Creative Audigy 2 ZS Notebook Expert Reviews

If you read our original review of the X-Fi way back in November 2005, you already know about this card. Back then, Creative packaged this exact same card with a drive bay and remote and charged an impossible to justify $280 for the X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS ...

DSP gives it a performance edge

Pointless X-RAM

Unlike the other two boards we tested here, the X-Fi continues to use a true DSP with "10,000 MIPS of power." We don't know how true that 10K figure is, but in our tests, the X-Fi remains the boss, especially when compared to the CMI8788, which is ...

A very good video capture solution, especially if you want better computer sound.

High-quality video capture, Excellent sound, Versatile

Touchy, intrusive driver installation

Take a look at a great solution that would bring high-end sound to your laptop. Beside its compact form-factor, it features the highest playback/recording quality, excellent performance in games, and compatibility with sound-recording software and ...

The Audigy 2 ZS Notebook audio card plays all its intended roles well. Beside its compact form-factor, it features a highest playback/recording quality in the Advanced Feature mode, excellent performance in games, and compatibility with sound ...

Creative Labs released their Sound Blaster Audigy4 Pro sound card and we couldn't miss the opportunity to take a closer look at it. Do you think you need to upgrade your Audigy2 now that the new card is out' Read our article before you make the ...

Well, let's sum up a few things now. Creative Labs replaced the converters with better quality ones and pushed the product into the market. Therefore, the actual hardware of the sound card got only a few small changes. It would be fun if next time ...

From the outside, the appearance of the Audigy 2 ZS hides its awesome capabilities. The card looks just like any standard PCMCIA card. Audio connections are made via the two built-in 1/8 inch jacks and 3 colored 1/8 inch jacks on a fan-out cable ...

Best-in-class audio reproduction, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround sound, Extensive configuration consoles/settings, Analog and Digital input/outputs, Best-in-class audio reproduction, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround sound, Extensive configuration consoles ...

Expensive, Very basic bundled audio software, Not 100% hot swappable, Expensive, Very basic bundled audio software, Not 100% hot swappable

While the Audigy2 ZS Notebook is the best audio solution for your notebook at present, the fact that it can direct output to headphones or external speakers only limits its use. This is because notebook users don't usually lug speakers around and most ...

A great product that is really only limited by the fact that notebooks usually feature only basic speakers.

Superior sound is something that laptop users have been screaming out for. But thus far, vendors' attempts to deliver have mostly cost a lot or left much to be desired. For $130, does Creative's Audigy 2 ZS Notebook get the job done?

Since there are numerous USB and FireWire cards that can be connected to a laptop with no problem, you might ask what the advantage of a PCMCIA card is. If you compare it with an external card for truly nomadic use (meaning with headphones), the ...

Just when it seemed like Creative couldn't possibly shoehorn any more functionality into its Sound Blaster product line, the company surprised us once more by reinventing its state-of-the-art Audigy 2 ZS sound board as a credit-card sized model ...

PC Card form adds high-quality audio to notebook PCs. Enormous feature set, including 7.1-channel output. Low noise levels and 192-kHz DVD-Audio playback.

Lacks FireWire ports. No multichannel recording.

Creative has done a commendable job of converting its popular Audigy 2 ZS high-end sound card into a notebook-ready PC Card sound board. This Sound Blaster doesn't offer all the connectivity options of its PCI siblings, but it does come remarkably ...