Creative's External Sound Blaster Extigy

Taking audio functionality outside the box could be a benefit to those who don't want to use up a PCI slot as well as audio-hindered notebook PC users who suffer from the limited sound capabilities built in by OEMs. If you fit either of these profiles, Creative Technology's new external Sound Blaster Extigy may be just the device you're looking for. The Sound Blaster Extigy delivers 24-bit 96kHz multi-channel audio playback and 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and connects to notebook and desktop computers via a USB port. The Sound Blaster Extigy should ship this month for around $149.99. The Extigy features EAX ADVANCED HD technologies for music, including audio enhancement technologies like Audio Clean-Up, Time Scaling, DREAM and EAX ADVANCED HD audio effects. Audio Clean-Up removes scratches, pops and hisses when playing back recordings of old tapes and LP records and Time Scaling lets you speed up or slow down audio or spoken word content while maintaining accurate pitch. DREAM technology (Dynamic Repositioning of Enhanced Audio and Music) lets you reposition stereo content in a surround 5.1 environment by redirecting the path of a specific frequency range and EAX ADVANCED HD Audio Effects let you customize your listening environment to replicate specific acoustic venues. Sound Blaster Extigy ships with Creative PlayCenter 3, a personal digital music app that enables creation, organization and playback of digital quality music enhanced with EAX ADVANCED HD effects, along with Dolby Digital file playback and CD burning capabilities. The Extigy can also function independent of the PC as a Dolby Digital decoder for a set-top DVD, for providing 5.1 surround sound from a video gaming console, or to connect a digital audio player, CD player or cassette player.