Creative Audigy 2ZS and Inspire T7700

The best surround-sound speakers and a great card create a winning combination.

For a company that prides itself in being at the forefront of audio technology, it seems a little late for Creative to be releasing a 7.1 sound card and speaker set. It's especially surprising to find that it is just a spruced-up version of its previous card, the Audigy 2; we expected a complete revamp in order to encourage users to upgrade. However, given that the Audigy 2 was, and still is, the best allround sound card, especially when it comes to an overall experience, the Audigy 2ZS was well worth the wait.

We saw a Platinum version of the 2ZS, though there is a standard version that retails for £99, but lacks the breakout box. At first look, the only real difference between the Audigy 2 and the Audigy 2ZS is the extra minijack output, which makes us wonder why it was not put on there originally. Also, in keeping with the Audigy 2, it's even got the Firewire port on both the card and breakout box.

It has a 24bit, 96KHz signal output and input path, which is up there with Terratec and Midiman's top-end 7.1 cards as the highest currently on the market. The card is Dolby Digital EX compatible, and can support DVD-Audio at its advanced resolution. It also comes with a THX certification. However, as we said with the previous Audigy 2, we are unsure of the real benefit of having speakers in your living room that comply with a standard that is meant for mammoth cinema halls, as the acoustics are vastly different.

In an improvement to the Audigy 2, the 2ZS is compatible with ASIO 2 drivers, offering advanced support for high-end audio devices. This may not be in keeping with the gaming focus of the card, but prevents audiophiles from turning up their noses immediately. Another improvement is with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is now 120dB and superior to any other consumer card. However, it is quite a small improvement so we barely noticed any difference between the two.

On the plus side though, the software bundle is pretty much the same as before, though the Mediasource application has been upgraded, and the graphics equaliser now has seven bands.

The 2ZS is compatible with DTS ES decoding, which is the enhanced version of DTS that handles eight-channel audio output. The obvious problem that arises here is the availability of true 7.1 soundtracks. Granted, you can upmix the six-channel audio of an average DVD to eight, but it's not making full use of the setup. Investing in this set will at least prepare you for when it does come along, but perhaps waiting for more media to use this technology with (and the price of 7.1 cards to fall) would be more prudent.

There's a new set of speakers to go with this new card. They use metal stands and are much larger, giving a far more professional feel than the previous models. As you can see from the specs, the T7700s are much louder than their predecessors, whacking out a huge 125w overall, and the centre satellite makes 20w of that. The overall effect is very good, though, high-end frequencies deteriorate as the volume increases.

SNR is OK at 80dB. However, a lot of noise is produced when you have eight speakers, so we would have preferred a higher SNR to reduce some of this hiss.

Setup is simple, using RCA and bare wires to connect satellites to the sub-woofer. The wired remote is a little too chunky, but does have a bass level adjustment as well as overall volume. Most interestingly, there is also an M-Port, which is a USB port so you can plug in your Creative Muvo MP3 player.

The real problem is that the speakers are expensive at £130, and Videologic's ZXR-750s are capable of everything these are, including the 5.1 to 7.1 upmix. However, these do look far better, and so may be worth the extra cash.

Inspire T7700 Speakers:

Contact: Creative
http://uk.europe.creative.com

Specifications:

• 125w total output: 8w satellites, 20wcentre, 25w sub-woofer
• 80dB SNR
• Wired remote with headphone jack and line in

Audigy 2ZS Platinum Pro: Contact: Creative

Specifications:

• Audigy 2ZS sound chip
• 7.1 output 24bit/96KHz sound & recording quality
• 120dB SNR
• Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES decoding
• ASIO 2 compatible drivers
• THX certified
• Firewire port