70SB049000000 – Creative Technology – Creative Sound Blaster Live 24-bit External – Sound card – external – USB

This ultra-affordable upgrade allows you to start enjoying an audio experience and quality thats not conceivable with basic on-board audio thanks to 24-Bit ADVANCED HD and EAX ADVANCED HD technologies. Your music will never have sounded better and youll even be able to convert your old tapes or vinyl to digital audio. In the end your games will come alive at the same time as youre also immersed in 5.1 surround sound. All this in a simple USB solution that installs in a snap!
Billed as the easiest way to upgrade from basic built-in PC sound to home-theater audio, Creative’s USB SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit external sound card is an affordable stand-alone audio interface for your PC that hooks up to your computer via a single, simple USB 1.1 connection (cable supplied). The card offers analog inputs for a microphone and an audio component (CD player, DVD player, etc.) and outputs including optical and coaxial digital-audio jacks and a trio of minijack analog audio outs that you’ll use with 5.1-channel surround-sound speaker systems. Your music and games will never be the same.

Now you’ll create MP3s from your CDs easier than ever and digitize your old cassettes and LP records, cleaning up the sound as you do so using Creative’s supplied software. (Be aware, then again, that LP record playback requires, in addition to a turntable and cartridge, an outboard phono stage or an integrated amplifier equipped with a phono preamplifier; the USB SoundBlaster Live! accepts only line-level analog inputs.)

The unit’s onboard 24-bit Advanced HD and EAX Advanced HD technologies encode and decode (record and play back) audio at up to 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution, though you must disable realtime audio monitoring at the highest settings as a result of limitations in the USB 1.1 data-throughput spec.

Creative Multi Speaker Surround (CMSS) multispeaker technology lets you “upmix” stereo sources to 5.1-channel surround sound. The software includes a professional-quality panning and mixing algorithm, front and rear balance controls, muting, and panning control for mixer sources.

Realistic EAX reverb, panning, and elevation effects bring your music and games to life. The kit also includes advanced time-scaling (which allows variable playback duration without altering the pitch of your original content), an audio clean-up feature (which removes noise and clicks from playback of vinyl disk or cassette recordings), bass boost, smart volume management, and a multi-band graphic equalizer.

Use of the sound card is so simple as plugging it into any available USB port: there is not any power adapter required. The card has an infrared receiver for use with an optional Creative remote control, which will let you operate your computer from the comfort of your sofa or bed, at a distance of up to 13 feet.

What’s in the Box
USB SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit external sound card, a USB cable, a quick-start guide, and an Installation CD (containing drivers for Windows XP, SP1, and 2000, SP4; Creative Software Applications Suite; and a user’s guide).
Convert Old Recording to MP3 – record old cassette tapes & vinyl to MP3 with included software
Enjoy Crystal Clear 24-bit Audio – With 256 times the resolution of your basic built-in sound, all your music, movies, and games will sound better in 24-bit ADVANCED HD quality
Create MP3s, Organize Music, Burn CDs – The full-featured Creative MediaSource digital player allows you to make top quality MP3s, manage your music library, and burn personalized CDs
Make Your Music Sound Even Better – Dramatically beef up your music with features including Bass Boost, Smart Volume Management, Multi-Band Graphic Equalizer, Audio Clean-Up, and more!
EAX Effects – add acoustic effects like Concert Hall