Creative Labs Audigy2 NX Review - Remote and Specifications

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As mentioned previously, Creative Labs has chosen to integrate a remote with the Audigy2 NX. This is a nice touch for those planning to using the Audigy2 NX with a Home Theater PC. The remote is designed to be used with Creative's MediaSource software. Besides be able to control the volume and track playback, the remote allows the manipulation of audio effects such as CMSS and EAX without even getting off your behind. This truly brings the title of couch potato to new heights.

Technical Specifications

• Channel Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted)
• Front/Rear/Centre/Sub 102dB SNR @ 2Vrms
• Headphone/Side 96dB SNR @ 2Vrms
•  24-bit/96kHz Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for various analog inputs
• 24-bit/96kHz Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) for up to 7.1 channels output
• Supports Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) format input signal of up to 24-bit/96kHz quality
• Recording/Playback: up to 24-bit/96kHz when used with a USB 2.0 machine
• SoundFont 2.1 Support for Midi playback

Connections and Controls

• USB connector
• Line In
• Mic In
• Optical S/PDIF In
• Line Out (Front/Rear/Center/Sub)
• Line/Headphone Out (Side)
• Optical and Coaxial S/PDIF Out

It is interesting that the SNR for the headphone port is significantly lower than the speaker ports, considering the higher resolution when using headphones. If both couldn't be 102dB, it seems the headphone port should have the higher SNR.

Installation

Minimum System Requirements

• Intel Pentium III 500MHz, AMD K7 600MHz or faster processor
• Intel, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard chipset
• Microsoft windows 98SE, ME, 2000 SP3, or XP SP1
• 64MB RAM for Windows 98SE or ME, 128MB RAM for Windows 2000 SP3 and XP SP1
• 600MB of free hard disk space
• CD-ROM drive
• Available USB port (USB 2.0 port required for USB 2.0 support)*
•  Headphones or amplified speakers

Requirements for DVD-Audio

• Intel Pentium 4 1.3GHz or equivalent AMD processor or faster processor
• 128MB RAM

* USB 2.0 audio support is required for 24-bit/96kHz Multi-channel playback, and simultaneous playback and recording. USB 2.0 is only supported in Windows XP and requires online software update from Microsoft and www.soundblaster.com when available.

+ Supports Windows XP SP2 (Requires latest driver update patch)

Assuming the system meets the minimum requirements, installation is a breeze for anyone not still using Windows 98SE or ME. For Windows 98SE or ME users Creative Labs provides additional instructions depicted above. For XP and Windows 2000 users, simply plug the Audigy2 NX into an available USB 2.0 port, attach speakers or headphones, and install the drivers from the included CD.

Furthermore, the user has the choice of installing a number of applications provided by Creative Labs on the Installation and Application CD which include: Creative MediaSource, Creative Device Control, Creative Speaker Settings, Creative EAX Control, Creative Graphic Equalizer, Creative Surround Mixer, Creative WaveStudio, Creative MiniDisc Center, Creative SoundFont Manager, and Creative Diagnostics. That's plenty of software to tweak the Audigy2 NX 'til the heart is content.

You'll notice in the last paragraph I plainly said connect speakers or headphones. It's not really that simple. The Audigy2 NX supports a number of different configurations. The above diagrams give some idea how a typical setup would be connected.

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