Creative Labs USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System SB1090 by Creative
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Digital camera reviews of Creative Labs USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System SB1090
Digital camera Review: Great for its price
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this sound-card on my pc, rather than on a laptop as its suggested, and so far it seams really great. Every setup work very fine, my only complain would be that the remote control doesn't work (just the volume control, but still annoying) when you use the spdif connection and the Dolby 5.1 setup.
The sound quality is pretty much as good as I payed for, I use a 5.1 setup and for games and movies the difference is simply huge. Don't expect tons of software tuning like the x-fi HD, but it's fun to try some of the sound-card features once in a while.
Digital camera Review: Great if you scrap the software
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros: Soundcard is fantastic
Cons: Software is dog bleep.
I just plugged this into the USB and it worked like a charm. I have a Windows 7 ultimate 64-bit computer hooked through my home theater and a 42 inch Vizio and it sounds better than a movie theater. When you initially install the soundcard, just let it go out and find the Microsoft drivers and you'll be good. The initial mistake I made was downloading the software that came with this. After I did, there was a serious delay between the video and audio, which was due to adding the creative drivers (which are crap!) I also had computer issues which I later discovered were due to drivers. I also had an issue with my restore point so I had to uninstall all the crap from the CD-ROM and the updates from the Creative website. I did keep PowerDVD 9 though, it works very well for watching movies.
Bottom Line: keep the hardware, lose the software.
Digital camera Review: Great solution for surround sound and fried headphone ports!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this in hopes of being able to use my Logitech X-620 (6.1) system with my laptop (which is my primary computer,) and also to let my use headphones, as I have fried the headphone port on the computer. I am VERY pleased with the card. Although it only supports 5.1, this is a GREAT device. Call me easy to please, but I really enjoy the ease of the volume/mute knob, and the sound shaping suite that is included is fantastic. The optical output has also come in handy for allowing me to play my music throughout the house, via my A/V receiver in the next room. I have NONE of the lagging or processor usage issues that others have described, just smooth, clean sound.
One important thing to note, be sure to have the card plugged into the computer when you run the install. Failure to do so will not allow you to access any of the software included, nor allow usage of the control on the unit itself.
Digital camera Review: Great sound card for laptops
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to pair up my laptop to my Logitech z 5500 5.1 system. The audio quality is much better than the stock sound card, not to mention 5.1 surround sound support (not included on almost ALL laptops). The software included is not the greatest when using Windows Vista, as many of the features that would normally be on Windows XP are cut out (for compatibility issues), but It still has many custom settings and equalizers to get the exact sound you're looking for. It comes with much more software than advertised, including a DVD player that supports Dolby, multiple CD/DVD burners, an audio editor, a music player, and an entertainment center similar to windows media center. Another cool feature that I found is the X-Fi CMSS-3D setting, which (depending on how you set it) basically takes 2 channel sound (like mp3 songs) and either simulates surround sound (by putting the vocals on the center speaker and other instruments on the surrounds), or just plays all of the speakers in stereo.
For those people looking for a lot of bass for hip hop and dance songs, this sound card can tune the bass frequencies up to 12 dB, so when using my Logitech z 5500's, the whole house, and the neighbors house(s), shake ridiculously.
Overall:
-Great build and sound quality
-Perfect for laptops
-5.1 support for your
Digital camera Review: Helpfull for Laptops
Summary: 3 Stars
What a nice USB Sound Card
its so amazing. the best thing for me. is you can use it with optical cable
it gives you awesome sound