Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro PCI Sound Card Review
March 9, 2005
Reviewer: Jedd
Editor Rating: 
Company:
Creative, www.creative.com/
The test system was provided by NewEgg.com, www.newegg.com.
Price:
Current retail price at NewEgg.com $291 US.
Ratings
Price: 
Install/Setup:
Usability: 
Support:
Average Rating:
Pros:
- Lots of extras
- High quality audio output
Cons:
- Almost too many features
- High price
Getting Started
You require and deserve simply the best. Especially when it comes to your music. So
why would you settle for anything less than a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro sound
card in your PC? With all the features this PCI card and accompanying external control box have, the
serious audiophile or someone just wanting to get the best will be happy with this setup.
To get started we loaded up our Audigy 4 Pro along with the following hardware:
- CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754
- Memory: 2x512 MB Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPRO (2-2-2-5 timing)
- Optical Drive: Liteon SOHW-832S 8X Dual Layer Dual Format DVD Burner
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2
- Hard Disk Drive: Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA Drive
- Graphics Card: ATI 9200 All In Wonder
Click on picture to enlarge image
Set up is as easy as adding a PCI card and installing the drivers. The more difficult aspect of using
this product is all the various connection (both input and output) options provided. As we will say over and over,
this product is for serious audiophiles. They know if they need a digital output or a MIDI input. For normal users this
can be a little overwhelming and has built in functionality most users will never use.
For basic use the Audigy 4 Pro is straightforward. The included software is pretty easy to navigate and use. The included
remote control is also relatively easy to set up and use for playing and recording music or controlling volumes. If all you are wanting
is excellent quality sound for gaming or listening to your mp3 collection or watching a movie in surround sound, then
the Audigy 4 Pro will definitely provide.
Sound quality is subjective. With the Acoustic Authority speakers we had hooked up to this sound card and to
our on-board sound connections, I could not hear a significant difference in quality. To really notice the difference I would
have needed a high quality set of speakers that could handle a digital input that this Audigy 4 Pro can send to it. Because
testing sound has traditionally been more subjective it has been difficult for average users to identify true differences in
quality based off of sampling the sounds and comparing manufacturer specifications. But to help make this all easier we now
have the Right Mark Audio Analyzer. This cool tool can be found at RightMark.org. To
help give more of a quantitative perspective, we include some results from the RMAA test. RMAA suite is designed for testing quality of analog and digital paths of any
audio devices, be it a sound card, an MP3 player, a consumer CD/DVD player or an
acoustic set. The results are obtained by playing and recording test signals
passed through the tested audio path by means of frequency analysis algorithms. As you can see from the results below, there are quantifiable
differences between the onboard sound an even within different bit quality on the Audigy 4 Pro card.
Specifications
| Introduction |
A Dramatic Breakthrough in Audio Quality for Playback, Games and Creation
Sound Blaster® Audigy® 4 Pro is an amazing fusion of Entertainment and Music
Creation. Featuring ultra-high quality DACs and an External I/O Hub which
provides 6 Stereo Inputs/6 Stereo Outputs, Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro enables
amazingly clean recording of six channels at 24-bit/96kHz with low latency ASIO
2.0 support
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro also comes with the all new
Entertainment Center software and remote control unit, transforming your PC into
an Entertainment Center with easy MP3 and movies playback and navigation.
Incredible 113dB SNR 24-bit/192kHz DACs for superior 24-bit ADVANCED HD™
audio
Entertainment Center Software and IR Remote allows easy navigation
through your movies, music and pictures
EAX® 4.0 ADVANCED HD™ Effects that
are so real, you will feel like you are in the game
External I/O Hub allows
you to connect all your music devices at one time for studio quality audio
creation
Smart Recorder allows you to schedule audio recordings and remove
unwanted audio artifacts |
| Features |
Studio Quality Audigy® 4 Pro External I/O Hub
Studio quality I/O with
advanced connectivity. Includes analog stereo connectors for six channel input,
optical and coaxial digital I/O, full sized MIDI I/O, microphone with gain
control, headphone with volume control, and two 1394 FireWire®
ports.
Professional Quality Music
Create Professional quality
music with low latency ASIO 2.0 support, SoundFont support, and high quality
audio hardware.
THX® Certified Sound Card for Cinematic Audio
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS has received the prestigious THX Multimedia
Certification making it the perfect choice for delivering cinematic quality
audio on the PC.
Complete Cinematic Surround Sound with DTS-ES™ and Dolby®
Digital EX Movies
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro features built-in DTS-ES
and Dolby Digital EX decoding to deliver captivating audio playback in 5.1 or
7.1 surround with DVD movies.
EAX® Music Console with Acoustic
Enhancements
Dramatically enhance your music experience with new EAX®
ADVANCED HD™ MUSIC features including Bass Boost, Multi-band Graphic Equalizer
on all 8 channels, Audio Clean-up, and Karaoke.
EAX® Music
Enhancements
- Dramatically enhance your music with features including
Bass Boost, Multi-Band Graphic Equalizer, Audio Clean-Up, and more!
Patented Creative CMSS® 3D Audio Technology
Allows all stereo
recordings including MP3/WMA, CDs, VCD, and movies to be played back in
captivating 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround.
Complete Cinematic Surround Sound
with DTS-ES and Dolby Digital® EX Movies
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Platinum Pro features built-in DTS-ES and Dolby Digital® EX decoding to deliver
captivating audio playback in 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 surround with DVD
movies.
Comprehensive Multi-Channel Surround with 3D Games
Enjoy
up to 7.1 surround in existing 3D games with no special upgrades required. |
| Specification |
High Definition Audio Quality for Playback and Recording
24-bit
Digital-to-Analog conversion during playback with sampling rates of 8, 11.025,
16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz in 7.1 mode and up to 192kHz in stereo
mode
24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion during recording in 8, 16 or 24-bit
at sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz
SPDIF
(Sony/Philips Digital Interface) input at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality
SPDIF
output up to 24-bit at 48 or 96kHz
ASIO drivers for low latency(=2ms)
multi-track playback and recording at 16-bit/48kHz
Audigy 4 Pro
Processor
Advanced hardware accelerated digital effects processing
32-bit digital processing, which maintains a theoretical 192 dB of dynamic
range
Patented 8-point interpolation that reduces distortion to inaudible
levels
64-voice hardware wavetable synthesizer
Professional quality
digital mixing and equalization
FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) Connectivity
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro On-Board Connectors
Line level out
(Front / Side / Rear / Center / Subwoofer)
Digital CD Audio in
Aux Audio
in
AD_Link 1 and AD_Link 2 connectors to connect with external I/O hub.
Power connector
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro External I/O Hub Front / Rear Panel
Connectors
Headphone Out (1/4" Stereo Jack)
Line In 1 (1/4" Stereo
Jack , shared with Mic In with Gain Control)
Line In 2 (1/4" Stereo Jack)
Line In 3 (2x RCA Jack)
Optical SPDIF In/Out
Coaxial SPDIF In/Out
Digital Out for 5.1 support (6-channel SPDIF Output to Creative digital
speakers)
2x FireWire® (IEEE® 1394) ports
MIDI In / Out
Infra-red
Receiver to communicate with Remote Control
AD_Link 1 and AD_Link 2
connectors to connect with Audigy 4 Pro
Audio Performance:
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (AES17, A-Weighted)
Output
Voltage @ 2Vrms
Stereo Output 113dB
Front and Rear Channels
113dB
Center, Subwoofer and Side Channels 113dB Total Harmonic Distortion +
Noise at 1kHz (AES17) = 0.003% (2V Rated Output) Frequency Response +/-3dB: 10Hz
to 46kHz |
| Requirements |
Genuine Intel® Pentium® II, Celeron® 350MHz, or equivalent AMD-K6® 450MHz
processor or faster
Intel®, AMD® or 100% compatible motherboard chipset
Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 1 or 2 (SP1 or SP2) or Windows 2000
(SP2)
128MB RAM
600MB of free hard disk space
Available PCI 2.1 or
higher compliant slot for the audio card
Headphones or amplified speakers
(available separately)
CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD-ROM drive required for software
installation
DVD-ROM drive required for Games installation |
| Package Contents |
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro PCI card
Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro External I/O
Hub with infrared receiver
Remote Control unit and a battery
AD_LINK
cable
Power Converter Cable
3.5mm (1/8”) minijack to 6.5mm (1/4”) jack
adapter
Quick Start Leaflet
User Guide (on CD)
Warranty (printed or
on CD)
Customer Support Services contact information (printed or on CD)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Drivers: Supporting Win 2K and XP
Creative Software Bundle |
Adding It All Up
Music quality is pretty subjective. One listener's tastes will differ from another. Most computer users will not
be able to appreciate the quality of the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro sound card. But if you take your
sound quality and hardware more serious, based on the info above and the specifications, you know you can and will be able
to utilize what the Audigy 4 has to offer.
If you are upgrading from a previous Audigy 2 product, you probably want to save your money as the Audigy 4 Pro
isn't going to give you that much more for the extra money. If you are going from onboard sound or an entry level
sound card and are willing to spend some money to get the best then get this Audigy 4 Pro. But you will also have to
be willing to shell out extra money for a good digital speaker system that utilizes the true potential of the Audigy 4
Pro. However, if you just want good quality sound and utilize your existing speakers, look at the lower lines of
the Sound Blaster products or even a Chaintech or M-Audio product and save yourself some money. We definitely think that
because of the superior quality, the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro sound card is a worthwhile upgrade option!!
We want to thank NewEgg.com for the opportunity to test out this
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro sound card. Do yourself a favor and head on over to NewEgg.com
for all your computer needs.
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