Creative launches Sound Blaster Extigy

Creative Technology Ltd, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for users of the personal computer and the Internet, today unveiled the Sound Blaster Extigy, the first external Sound Blaster in Creative`s history.

The Sound Blaster Extigy delivers stunning 24-bit 96kHz multi-channel audio playback and 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). It enhances audio for digital music, DVD movies and games from an easy-to-use, compact external device that connects to the notebook or desktop via the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. The Sound Blaster Extigy ships this month at an estimated street price of R2 899.99.

"The Sound Blaster Extigy ushers in an entirely new era in PC audio," said Sim Wong Hoo, founder and CEO of Creative. "We have shipped more than 150 million Sound Blaster audio cards to date, and the Sound Blaster Extigy can extend our leadership in PC audio by delivering the stunning digital audio clarity of the Sound Blaster Audigy for the first time in an external audio solution.

"We are excited to meet the demands of PC users who have been asking for a convenient, easy-to-use external audio solution with the performance and quality of the Sound Blaster. The new potential market of notebook users can also now discover how great multi-channel digital music, DVD movies and games can sound on their notebooks."

The Sound Blaster Extigy features EAX ADVANCED HD technologies for music, including audio enhancement technologies such as Audio Clean-Up, Time Scaling, DREAM and EAX ADVANCED HD audio effects. Audio Clean-Up allows scratches, pops and hisses to be removed from recordings of old tapes and LP records. Time Scaling speeds up or slows down content while maintaining accurate pitch - ideal for musicians. DREAM technology (Dynamic Repositioning of Enhanced Audio and Music) allows the interactive repositioning of stereo content in a surround 5.1 environment by redirecting the path of a specific frequency range. EAX ADVANCED HD Audio Effects enable the user to customize the listening environment to replicate specific acoustic venues.

For the music enthusiast, Sound Blaster Extigy ships with Creative PlayCenter 3, a personal digital music centre that enables creation, organisation and playback of digital quality music enhanced with EAX ADVANCED HD effects, along with Dolby Digital file playback and integrated CD burning capabilities. When used with a NOMAD digital audio player, PlayCenter 3 allows fast and easy transfer of playlists and digital music. It also incorporates CMSS (Creative Multi-Speaker Surround) so users can up-mix stereo content to a 5.1 surround sound experience.

Casual computer gamers on a desktop or notebook can use the Sound Blaster Extigy to experience 5.1 multi-channel positional audio with the hundreds of games that incorporate EAX 1.0 and 2.0 technology. This application provides surround sound to PC notebook users who would not have previously been able to acquire positional audio from their notebook.

The Sound Blaster Extigy also functions apart from the PC as a standalone Dolby Digital decoder for a set-top DVD player. It also serves in a standalone capacity when used with a video gaming console or with audio devices such as a digital audio player, CD player, mini-disc player or cassette player to enhance both audio fidelity and support 5.1 multi-channel audio playback. These devices can all easily connect to the front panel of the Sound Blaster Extigy, which also has connections for a microphone or headphones. A wireless remote control is included for additional ease of use.

The rear panel of the Sound Blaster Extigy provides analogue connectors for an amplifier or a speaker system such as the Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 and digital connectors for a speaker system such as the Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 510D. When combining the Sound Blaster Extigy with these speaker systems, the user experiences true Dolby Digital 5.1 audio from movies, music and games. DAT players and a MIDI keyboard can also be connected to the rear panel of the Sound Blaster Extigy.

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• .         Hassle-free set-up and installation: With its simple USB installation, the Sound Blaster Extigy can be connected to a notebook or desktop PC in seconds to become fully functional without requiring the user to uninstall previous audio hardware or applications.

• .         High-definition digital audio clarity: Notebook and desktop PC owners can experience a dramatic increase in audio clarity with 24-bit/96kHz digital-to-analogue converters (DACs) across 5.1 audio channels and an outstanding 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

• .         True Dolby Digital decoding: The Sound Blaster Extigy also incorporates a true Dolby Digital decoder for accurate 5.1 audio experience with content such as DVD movies, Dolby Digital AC-3 music and even DVD video games.

• .         EAX ADVANCED HD: Digital music enthusiasts can utilise Time Scaling to slow down or speed up a track while retaining accurate pitch, and Audio Clean-Up to remove hiss and scratches from LP and MP3 music. Users can also sample the exciting new DREAM technology which allows the interactive repositioning of different bands of music in a surround 5.1 environment.

• .         Ease-of-use: Can be used interchangably with a notebook or desktop PC; includes a wireless remote control and easily accessible front panel connectors.

• .         Creative AudioStreamRecorder - Provides playlist setup of favourite Internet radio stations and recording of shows for easy transfer in MP3 format to any NOMAD digital audio player.

• .         Additional Creative applications include a MiniDisc Center, Recorder and Mixer.

• .         iM Networks Inc`s iM Tuner - Users can listen to the `Best of Planet` Internet Radio on the PC and select from more than 30 stations per genre.

• .         MixMeister Technologies` MixMeister - Enables DJ mix compilation from MP3 music files.