Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX User manual

How to use this manual
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2
Important: This User Manual (On CD) has been designed to provide you with complete product knowledge.
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The Software License Agreement is found in a separate folder on this installation CD. The copyright and disclaimer, including trademark
issues are also found in the same folder.

Contents

iii
Contents
Introduction
High Definition Digital Audio Entertainment.............................ix
What is EAX ADVANCED HD? ................................................ x
Package Contents ................................................................xi
System Requirements ..........................................................xi
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card .........................................xi
SB1394/FireWire applications, games or DVD viewing..... xii
Internet Multimedia and Entertainment ......................... xii
Getting More Information..................................................... xii
More Help .......................................................................... xii
Technical Support ............................................................... xii
Document Conventions....................................................... xiii
1 Installing Hardware
What You Need ......................................................................... 1-1
Your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Card............................................... 1-2
Your Joystick/MIDI Bracket ........................................................ 1-5
Installation Steps ...................................................................... 1-6
Step 1: Prepare your computer .......................................... 1-6
Step 2: Install the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card.................... 1-7
Step 3: Install the Joystick/MIDI bracket ............................. 1-8
Step 4: Connect cables to Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card......... 1-9
Step 5: Connect to power outlet ........................................1-10
Connecting Related Peripherals................................................. 1-11
Connecting Speaker Systems ................................................... 1-14
Connecting External Consumer Devices ..................................... 1-15
Positioning Your Speakers .........................................................1-17
2 Installing Software
Installing Drivers and Applications............................................... 2-1

iv
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Feature Showcase Demo.......................... 2-2
Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Applications and Device Drivers .... 2-2
Reinstalling all Audio Drivers and Applications ...................... 2-2
Uninstalling all Audio Drivers and Applications ...................... 2-3
Installing/Uninstalling selected Audio Drivers or Applications.. 2-4
Updating Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2) .................................... 2-5
Updating Windows 98 SE ........................................................... 2-5
Installing Digital Video Update............................................ 2-5
3 Using Audigy 2 Software
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Applications ............................... 3-1
Demos..................................................................................... 3-2
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Getting Started Demo ................. 3-2
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Feature Showcase Demo.............. 3-2
SoundFont Showcase ........................................................ 3-3
Introduction to the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 software suite ............. 3-3
Creative MediaSource Go! ............................................. 3-3
Creative MediaSource Go! Launcher.................................... 3-4
Creative MediaSource Player.......................................... 3-4
“What-You-Hear” multichannel recording......................3-5
Creative MediaSource Organizer..................................... 3-5
Finding and organizing songs ......................................3-5
Keep your music database up to date ..........................3-5
Transferring songs .....................................................3-6
Automatically playing multimedia content.....................3-6
Extracting and converting songs..................................3-6
Storing music on recordable CD ..................................3-6
Creative MediaSource DVD-Audio Player.............................. 3-7
Creative EAX Console ........................................................ 3-7
Audio Effects: Environmental Sound Processing ............3-7
CMSS 3D: Simulating Surround Sound.........................3-8
Audio Clean-up: Removing noise and distortion.............3-8

v
Time Scaling: Varying the speed of playback ................3-9
Creative Surround Mixer ............................................... 3-9
Creative Speaker Settings ............................................. 3-9
Creative Speaker Calibrator ..........................................3-10
Creative MiniDisc Center...................................................3-10
Creative SoundFont Bank Manager ....................................3-10
Creative Audio Stream Recorder 2.................................3-11
Creative Wave Studio ..................................................3-11
Diagnostic and troubleshooting utilities.......................................3-12
Creative Diagnostics ....................................................3-12
Creative Speaker Settings ............................................3-12

vi
Appendixes
A General Specifications
Features .................................................................................. A-1
PCI Bus Mastering .................................................... A-1
Audigy 2 Processor ................................................... A-1
High Quality Audio Path............................................. A-1
Professional Digital Audio Processing........................... A-2
Flexible Mixer Control................................................ A-2
THX Certification ...................................................... A-3
Dolby Digital (AC-3) Decoding.................................... A-3
Creative Multi Speaker Surround (CMSS) .................... A-3
SB1394/FireWire Compatibility................................... A-3
Connectivity ............................................................................. A-4
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card .............................................. A-4
Audio Inputs ............................................................ A-4
Audio Outputs .......................................................... A-4
SB1394/FireWire Interfaces ....................................... A-4
Interfaces ................................................................ A-5
B Troubleshooting and FAQs
Problems Installing Software ...................................................... B-1
Problems with Sound................................................................. B-2
Problems with File Transfers on Some VIA Chipset Motherboards .... B-6
Insufficient SoundFont Cache ..................................................... B-7
Problems with Joystick............................................................... B-8
Problems with Multiple Audio Devices .......................................... B-9
Problems with Sound Blaster Live! Series or Sound Blaster
PCI512 card.......................................................................... B-10
Resolving I/O Conflicts............................................................. B-11
Problems with Encore DVD Player ............................................. B-12
Problems with Software DVD Player .......................................... B-12

vii
Problems with DV driver for Windows 98 SE/2000/Me/XP ............ B-13
Problems in Windows XP .......................................................... B-14
Problems with Digital Audio Devices .......................................... B-15

Introduction

Introduction ix
Introduction
High Definition
Digital Audio
Entertainment
Thank you for purchasing Sound Blaster Audigy 2, the next generation Creative
audio product with exciting new features and enhanced audio processing
architecture.
This User Manual (on CD) guides you through the installation and usage of Sound
Blaster Audigy 2, which consists of the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card and Joystick/
MIDI bracket*.
Featuring 24-bit/192 kHz audio playback, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 delivers high-
definition sound of astounding quality and 24-bit/96 kHz audio recording capability
from all Line Ins and SPDIF In. Sound Blaster Audigy 2 supports surround sound
audio on your computer and has output capabilities for 6.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX.
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 has received the prestigious THX®Multimedia Certification
award, making it the perfect choice for PC audiophiles seeking the very best music
and movie experiences.
The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card, with its Audigy 2 processor, enables awesome EAX®
ADVANCED HDTM technologies for your gaming and music listening experience. The
SB1394TM/FireWire®port provides easy high-speed connectivity to NOMAD®
portable digital audio players, external CD-RW drives, and other IEEE 1394
compatible devices like DV camcorders, printers, scanners, and digital still cameras.
Combine Sound Blaster Audigy 2 with our rich software package for hours of endless
fun. Included in your Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Installation and Applications CD are
the latest generation drivers and software for you to enjoy DVD-Audio
entertainment with native MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) support, and to create
EAX-enhanced MP3 songs, which you can share with your friends over the Internet.
*Available with some models
of the Sound Blaster Audigy
2 card.
MLP (Meridian Lossless
Packing), the method of
audio data compression used
in DVD-Audio, reduces file
size without removing any of
the information that was
contained in the original
recording. The listening
audience will hear the audio
as it was intended in the
original recording. Other
packing methodologies that
remove data as part of the
compression are referred to
as 'Lossy Compression'.