblems in XP A Hardwar e Installation error message appears on a W indows XP operating system when non- Creativ e applications are being install ed. At the time of this product's rel ease, Microsoft strongly encouraged companies to submit their hardware solutions for certification. If a hard ware de vice dr[...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-14 Pr oblems with Digital Audio De vices Intermittent hi ssing or no sound is heard f rom my d igital speak ers. Make sure you select the sampling rate of the PCM SPDIF output of your Di gital Out connector to matc h the requirements of the recei ving device. Y ou may need to select a lo wer digital output sampling ra[...]

T r oubleshooting and F A Qs B-15 5. Double-cli ck the ATA / ATA P I I D E C o n t r o l l e r s icon. Y our ID E channels will appear . 6. Right-cli ck the Primary IDE Channel icon. 7. Click Properties . 8. In the Properties dialog box, click the Advanced Settings tab . 9. Click th e DMA if av ailable check box to select it. 10. Cli ck the OK butt[...]