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The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook is aimed at users who want desktop-quality audio on a portable PC.
It features two integrated optical/mini-jack input and output ports, with a central port that connects to a cable providing three extra outputs, allowing you to play up to eight channels of audio or to encode from any source.
The Audigy 2 ZS supports 24-bit playback, which Creative claims gives 256 times the clarity of standard notebook audio. Either way, it sounds great. It also supports a wealth of popular sound formats including THX, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES and EAX.
At nearly £100 it may be superfluous to the requirements of the average user but, if you want to produce studio-quality audio or to add surround-sound capabilities to a notebook, it's just the ticket.